Petro Allied Health Center,
Room 203
(785) 231-1010 ext. 1525
Fax: (785) 231-1032
mary.allen@washburn.edu
www.washburn.edu/sonu

The Faculty
Programs:

• Bachelor of Science in Nursing
• R.N. to BSN Articulation
• LPN to BSN Articulation
• School Nurse Certification

Policies
Course Offerings
Return to Catalog Index

Source: 2005-2006 Catalog

Baccalaureate Nursing Program
The baccalaureate nursing program was established at Washburn University in the Fall of 1974 as a department within the College of Arts and Sciences. In 1982, the program was granted School of Nursing status and operates as one of the major academic units of the University.

The School of Nursing has an enrollment of approximately 200 undergraduate students majoring in nursing. In addition, pre-nursing students preparing to enter the nursing program are advised, and an articulation program is available for registered nurses and licensed practical nurses seeking the BSN degree. A unique advantage of the School is its urban focus and access to Topeka’s extensive mental health and medical care complex which provides excellent facilities for nursing student clinical learning experiences.

In addition to the baccalaureate program, the School of Nursing offers a certificate program in school nursing. In conjunction with the Division of Continuing Education, the School of Nursing offers continuing education programs for registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, and mental health technicians; and Kan-Be-Healthy certification for registered nurses.

The program in nursing is approved by the Kansas State Board of Nursing and has national accreditation by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE).

Mission: Washburn University School of Nursing emphasizes excellence in teaching that prepares students to value life-long learning as professional nurses.

Washburn nursing graduates collaborate with communities applying ethical leadership, critical thinking, and technological skills to design caring, innovative health solutions for diverse populations.

Philosophy
The nursing faculty believe that each human being is a unitary, living open system and is continually engaged in a mutual dynamic process with the environment. Individuals are unique, have inherent worth, and strive to maintain system integrity while progressing through the life process from conception through death. Individuals form families and communities, which are also open systems engaged in mutual dynamic process with the environment.

Nursing is a health profession which is concerned with promoting the quality of life in individuals, families, and communities. The deliberative and creative use of knowledge for the betterment of human beings is expressed in the science and art of nursing. The nurse, an integral part of the client’s environment, is responsible for assisting the client in recognizing and coping with health needs throughout the life process. Through application of the nursing process, the nurse functions as a provider of care, a designer/manager/ coordinator of care, and as a member of the profession (AACN, 1986/1998)*.

Professional education in nursing, which is an integral part of higher education, begins at the baccalaureate level. The purpose of professional nursing education is to provide the knowledge base and skills necessary for the student learner to become a professional practitioner of nursing and to have the foundation for graduate education. General education in the humanities and in the natural and social sciences provides a broad foundation for understanding and augmenting nursing theory and facilitates the development and integration of the nursing student as a professional person.

Learning is a complex, mutual process of growth and development identified by changes in the behavior of the learner. Each student is unique in life experiences, motivation for learning, and scholastic aptitude. The educational process is designed to provide opportunities for the student to meet individual learning needs. The role of the nurse educator is to facilitate the learning process. The student is responsible for learning.

The philosophy and purposes of the School of Nursing are consistent with the mission of Washburn University. The School of Nursing is a major academic unit within the University and is responsible for determining its own professional curriculum and instruction. The richness of resources within the university and the community provide the opportunities for faculty and students to make significant contributions to health care delivery in a changing, multicultural society.

*American Association of Colleges of Nursing (1986/1998). Essentials of college and university education for professional nursing. Washington, D.C.: Author.

Conceptual Framework
The conceptual framework, upon which the nursing program at Washburn University is based, is the Science of Unitary Human Beings. The work of Martha E. Rogers provides the foundation for the conceptual framework. The principles of Helicy, Resonancy, and Integrality provide the basis for understanding the mutual process between human beings and the environment and provide for the organization of knowledge essential to the science and practice of nursing.

A nursing curriculum is implemented to assist the learner in viewing the human person and the environment as unified wholes. Students enter the nursing program with a foundation of life experiences and education in the natural and social sciences and the humanities. The program is designed to facilitate the professional development of students and their integration of learning.

Description of the Program
The baccalaureate program in nursing at Washburn University is designed to prepare women and men as professional nurses. The focus of the program is the study of the individual and family life process from conception through aging, in varying stages of health within the context of community. Through use of the nursing process, the student utilizes critical thinking and a scientific approach to maximizing health for individuals, families, and groups. The program provides professional nursing education for beginning college students, college transfer students, second career and non-traditional students, licensed practical nurses, and for registered nurses from Associate Degree and Diploma Nursing Programs.

The nursing curriculum builds upon and augments courses in the humanities and the natural and social sciences and provides for application of this general education throughout the nursing major. Emphasis is on the development of the student as an integrated professional person. The basic program is four academic years in length.

Clinical laboratory is coordinated with the theoretical content in nursing and is planned to meet specific objectives. Clinical laboratory takes place in a variety of community facilities including nursery schools, clinics, public health agencies, hospitals, physicians’ offices, and private homes. The normal developmental processes of the individual and family in varying circumstances, and the health needs of individuals, families, and groups form the basis for the selection of learning experiences. Community resources are selected for different courses according to their potential for illustrating principles and theories students are studying simultaneously in the classroom. Several resources may be used in any given class in a given semester as deemed appropriate to meet the course objectives.

Graduates of the program are prepared to function as generalists in nursing. They assume professional responsibility for health promotion, for care of people in acute and chronic illness, and for provision of supportive and restorative measures for realization of optimum health potential. Graduates of the baccalaureate program are eligible for examination for licensure as registered nurses and they have the foundation for graduate study in nursing.

Professional Aptitudes, Abilities and Skills for Nursing
The professional nurse is responsible for maintaining and promoting health, caring for people in acute and chronic illness, alleviating suffering whenever possible and providing supportive and restorative measures for individuals and families to realize their maximum health potential. Inherent in nursing is respect for life and the dignity and rights of all persons

The School of Nursing Faculty has determined that the following general categories address the aptitude, ability, and skills needed by students in the School of Nursing in order to become prepared to function as generalists in nursing as identified in the program description.

1. Sensory and Motor Ability: The use of motor skills to perform client exams, laboratory procedures, and other clinical maneuvers. Students must be able to execute gross and fine motor movements required to provide assessment, general care and emergency treatment of clients. Examples of such skills include but are not limited to:

• administering CPR
• using the assessment skills of inspection, palpation, percussion, and auscultation
• assisting in moving and lifting clients using proper body mechanics
• demonstrating the ability to perform clinical skills such as initiating intravenous therapy, catheter insertion and dressing changes
• determining changes in skin temperature

2. Observation: The use of assessment skills such as observing faculty demonstrations, obtaining a health history from the client, and directly observing a client's health condition. Students must be able to perform sensory skills (auditory, visual, and tactile) necessary to assess accurately the health status of clients. Examples of such skills include but are not limited to:

• hearing with a stethoscope to assess blood pressure, heart, lung and abdominal sounds
• seeing color changes in the skin and changes in pupil reaction
• accurately reading calibrations on syringes and measuring utensils

3. Communication: Communication with client and members of the health care team about the client's condition in settings where communication typically is oral, in settings where communication typically is written, and in settings when the time span for communication is limited. Students must be able to speak, to hear, and to observe clients in order to obtain complete and accurate assessments of client status. Communication includes speaking, reading, writing, and non-verbal behaviors that reflect sensitivity, clarity and comprehension. Examples of such skills include but are not limited to:

• initiating and maintaining a nurse client relationship
• sharing pertinent client information with members of the health team
• giving verbal or written reports
• documenting accurately and clearly in written or electronic form
• providing client/family teaching that results in mutual understanding

4. Intellectual, Conceptual, Integrative, and Quantitative Abilities: Critical thinking, problem solving and teaching skills necessary to provide care for individuals. families and groups. Students must have sufficient critical thinking skills to problem solve in the clinical setting and to synthesize information in an analytical, deliberative, decisive, and valuative manner. Examples of such skills include but are not limited to:

• accurately identifying nursing problems from all relevant client data
• analyzing data to determine client’s health care needs and nursing diagnoses
• using judgement to develop a plan of care that will implement nursing interventions relevant to client needs
• developing an alternative plan of care if current plan is ineffective

5. Behavioral and Social Characteristics: The ability to provide care that is client centered and shows respect for human dignity and the uniqueness of each individual, free from all bias and discrimination, and without consideration for personal attributes or the nature of health problems

• Students must be emotionally stable. Examples of such skills include but are not limited to:
• possessing the emotional stability to enable them to develop facilitative relationships and successfully communicate with individuals and groups from a variety of social, emotional, cultural, and intellectual backgrounds
• possessing the qualities of self-awareness, emotional maturity, objectivity, flexibility, empathy, and integrity
• possessing the ability emotionally to handle demanding clinical assignments and to function effectively under stress

Student Learning Outcomes of the Baccalaureate Program
Nursing students, upon graduation, are expected to have:

• incorporated professional values in the delivery of caring, ethical practice;
• designed, coordinated, and managed innovative health care;
• formulated and evaluated nursing decisions using critical thinking skills;
• selected and appraised effective professional and therapeutic communication patterns;
• evaluated the need for and the efficacious use of technology in holistic health assessment;
• initiated community partnerships in order to establish health promotion goals and implement risk reduction strategies;
• designed nursing management measures to maximize health and wellness; and
• participated in efforts to influence health care policy locally and globally.

Admission Policies
Students may apply for acceptance to the School of Nursing for Fall or Spring semester when meeting the following critieria:

1. Completion of 30 hours of Washburn University general education requirements and School of Nursing prerequisite courses.
2. Have a cumulative grade point average of 2.70 (minimum).

The following items are required for application:

1. School of Nursing application
2. Official transcripts from all colleges or universities attended sent to the School of Nursing
3. Two letters of recommendation (forms provided)
4. Washburn University application if not already a student at Washburn.

Applications are accepted September 1 to November 1 for Fall and March 1 to May 1 for Spring a full year prior to expected date of entry into the program.

To qualify for the WU academic scholarship, the university application and updated transcripts are due to the Admission office by March 1.
Students transferring from other nursing programs are required to submit course syllabus for all completed nursing courses. Transfer credit may be awarded for equivalent coursework.

The School of Nursing Admission Committee reviews applications and admits qualified applicants to fill available positions. A personal interview with a member of the faculty may be required of applicants for assessment of qualifications.

Students are selected for admission to the nursing major without discrimination in regard to race, color, religion, age, national origin, ancestry, disability, gender, marital or parental status, or sexual orientation. The School of Nursing adheres to policies of non-discrimination as defined by various federal and state laws and regulations.

The School of Nursing seeks applicants who exhibit the interpersonal skills and behaviors that enable them to work compatibly with others in both the classroom and the clinical area. Applicants seeking admission should demonstrate emotional maturity, personal integrity, and ethical responsibility. Applicants should also possess the flexibility to deal with unexpected situations and should demonstrate a willingness to utilize constructive feedback to develop behaviors characteristic of a professional person. The School of Nursing reserves the right to withhold admission to or withdraw students from the program, who do not demonstrate these professional behaviors.

Students with disabilities may voluntarily identify themselves to their course instructors to request accommodations. The Office of Student Services, located in Morgan Hall, Room 150, is available to students for assistance in arranging reasonable accommodations and identifying resources on campus.

Applicants who have been convicted of a felony may be considered for admission only if, in the judgment of the Admission Committee, the applicant has been satisfactorily rehabilitated. However, applicants for admission should be aware that current Kansas law provides that no license, certificate of qualification or authorization to practice nursing as a licensed professional nurse, as a licensed practical nurse, as an advanced registered nurse practitioner or registered nurse anesthetist shall be granted to a person with a felony conviction for a crime against persons as specified in article 34 of chapter 21 of the Kansas Statutes Annotated, as amended. Newly admitted students will have to complete a background check as part of clearance prior to beginning nursing classes.

Students are advised that nursing licenses may be denied or disciplined by the Kansas State Board of Nursing (KSBN). Possible grounds for such action may include being guilty of a felony or misdemeanor involving an illegal drug offense if the KSBN determines that such person has not been sufficiently rehabilitated to warrant the public trust. Also considered are patterns of practice and other behaviors exhibiting an apparent incapacity to practice nursing. All criminal history must be revealed to and will be evaluated by the KSBN before licensure is granted or denied. Admission to the School of Nursing does not guarantee that a student will be eligible for licensure.

Degree Requirements

Requirements Common to All Bachelor Degrees
The student must meet the requirements common to all bachelor degrees established by the University. (See Requirements Common to all Degrees in the index.)