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The mission of the Dixie State College nursing program is the education of nurses at the associate and baccalaureate levels who are dedicated to excellence in health care.
Our goals are to:
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Provide an innovative and collaborative learning environment
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Prepare generalist nurses who can practice in various health care settings
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Apply evidence-based practice in educational and clinical settings
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Enhance the quality of life of diverse individuals, families, groups, communities, and society
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Promote responsibility and commitment to lifelong learning
As an integral part of Dixie State College of Utah, the nursing faculty collectively assumes responsibility for supporting and maintaining the mission and goals of the College. The nursing program contributes to the functioning of Dixie State College of Utah as a comprehensive state college and community college by offering nursing education at the Associate of Applied Science Degree and Baccalaureate Degree in Nursing levels. Students in the ADN program are eligible to test for state licensure as registered nurses.
The nursing faculty has defined the following terms as part of their philosophical beliefs regarding nursing and nursing education.
Clients are recipients of nursing care and include individuals, families, groups, communities, and society.
Health is a subjective perception of what makes life meaningful and manageable and is a result of adaptation to life’s immediate experiences to maintain physical, psychological, social, spiritual, and cultural harmony.
Environment is every factor, internal and external, that provides the context for human life. People and their environments are inseparable. The combined influences of the external and internal environments determine state of health.
Nursing is the autonomous and collaborative care of clients using unique knowledge to promote health and adaptation to illness, wellness, disability, and dying. Nursing care is guided by morals, ethics, and advocacy.
Healthcare is a system for the delivery of resources to promote wellness as well as prevent and manage illness.
Associate Degree Nurses (ADN) practice in the roles of care provider, care manager, and member within the discipline of nursing. ADN graduates are registered nurses who provide direct care to clients with complex health needs; adjust care as client situations change; collect and analyze data from clients, families, and other health care resources; formulate appropriate nursing diagnoses; develop and revise plans of care based on client decisions; and collaborate and communicate with clients, families, and other health professionals. ADNs also are accountable for care of their clients, and of those whose care has been delegated to others, including licensed and unlicensed health care workers.
Bachelor of Science Degree Nurses (BSN) are professional nurses who have more extensive opportunities for practice than Associate Degree Nurses. The BSN practices in the role of provider, manager, and coordinator of care as well as functioning as a leader of care teams. BSN graduates use research, information technology, ethical frameworks, political advocacy, and policy making in the provision of care with individuals, families, groups and communities across the lifespan and across the continuum of healthcare environments. The BSN graduate is accountable for his or her own practice and care delegated to others. The BSN is generally a prerequisite for graduate nursing education.
Nursing Education is a lifelong process which includes reflection, intellectual challenge, and practice. It encompasses the development of knowledge, skills, and personal and professional values. Nursing education facilitates the learning process through the assimilation of knowledge and the acquisition of eight competencies which include critical thinking, technical skills, therapeutic communication, leadership/management, time management/organization, professional behavior, caring, and the nursing process. A supportive environment for nursing education is one of caring in which all persons are respected, trusted, and nurtured. Through education, the faculty endeavors to develop and enhance learners’ individual growth, professional practice and social responsibility, and leadership in increasingly complex health care environments. Education is the progressive discovery of knowledge and possibility. Our aim is for students to recognize what they do and do not know, and how to acquire what they need to know.
Teaching/Learning is a collaborative process in which the nursing instructor, informed by the curriculum, evidence-based nursing practice, and teaching and learning theories facilitates the nursing student preparedness to meet the goals and outcomes of the nursing program and the NLCEX® exam.
The eight competencies that the student develops across the curriculum include:
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Critical Thinking is the ability to think in a systematic and logical manner when posed with a thinking challenge. Critical thinking in nursing is used for clinical judgment and decision-making that ensures safe nursing practice and quality care. Critical thinking requires an attitude of inquiry, openness to questioning, and reflection on the reasoning process.
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Technical Skills require technical competence. Such competence is demonstrated by the ability to use equipment and supplies with confidence and skill thus meeting client needs. It also includes the ability to adapt procedures and equipment to meet client needs in diverse situations and care settings.
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Therapeutic Communication is the ability to apply concepts of communication and therapeutic interaction in building and maintaining relationships with clients, families, groups, communities and other members of the health care team. Communication promotes the value of each individual, group, or community including their strengths, abilities, and challenges to achieve established goals. It is dependent upon caring.
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Leadership/Management Leadership requires personal traits necessary to establish vision and goals for a group and the ability to execute them. Management requires personal traits necessary to plan, organize, motivate, and manage a group of people and their resources. Leadership and management include delegation, evaluation, conflict resolution, and collaboration with other members of the health care team.
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Time Management/Organization is the responsibility and accountability to client, peer, and employer environments through a sound work ethic. It is demonstrated through attendance, work within designated standards, performance of assigned responsibilities, prioritization of care, and effective use of time.
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Professional Behavior is characterized by a commitment to the profession of nursing. Professional behavior involves adherence to standards of nursing practice; accountability for actions and behaviors; and nursing practice within legal, ethical, and regulatory frameworks.
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Caring is the recognition and acknowledgment of the value of individuals, families, groups, communities, and other members of the health care team. Caring is an altruistic philosophy of moral and ethical commitment toward the protection, promotion and preservation of human dignity and diversity. Caring is the essence of nursing.
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The Nursing Process serves as a critical thinking tool in nursing. The nursing process involves the methodology of decision-making that provides direction and order to holistic nursing care across the health continuum. The components of the nursing process include assessment, diagnosis, planning, implementation, and evaluation. Implicit in the nursing process is the professional and therapeutic relationship of the nurse with client and family.
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