Graduate Program Philosophy

The SON is committed to the University and CHHS mission of excellence in teaching, the extension of knowledge through research, and preparation of caring and competent professionals to enhance health and quality of life within the global community. The graduate program builds on the overall SON philosophy:

The faculty believes that programs that prepare professional nurses must include opportunities for students to acquire a knowledge base that is rich in the social sciences, the physical sciences and the humanities. When learners have a broad base of knowledge, they are better prepared to be critical thinkers and problem solvers who use critical inquiry throughout their professional development. A nursing program must be guided by beliefs about person, environment, health, nursing, and teaching/learning. The faculty of the School of Nursing at EMU is guided by the following:

The program's philosophy is rooted in an eclectic approach that embraces the four concepts of the nursing metaparadigm: person, environment, health and nursing. Beliefs about teaching/learning are also central to this philosophy.

Persons are dynamic, whole and human. Knowledge and awareness of the human systems--biological, psychological, social, cultural, spiritual-- are necessary in order to interact with persons in the wholeness of their being. Persons have worth, dignity, and the capacity for growth and change. They also have the right to make decisions about their lifestyles, health care and educational processes. Persons experience and constantly interact with their ever-changing internal and external environments which affect their responses to health and well-being. Responses are manifested in a variety of ways depending on developmental life span; cultural, racial/ethnic backgrounds; gender; economic status; and unique abilities. Persons are viewed as individuals, families, or communities.

Environment is an open system including all that is external to the person whether viewed as individual, family, or community. Persons are in constant interaction with the environment. The external environment is envisioned as a global community composed of physical, social, political, technical, economic and cultural influences. The environment is recognized as important for both clients and providers of health care. Choices in health care are influenced by a person's ability to meet basic needs, availability of resources, and access to resources. Organizational and political constraints affect the availability and provision of health care resources. The constant exchange of energy between persons and environments constitutes an arena for assessment action. Nurses need skills to operate within health care systems and to deliver needed services.

Health is a dynamic phenomenon experienced by persons in different dimensions and degrees throughout the life span. Health is a dynamic state defined by the person. Three phases of health are: (1) healthful living, harmony with one's environment; (2) health disruption, disharmony with one's environment, and (3) health reorganization, the process of changing to achieve, preserve, and/or recover healthful living. Health also relates to functioning within roles, engaging in personally identified aspects of joy, wonder, and need, and developing one's potential for the fullest state of being. Not only do persons define health for themselves, they also make decisions affecting the level of health they wish to attain

Nursing is an art and a science. As a profession, nursing is rooted in caring as a value. As a science, nursing integrates theory and practice through research to build a body of unique knowledge. Nursing is goal oriented, yet responsive to the dynamic changes in persons, their environments and their health. As an action, nursing is defined as the diagnosis and treatment of human responses to actual or potential health problems (ANA Social Policy Statement, 1980, p.9; 2010, p.10). Nurses advocate for and promote the self-advocacy of health in recipients of nursing and other health care services. Nurses work collaboratively with other health professionals in striving for an optimal health care delivery system. Just as persons are growing and evolving, nursing as a profession also continues to develop as an art and as a science.

Teaching-learning is an ongoing process that results in goal attainment for each person. Learners are self-aware persons with responsibility for their actions. Learners bring strengths, knowledge and responses to the learning environment. Teachers and learners engage in ongoing developmental processes. Both teachers and learners have styles of learning which influence their creative interactions. Learning environments must be open, encourage diverse ideas, and promote generation and acquisition of knowledge. In creative collaboration with clients and other health professionals, nursing students engage in synchronous experiences enabling them to participate in meeting the health needs of society.

College of Health and Human Services' Vision and Mission