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Philosophy
The philosophy of Rutgers
School of Nursing reflects the beliefs of the faculty and gives direction to
the curricula of the baccalaureate, the master's, and the doctoral nursing
programs, as well as to the continuing education and educational opportunity
fund programs. The school philosophy and goals are consistent with its mission
statement. The faculty has a set of beliefs regarding the metaparadigm concepts
of the discipline: humans, the environment, health, and nursing. These beliefs
as well as those regarding education, provide the foundation for the organizing
framework for the undergraduate and graduate curricula.
Humans
Humans are biological,
psychosocial, cultural, and spiritual beings who have the capacity for growth.
They are affected by their social and material environments and possess the
ability to change or adapt to these environments. Human development is shaped
by the genetic endowment; conditions in utero; and experiences at home, in the
neighborhood, at work, and in the broader society throughout the life course.
Individuals are also shaped by the historical experiences of their
sociocultural group(s) and present life conditions that impact on their
worldview and interactions with others. Timing of life transitions and events
affects an individual's development and life potential in different ways.
Nurses help build human capacities for self-empowerment and self-advocacy by
respecting a person's unique background and experiences, and by adapting
culturally competent nursing actions to accommodate differences, negotiating
with the established social hierarchy of various groups and advocating on their
behalf for public policy. Culturally competent nursing actions are informed by
the spiritual and cultural values and practices of human groups and social
realities affecting their circumstances in the broader society. Individuals,
nurses, and health care professionals and institutions may have contrasting
values, practices, and expectations that impact groups differently. Culturally
competent advocacy requires a compassionate understanding of how human
diversity is affected by the assumptions and preferences of health
professionals, organizations, and the dominant society. Cultural competence
builds human capacities for negotiating these distinctions as well as self-empowerment
and self-advocacy.
Environment
The environment consists
of the physical, social, and cultural contexts of human life. Contemporary
society affects and is affected by events in different parts of the world. The
physical environment is comprised of geographic location, climactic, temporal,
and situated resources; and the built environment, all of which affect quality
of life, access to services, safety, and the health of the population. The social
environment refers to structural arrangements in society that stratify groups
of people, which may affect their status and position within the social
hierarchy as well as their opportunities in life. Cultural environment is the
constellation for the values, meanings, beliefs, philosophy, and morality that
evolves from prolonged experience within specific environmental contexts. There
is reciprocity and mutuality between humans and their environment. All
components of the environment are intimately linked and can promote or diminish
health. Nurses assist individuals, families,
and communities to draw on their resources from their physical, social,
spiritual, and cultural environments to create healing environments and maximize
human and community potential.
Health
Health is a
multidimensional and complex phenomenon influenced by biological,
developmental, cognitive, behavioral, political, economic, environmental,
spiritual, and cultural factors. Optimal health is a resource that may further
capacities while poor health may diminish one's capacity. Humans biologically
incorporate their social and material worlds; thus, health status is determined
by the structural inequalities that create variant exposure, susceptibility, and
resistance of individuals through the life course. Health disparities are
population-based differences in the burden of disease and mortality associated
with social inequalities. Reduction of health disparities is best achieved by
actions and decisions that improve the life conditions of people in communities
through broad-based partnerships and collaboration, not only among
multidisciplinary professionals, but more importantly with lay communities and
institutions. Building healthy communities is accomplished at the individual,
organizational, and community levels of practice. Advocacy, empowerment, and transformative
partnerships to promote individual and population health entail development and
implementation of social policies and programs that support healthy
environments, safe neighborhoods, and broad access to quality health services.
Quality improvement of programs and services are inherent in effective capacity
development. Nurses can participate in different roles through direct care
provision, communication with and coordination of the interprofessional team,
involvement in institutional/organizational and professional association
committees, and as community members.
Nursing
Nursing is both a science
and art that builds the capacity of individuals, families, and communities for
health and well-being throughout the life course. Nursing science is an organized,
discrete body of knowledge derived from research and scholarship comprising
paradigms, frameworks, and theories that describe, explain, and predict
phenomena related to the metaparadigm concepts of nursing. The art of nursing is human connectedness
manifested through compassionate concern and openness, which enables the nurse
to become aware of the unique values, interests, priorities, and needs of
individuals, families, and communities. The nurse uses the knowledge from both
the science and the art of nursing to practice patient-centered, evidence-informed
individual and population care to promote the health and well-being of
individuals, families, and communities and to lessen the burden of disease and
mortality associated with social inequalities. Practicing in a pluralistic
society, characterized by increasing social and cultural diversity, requires
that nurses respect cultural differences and recognize the right of choice
regarding health care issues.
The practice of nursing
is the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and abilities,
prevention of illness and injury, alleviation of suffering through the
diagnosis and treatment of human response, and advocacy in the care of
individuals, families, communities, and populations. Nurses practice in a
variety of interprofessional groups and settings within the continuum of health
and illness from primary health promotion and disease management to providing
assistance when healing and recovery are no longer possible. Nurses use a broad range of technology and
skills in enabling individuals, communities, and populations, including assessing
and triaging acute, chronic, and wellness needs; care planning, monitoring,
and coaching; providing self-management support; educating and supporting
caregivers; and coordinating among medical, community, and social resources.
Nursing has an active and enduring leadership role in improving the health of
the public and ensuring accessible, safe, quality primary, secondary, and
tertiary care for all. To achieve these goals, nurses must be advocates and
champion for social justice and health equity by influencing and promoting
change across, health, social, economic, political systems.
Education
Education grounded in
liberal arts; behavioral, biological, and social sciences; and humanities is the
foundation for nursing education, a humanistic-practice-based discipline. Learning and education are interactive and
transformational processes. Education is a lifelong pursuit and is aimed at
developing optimum potential of the learner. Professional nursing education is
informed by the concept of health; is individual and communal in scope; and
focuses on wellness as a guide for the development of the learning experience.
Educating nurses to practice in increasingly complex and diverse settings
requires not only theoretical and clinical expertise but also an atmosphere of
caring, support, cultural competence, and mutual respect based on innovative and
novel learning models inclusive of interprofessional learning experiences.
Nursing faculty is responsible for the creation and maintenance of a learning
environment that fosters free and open interaction between the learner and the
educator. The educational process is heavily influenced by the characteristics
of the learner, educator, methods of instruction, technological resources, and
school and clinical environments. Educational practices, rooted in philosophy,
learning theory, and empirical studies, foster the integration of varied learning
strategies that support creative and critical thinking. Educational delivery at
all levels must incorporate learning strategies to facilitate different
learning styles, evidence-based clinical knowledge, and research with effective
communication and leadership skills. Excellence in scholarly activity, service,
and educational best-practices are the hallmarks of nursing education.
The School of Nursing
educational programs are congruent with the American Association of Colleges of
Nursing preferred vision for nursing education inclusive of generalist, advanced
generalist, and advanced specialty nursing education programs. Generalist
education is provided at the baccalaureate-degree level. Advanced generalist
education occurs in master's degree nursing programs. Advanced specialty
education occurs at the doctoral level in doctor of nursing practice (D.N.P.) or
doctor of philosophy (Ph.D.) degree programs.
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