MISSION

The mission of the Department of Nursing is to prepare baccalaureate and advanced practice nurses. Through faculty and student collaboration, dynamic learning environments, and mentoring, nursing graduates are prepared to be the next generation of nursing leaders and lifelong learners that will meet a global society's health care needs.

VISION

The Department of Nursing is committed to excellence in the preparation of professional nurses for a changing global society. Within the comprehensive university setting, the Department of Nursing provides a dynamic personalized nursing education.

PHILOSOPHY

The philosophy of the Department of Nursing flows from the mission statements of Bradley University, the College of Education and Health Sciences, and the Department. Bradley University is a non-partisan, non-sectarian, independent privately endowed institution of higher learning. Students enrolled at Bradley University are provided with distinctive educational programs and a supportive environment to fulfill their intellectual, aesthetic, and professional needs.

The faculty believe that people, whether identified in the singular as a person or in the collective as families and communities, are unique and should be accorded inalienable rights. People are interdependent and in constant interaction with the environment. People have distinct biological, psychosocial, developmental, cultural, and spiritual needs. People possess the potential for growth, adaptation, self-determination, and the capacity for caring. One of the central needs inherent in people is optimal health.

The faculty believe that professional nursing responds to the needs of society by helping persons, families, and communities through holistic nursing care. Professional nurses use the nursing process to assist clients in achieving optimal health and adapting to altered states of health. The faculty believe that responsibility to society requires professional nurses to adhere to the accepted guidelines and standards of the profession.

The faculty believe that a liberal arts education provides the foundation for lifelong learning. A liberal arts education prepares professional nurses to live and prosper in a diverse world. A liberal arts education base enhances the students’ ability to analyze and generate solutions to problems and prepares students to comprehend the multifaceted nature of nursing.

The faculty believe that nursing education is a dynamic interactive process. Baccalaureate nursing education prepares students to enter practice as generalists with the essential skills, knowledge, and values of professional nursing. The faculty believe that graduates of a master’s degree program in nursing are prepared with a body of knowledge and skills that reinforces and builds upon the baccalaureate nursing foundation. Professional roles of the graduates may include a leader of the interdisciplinary health team, a manager of nursing personnel, or a provider of advanced care.

The faculty believe that nurses are accountable to society and the profession of nursing. Adherence to the accepted guidelines and standards of the profession demonstrates accountability to one’s self, clients, and the interdisciplinary healthcare team. Professional accountability involves participation in professional organizations, workplace governance, and/or community service.