Program Philosophy

The faculty believes that:

• Nursing is a scholarly discipline and a creative art that requires rigorous intellectual and ethical engagement with theoretical knowledge derived from the science of nursing, and the liberal arts and the sciences.
• Nursing practice is informed by multiple ways of knowing and being.
• Nursing education promotes a spirit of inquiry and a commitment to excellence through reflective practice.
• Nursing faculty and students comprise a community of learners who actively engage in a process of personal and professional transformation.
• The goal of nursing is the promotion of health across the continuum of individuals, families, groups and communities while celebrating the richness of diversity.

Theoretical Framework

The St. Joseph's University Department of Nursing’s theoretical framework provides students an example from which to organize knowledge in a meaningful and relevant manner. The purpose of the model is to demonstrate the nursing department’s vision and commitment to the University’s motto: Esse non videri — “To be, not to seem.”

The framework guides students’ development and expression of knowledge, provides students with a professional and discipline identity, conveys to others what nursing contributes to healthcare, and creates expert and effective nursing practice.

At the core of the model is the “Way of Being,” which comes from multiple ways of knowing — concepts that provide a foundation for professional nursing education and practice.

1. Personal Knowledge is knowing that emerges from an awareness of self and others. It includes personal and interpersonal experiences and is enriched through self-reflection and mutual engagement in nursing practice.
2. Empirical Knowledge is knowing that informs the science of nursing, is evidence-based, and guides nursing practice.
3. Aesthetic Knowledge is knowing that appreciates the diversity of the human experience through the beauty and creative expression of nursing practice.
4. Ethical Knowledge is knowing that encompasses beliefs, values, professional codes and standards that support deliberations and actions in nursing practice.
5. Sociopolitical Knowledge is knowing that promotes an appreciation of societal and political factors that impact nursing practice.
6. Unknowing in Knowledge embraces a belief that knowledge is fluid and constantly evolving and emerging. It supports a spirit of inquiry that advances nursing science and practice.

Integral to the core and its related concepts are the professional nursing competencies, which are expressed throughout the program’s curriculum. They represent the philosophy of fluidity and flexibility in knowledge acquisition throughout a student’s academic journey.

1. Evidenced-based practice is defined as integrating best current evidence with clinical expertise and patient/family preferences and values for the delivery of optimal health care.
2. Communication is engaging in effective, interaction with patients, families and communities and professional colleagues.
3. Systems thinking is recognizing, understanding and synthesizing the interactions and interdependencies in a set of components.
4. Informatics/Technology the integrating of information and knowledge, with the management of information and communication technologies.
5. Patient centered care is acknowledging and collaborating with the patient/designee in the provision and coordination of compassionate care that reflects the preferences, values and needs of the patient.
6. Quality/Safety is minimizing risk of harm to patients and providers through effective, patient centered, efficient and equitable care.
7. Professionalism is consistently demonstrating altruism, excellence, caring, ethics, respect, accountability, civility, professional engagement and lifelong learning.
8. Leadership is guiding individuals and groups toward the achievement of shared goals.
9. Team Work/Collaboration is applying relationship-building values to function effectively within nursing and interprofessional teams, fostering open communication, mutual respect and shared decision-making.

Graduate End-Of-Program Outcomes

• Synthesize theoretical and empirical knowledge from nursing, humanities and the sciences to provide rationale for practice as a master’s prepared nurse
• Integrate leadership concepts, knowledge and skills to provide safe, high-quality care for diverse populations within complex organizational systems.
• Advocate for relationships that support individual and population health outcomes through interprofessional collaboration.
• Exemplify a life characterized by integrity, intellectual rigor, spiritual depth, social responsibility and service.
• Actualize way of being through multiple ways of knowing to support a culture of excellence in master’s level nursing practice.