The philosophy of the Associate Degree Nursing (ADN) program is congruent with the Eastern Oklahoma State College mission statement and is supported by the works of Marjory Gordon, Virginia Henderson, and the National League for Nursing.  The nursing program prepares graduates to provide and manage client care and become members within the discipline of nursing.  Core components integrated into these three roles of nursing care, manager of care, and member of the profession are the core components of nursing which include: professional behaviors, nursing process, communication, decision making, care interventions, teaching/learning, collaboration, and managing care.  These concepts are introduced at the beginning of the program using a developmental approach and are developed throughout each nursing course in the curriculum.  The conceptual model is based on utilization of the nursing process in meeting human developmental needs according to the developmental phases of man.  Emphasis is given to the major psycho-physiological health problems that might occur during each stage.  The first nursing course is a broad introduction to nursing.  The succeeding clinical courses progress through the life cycle.

The faculty believes that:

Each individual is a unique, holistic being with bio-psychosocial, cultural, and spiritual dimensions in constant interaction with the environment.  Each individual has common functional patterns that reflect health, quality of life, and achievement of human potential.

Health is an ever-changing process involving patterns of interactions between persons and their environment to achieve maximum potential for daily living.  The multi-determinants which affect health include internal and external factors which must be assessed by the nurse to identify the need for nursing intervention.  Gordon’s functional health patterns are used for organizing assessment data to help identify actual or potential health problems and plan appropriate interventions to achieve specific outcomes.

Nursing is the art and science of caring for individuals in promoting, maintaining, or restoring health or supporting a peaceful death.  The nursing process is used as a basis for decision making that is supported by evidenced-based clinical care.

The environment is comprised of all socio-cultural influences and biophysical conditions affecting the life and development of a person.  Functional and dysfunctional health patterns affect an individual’s environment.

Nursing education in the community college setting provides an affordable and accessible avenue for associate degree education that also supports educational mobility.   The curriculum reflects study in both nursing, general education, and health related sciences.  Nursing at Eastern is supportive of both the generic and LPN transitional tracks leading to an associate degree in applied science.  Graduates are encouraged to obtain a baccalaureate degree in nursing

Learning is a dynamic, life-long, individualized process.  Learning at Eastern is supported through development of a teacher/student relationship with the student possessing willingness and accountability in learning and the teacher facilitating the development of critical thinking, clarity of thinking, communication, creative expression, self-direction, and other defined competencies in the curriculum.  The faculty recognizes that students differ in the rate and style of learning, thus various strategies are planned to assist the student in achieving program competencies.  Concepts are introduced early in the program and are further developed throughout the curriculum. The nursing education curriculum includes experiences designed to promote the development of the learner as an individual and as a nurse.  The school of nursing utilizes a diverse contemporary array of instructional technologies and formats to facilitate learning and enhance accessibility for a diverse student population. The philosophy embraces various individual learning styles, talents and interests. Distance learning strategies include but are not limited to the following: interactive television, Blackboard, WebCT, software, internet, and audio visual material.

Eastern Oklahoma State College is an equal opportunity employer and education institution.

The nursing faculty accepts the Position Statement of Associate Degree Nursing as adopted by the Oklahoma Associate Degree Nursing Educators, the Oklahoma Board of Nursing guidelines for nursing practice, the National League for Nursing AD Competencies, and the American Nurses Associations code of ethics; furthermore, we believe Eastern’s nursing program philosophy to be congruent with these statements.