West Liberty University Mission Statement and Nursing Values
Our Nursing Faculty hold core nursing values that align with our Mission Statement:
To provide our students the opportunity for a high-quality undergraduate, graduate, and professional education.
Nursing Values: Opportunity, Caring, Professionalism, Excellence, Civic Engagement
Nursing Vision
The vision of the West Liberty University Nursing Faculty is to be a state and regional leader in providing excellence in professional nursing education.
Nursing Mission Statement
The mission of the nursing program is to provide excellence in nursing education which is congruent with the University’s mission. Based on an integration of liberal arts and sciences, the nursing program facilitates the development of the student to make safe clinical decisions in a collaborative and global healthcare environment.
The nursing graduate will be competent in providing safe, quality, patient-centered care. Care will be based on current evidence, utilizing information management and technologies. The professional nurse collaborates with the patient, the family, and the interprofessional healthcare team and participates in quality improvement. The nurse assumes a variety of leadership roles including provider of care, coordinator of care, and member of the profession.
Nursing Values
The nursing faculty hold core nursing values, consistent with those of the University, that permeate interactions with patients, students, colleagues, and other members of the academic and healthcare communities. The following values guide personal and professional behaviors in the academic as well as in the practice setting:
Caring
Caring is connecting to and being with another person. In the healthcare setting, caring is demonstrated by partnering with the patient to plan care based on the patient’s values and needs and on current best evidence. In the academic setting, caring is manifested by partnering with students and colleagues to develop a learning environment based on the values and needs of the learner and on current evidence and best practices. Caring creates the environment for actualizing the values of altruism, autonomy, human dignity, integrity, and social justice.
Professional Values
The faculty affirm professional nursing values consistent with the 2021 AACN Essentials: Core Competencies for Professional Nursing Education, which emphasize professional identity formation, ethical comportment, and accountability in contemporary practice.
Altruism – Concern for the welfare and well-being of others, demonstrated through advocacy for patients, families, communities, and the nursing profession.
Autonomy – Respect for the right to self-determination and shared decision-making in healthcare.
Human Dignity – Respect for the inherent worth, uniqueness, and diversity of all individuals and populations.
Integrity – Accountability and ethical practice consistent with professional standards, codes of ethics, and evidence-based care.
Social Justice – Commitment to equity, inclusion, and reduction of health disparities across systems and populations.
Organizing Concepts
Quality and Safety Education for Nurses (QSEN) Competencies
(Aligned with current QSEN Institute framework)
Patient-Centered Care
Recognize the patient or designee as the source of control and full partner in providing compassionate, culturally responsive, and coordinated care based on respect for preferences, values, and needs.
Teamwork and Collaboration
Function effectively within nursing and interprofessional teams, fostering open communication, mutual respect, shared decision-making, and systems thinking to achieve high-quality patient outcomes.
Evidence-Based Practice
Integrate best current evidence with clinical expertise and patient/family preferences and values to optimize health outcomes and promote clinical excellence.
Quality Improvement
Use data, systems thinking, and improvement science methodologies to monitor outcomes and continuously improve healthcare processes and patient safety.
Safety
Minimize risk of harm to patients, providers, and populations through both system effectiveness and individual performance, including human factors principles and just culture.
Informatics
Use information systems, digital health technologies, and data analytics to communicate, manage knowledge, reduce error, and support clinical decision-making.
Program Outcomes
Alignment with Current National Standards
The nursing curriculum is organized to reflect competencies contained in:
- 2021 AACN Essentials: Core Competencies for Professional Nursing Education
- Current QSEN Competencies (QSEN Institute)
- West Virginia Nurse Practice Act (current version)
The curriculum emphasizes competency-based education across the following AACN 2021 Domains:
- Knowledge for Nursing Practice
- Person-Centered Care
- Population Health
- Scholarship for Nursing Discipline
- Quality and Safety
- Interprofessional Partnerships
- Systems-Based Practice
- Informatics and Healthcare Technologies
- Professionalism
- Personal, Professional, and Leadership Development
Graduate / Senior Level Outcomes
Upon completion of the program, graduates will be able to:
- Provide safe, holistic, person-centered care to promote health across the lifespan.
- Integrate evidence, clinical reasoning, and systems thinking in planning and coordinating care.
- Apply population health principles to improve health equity and community outcomes.
- Collaborate effectively within interprofessional teams across diverse healthcare settings.
- Lead and participate in quality improvement and safety initiatives using improvement science principles.
- Utilize informatics and healthcare technologies to enhance care delivery.
- Demonstrate professional identity, ethical practice, accountability, and leadership in accordance with legal and regulatory standards.
Junior Level Outcomes
Upon completion of the junior level, students will be able to:
- Deliver safe, holistic, person-centered care to individuals and families.
- Apply current evidence and clinical reasoning in planning and implementing care.
- Participate in interprofessional collaboration within various healthcare settings.
- Engage in selected quality improvement and safety initiatives.
- Use information systems and healthcare technologies to support safe care delivery.
- Demonstrate developing professional identity, ethical comportment, and accountability.