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 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.

The faculty accepts the following AACN (2008) definitions of professional values:

Altruism is concern for the welfare and well being of others.  In professional practice, altruism is reflected by the nurse’s concern and advocacy for the welfare of patients, other nurses, and healthcare providers.

Autonomy is the right to self-determination.  Professional practice reflects autonomy when the nurse respects patients’ rights to make decisions about their health care.

Human Dignity is respect for the inherent worth and uniqueness of individuals and populations.  In professional practice, concern for human dignity is reflected when the nurse values and respects all patients and colleagues.

Integrity is acting in accordance with an appropriate code of ethics and accepted standards of practice.  Integrity is reflected in professional practice when the nurse is honest and provides care based on an ethical framework that is accepted within the profession.

Social Justice is acting in accordance with fair treatment regardless of economic status, race, ethnicity, age, citizenship, disability, or sexual orientation.

Definitions of “Organizing Concepts” from QSEN competencies:

• Patient centered care – Recognize the patient or designee as the source of control and full partner in providing compassionate and coordinated care based on respect for patient’s preferences, values, and needs.
• Teamwork and collaboration – Function effectively within nursing and inter-professional teams, fostering open communication, mutual respect, and shared decision-making to achieve quality patient care.
• Evidence Based Practice – Integrate best current evidence with clinical expertise and patient/family preferences and values for delivery of optimal health care.
• Quality Improvement – Use data to monitor the outcomes of care processes and use improvement methods to design and test changes to continuously improve the quality and safety of health care systems.
• Patient Safety – Minimize risk of harm to patients and providers through both system effectiveness and individual performance.
• Informatics – Use information and technology to communicate, manage knowledge, mitigate error and support decision-making.

Program Outcomes

The nursing curriculum is organized to reflect competencies contained in The Essentials of Baccalaureate Education for Professional Nursing Practice (AACN, 2008), the knowledge, skills, and attitudes articulated in Quality and Safety Education for Nurses (QSEN, 2007), and the standards set forth in the West Virginia Nurse Practice Act (2019).

More specifically, graduates will be able to:

Graduate/Senior Level Outcomes

1. Provide safe, holistic, patient-centered care to promote wellness across the lifespan.
2. Synthesize current evidence and clinical reasoning in planning, implementing, and coordinating patient-centered care.
3. Collaborate with members of the interprofessional healthcare team to meet the needs of patients in a variety of health care settings.
4. Participate in quality improvement and safety processes as a nurse leader in a healthcare system.
5. Incorporate effective use of information and technology in nursing practice.
6. Demonstrate professional behaviors within the legal and ethical standards of nursing practice.

Junior Level Outcomes

1. Demonstrate safe, holistic, patient-centered care to promote wellness across the lifespan.
2. Utilize current evidence and clinical reasoning in planning and implementing patient-centered care.
3. Interact with members of the healthcare team in meeting the needs of patients in a variety of healthcare settings.
4. Participate in selected quality improvement and safety process in the healthcare system.
5. Utilize information systems and patient technologies to provide safe care.
6. Assume responsibility for personal and professional behaviors.

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