LICENSED VOCATIONAL NURSING PROGRAM

PHILOSOPHY

As instructors in the Vocational Nursing Program, we believe that:

Nursing is both an art and a science that integrates a special core of nursing knowledge with other disciplines and uses a nursing process framework to meet the needs of the client. In a health care system the client can be defined as an individual, a family or a community. The needs of the client are met by the provision and coordination of health care in various settings depending upon the wellness-illness status of the client.  Nursing contributes to the promotion and maintenance of health, recovery from illness or to a dignified and peaceful death.  Utilization of therapeutic communication is vital to the interpersonal and transpersonal process of nursing.

Individuals are holistic, multi-system beings in a state of dynamic change and are striving to meet their human needs and maintain their health. The individual’s view of his own world, his needs and the desire to maintain health is influenced by many factors, including but not limited to: culture, spiritual connection, past experiences, genetics, environment and growth and development.  Health is a dynamic condition based upon a person’s ability to adapt and is not simply the absence of disease or infirmity.  Each person’s perception of health along the health-illness continuum is unique and personally described, encompassing mind-body-spirit. Nurses must consider the client’s personal perception of health in order to develop a therapeutic relationship that will assist the client to participate in making decisions, care planning and the learning process.

The responsibility for learning is shared by the student and instructor.  Students as well as clients and instructors come from varied backgrounds and skill levels and are influenced by values, cultural beliefs, needs, goals and learning styles; and have different potentials for growth and levels of motivation. Students are provided with tools and opportunities to learn, grow and achieve as safe practitioners.

 Learning is an active process for the instructor and for the student. The instructor serves as a facilitator of the learning process by guiding student discovery, facilitating student’s capabilities and motivating growth and critical thinking abilities. Various instructional techniques are utilized to promote learning and stimulate growth and critical thinking, including but not limited to, lectures, group work, role-playing, student class presentations, audiovisual presentations, computer research, and individual CD-ROM study as well as practice in the skills laboratory and in patient care settings. Students actively participate in learning by preparing for and participating in learning activities and utilizing newly acquired concepts and skills in the provision of client care. While assisting the student the instructor serves as a role model for competent clinical practice, ethical decision-making, therapeutic communication, and professional demeanor and demonstrating the belief that learning is an ongoing, lifelong process which promotes continued competency.  Personal, social and professional growth is a lifelong process.  Instructors and students are committed to maintaining high standards of competency and accountability.   

The instructor assists the vocational nursing student to use the nursing process in the care of clients.  The student develops basic physical assessment skills and psychosocial assessment skills (data collection) and assists the client and registered nurse to plan, implement and evaluate care.  The vocational nursing student assesses the client for “knowledge deficit” and assists the client and registered nurse to plan, implement and evaluate the teaching process.  Assessment and reassessment are ongoing.  Students learn to research all aspects of each client’s care and have adequate background data before taking any action. Students are always accountable for their actions. Students also learn to recognize and respond to emergent situations and assume a role in the situation as directed by the instructor, a registered nurse or physician.

The goal for our students is to give safe and empathetic nursing care to the patient and family and advocate for the client. The student is responsible to the patient, the school, clinical facility and to vocational nursing. In total the program is prepared to serve and enrich the community.

This philosophy statement comes from a collaboration of the vocational nursing faculty with a basis from several sources including, but not limited to College of the Redwood’s Philosophy and College of the Redwoods Associate of Science Degree in Nursing Program Philosophy.