Program goals

• Undergraduate programs
• Master of Science
• Doctor of Nursing Practice
• Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing Science
• Graduate Certificate Programs

Undergraduate program goals

The Bachelor of Science in Nursing and Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing programs prepare graduates to:

1. Integrate concepts from the arts and sciences in promoting health and managing complex nursing care situations.
2. Apply leadership concepts, skills, and decision-making in the provision, and oversight of nursing practice in a variety of settings.
3. Translate principles of patient safety and quality improvement into the delivery of high-quality care.
4. Appraise, critically summarize, and translate current evidence into nursing practice.
5. Integrate knowledge, processes, and skills from nursing science; information and patient care technologies; and communication tools to facilitate clinical decision-making, and the delivery of safe and effective nursing care.
6. Describe the effects of health policy, economic, legal, political, and socio-cultural factors on the delivery of and advocacy for equitable health care.
7. Demonstrate effective professional communication and collaboration to optimize health outcomes.
8. Deliver and advocate for health promotion and disease prevention strategies at the individual, family, community, and population levels.
9. Demonstrate value-based, professional behaviors that integrate altruism, autonomy, integrity, social justice, and respect for diversity and human dignity.
10. Demonstrate critical thinking, clinical decision-making, and psychomotor skills necessary for the delivery of competent, evidence-based, holistic, and compassionate care to patients across the life span.
11. Demonstrate critical interrogation of positionality, recognition of implicit biases, as well as knowledge and application of anti-racism principles to promote health equity.

Master of Science program goals

1. Create and/or evaluate technology-based tools to improve all aspects of patient care, including safety, management of illness, communication, and efficiency of care delivery.
2. Efficiently use information systems and computing tools and professional practices in the context of health care organizations and services.
3. Design and analyze team leadership strategies for clinical informatics.
4. Design and implement a scholarly project and evaluate findings according to standard research methods.
5. Demonstrate critical interrogation of positionality, recognition of implicit biases, as well as knowledge and application of anti-racism principles to promote health equity

Doctor of Nursing Practice program goals

The Doctor of Nursing Practice program has eight goals focused on preparing advanced practice nurses (approved by graduate voting faculty in October 2012) who are able to:

1. Provide advanced nursing care to individuals, families, communities, and populations.
2. Create, manage, and evaluate innovative programs and practices of care for diverse populations.
3. Appraise and utilize current technologies to advance the quality and accessibility of care.
4. Demonstrate enhanced clinical and health-related investigative competencies.
5. Critique and selectively translate science to guide clinical decision-making and program development.
6. Evaluate and influence health policy and systems.
7. Provide leadership and inter-professional collaboration in multiple health-related arenas.
8. Evaluate and influence accessibility and quality of care across diverse, underserved, and vulnerable populations.
9. Demonstrate critical interrogation of positionality, recognition of implicit biases, as well as knowledge and application of anti-racism principles to promote health equity.

Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing Science program goals

For students entering the program autumn 2019 and earlier

For students entering the program Autumn 2019 and earlier, the program requires a minimum of 93 quarter credits for completion, and graduates must meet six expected student outcomes:

1. Generate knowledge that is inventive and rigorously tested within a selected area of nursing science;
2. Have multiple perspectives of knowing and also acknowledge multidisciplinary contributions to knowledge generation;
3. Be informed by social, cultural, and political issues related to their area of scholarship;
4. Provide leadership in nursing as well as various professional and public groups;
5. Test, generate, and extend knowledge relevant to nursing science and practice.
6. Demonstrate critical interrogation of positionality, recognition of implicit biases, as well as knowledge and application of anti-racism principles to promote health equity.

For students entering the program autumn 2020 and later

For students entering the program Autumn 2020 and later, the program requires a minimum of 96 quarter credits for completion, and graduates must meet five expected student outcomes:

1. Have multiple perspectives of knowing and acknowledge multidisciplinary contributions to knowledge generation
2. Demonstrate substantive knowledge within a particular area of nursing science with particular emphasis on issues and questions within the field that require scholarly attention
3. Innovate and rigorously test, generate and extend knowledge in an area relevant to nursing science
4. Communicate, disseminate, and critique nursing science and scholarly activities in both oral and written formats
5. Demonstrate critical interrogation of positionality, recognition of implicit biases, as well as knowledge and application of anti-racism principles to promote health equity.

Graduate certificate program goals

Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Certificate

At the end of the program, the graduate will:

1. Provide, safe, competent, high-quality care as an adult/gerontology acute care nurse practitioner.
2. Provide culturally sensitive care to address the diversity of health needs among older adolescents, adults, older adults, families, and populations.
3. Critically evaluate and apply research findings to advanced nursing practice to improve the quality and effectiveness of care to older adolescents, adults, and older adults.
4. Demonstrate effective communication and leadership skills to promote positive health outcomes for individuals, families, and populations.
5. Apply relationship-building values and the principles of team dynamics to perform effectively in different team roles to plan, deliver, and evaluate patient/population-centered care that is safe, timely, efficient, effective, and equitable.
6. Demonstrate a personal commitment to professionalism, values, and ethical behaviors inherent in adult/gerontology advanced practice nursing.

Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner Certificate

At the end of the program, the graduate will:

1. Provide, safe, competent, high-quality care as an adult/gerontology primary care nurse practitioner.
2. Provide culturally sensitive care to address the diversity of health needs among older adolescents, adults, older adults, families, and populations.
3. Critically evaluate and apply research findings to advanced nursing practice to improve the quality and effectiveness of care to older adolescents, adults, and older adults.
4. Demonstrate effective communication and leadership skills to promote positive health outcomes for individuals, families, and populations.
5. Apply relationship-building values and the principles of team dynamics to perform effectively in different team roles to plan, deliver, and evaluate patient/population-centered care that is safe, timely, efficient, effective, and equitable.
6. Demonstrate a personal commitment to professionalism, values, and ethical behaviors inherent in adult/gerontology advanced practice nursing.

Advanced Practice Environmental and Occupational Health Nursing Certificate

At the end of the program, the graduate will:

1. Appraise and integrate frameworks and approaches across disciplines, including nursing, environmental and occupational health sciences, epidemiology, built environment and urban planning, and public policy to examine associations between environmental, including workplace, factors, and health outcomes.
2. Utilize scientific evidence and skills in professional practice to promote healthy and safe environments and workplaces for all.
3. Provide leadership to address environmental and occupational health disparities at local and global levels.

Nurse-Midwifery Certificate

At the end of the program, the graduate will:

1. Provide competent, safe, high-quality, and culturally sensitive nurse-midwifery care to address the health needs of diverse women, families, and communities.
2. Critically evaluate theories, concepts, and research findings from nursing, midwifery, and related sciences for translation into clinical practice.
3. Use effective communication and leadership skills in interprofessional teams to promote positive change in the health care of women, newborns, and families.

Palliative Care

At the end of the program, the graduate will:

1. Conduct comprehensive palliative care assessments for patients with serious illnesses, including pain and symptom management.
2. Develop plans of care for the imminently dying patient, and for patient/family grief and bereavement.
3. Engage patients with serious illness and their caregivers in advance care planning conversations and care conferences to create goal-concordant care plans.
4. Respond to patients’ and family members’ emotions with sensitivity and awareness of cultural factors to support them and coordinate care across their disease trajectory and health care settings.
5. Increase capacity to work effectively within an interprofessional team by defining and understanding professional identity and recognizing implicit bias, and managing inter-team and team-family conflict.
6. Design a stakeholder-engaged proposal to integrate team-based palliative care into a larger health systems project to support education, quality improvement, and program development.

Pediatric Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Certificate

At the end of the program, the graduate will:

1. Provide, safe, competent, high-quality care as a pediatric acute care nurse practitioner.
2. Provide culturally sensitive care to address the diversity of health needs among children, families, and populations.
3. Critically evaluate and apply research findings to advanced nursing practice to improve the quality and effectiveness of care to children and families.
4. Demonstrate effective communication and leadership skills to promote positive health outcomes for children, families, and populations.
5. Apply relationship-building values and the principles of team dynamics to perform effectively in different team roles to plan, deliver, and evaluate patient/population-centered care that is safe, timely, efficient, effective, and equitable.
6. Demonstrate a personal commitment to professionalism, values, and ethical behaviors inherent in pediatric advanced practice nursing.

Pediatric Primary Care Nurse Practitioner Certificate

At the end of the program, the graduate will:

1. Provide, safe, competent, high-quality care as a pediatric primary care nurse practitioner.
2. Provide culturally sensitive care to address the diversity of health needs among children, families, and populations.
3. Critically evaluate and apply research findings to advanced nursing practice to improve the quality and effectiveness of care to children and families.
4. Demonstrate effective communication and leadership skills to promote positive health outcomes for children, families, and populations.
5. Apply relationship-building values and the principles of team dynamics to perform effectively in different team roles to plan, deliver, and evaluate patient/population-centered care that is safe, timely, efficient, effective, and equitable.
6. Demonstrate a personal commitment to professionalism, values, and ethical behaviors inherent in pediatric advanced practice nursing.

Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Certificate

At the end of the program, the graduate will:

1. Provide, safe, competent, high-quality care as a psychiatric/mental health nurse practitioner.
2. Provide culturally sensitive care to address the diversity of mental and behavioral health needs among individuals, families, and populations across the lifespan.
3. Critically evaluate and apply research findings to advanced nursing practice to improve the quality and effectiveness of care to individuals across the lifespan.
4. Demonstrate effective communication and leadership skills to promote positive health outcomes for individuals, families, and populations.
5. Apply relationship-building values and the principles of team dynamics to perform effectively in different team roles to plan, deliver, and evaluate patient/population-centered care that is safe, timely, efficient, effective, and equitable.
6. Demonstrate a personal commitment to professionalism, values, and ethical behaviors inherent in psychiatric/mental health advanced practice nursing.