Faculty of Health Sciences

The Nursing Programs strive to:

1.    Be leaders in education and in the promotion of innovative nursing practice and scholarship.
2.    Utilize a teaching/learning process that is learner-centered and facilitates life-long learning skills.
3.    Prepare graduates to be caring holistic practitioners who base their nursing practice on sound theoretical knowledge and research evidence.
4.    Promote excellence in clinical practice by developing: clinical decision-making; diagnostic reasoning; interpersonal skills; innovative clinical practice; leadership behaviours; and, technological knowledge and skill among its graduates.
5.    Place special emphasis on issues related to rural, elderly and aboriginal populations.
6.    Encourage the professional development of its diverse faculty as educators, clinicians, researchers and community advocates.
7.    Collaborate with its clinical and community partners.
Specific statements of value and belief about persons; teaching and learning; nursing; and health are available from the program.

Nursing Program Objectives
The Graduate:
1.    Employs complex thinking processes in the practice of nursing.
2.    Is a reflective practitioner and life-long teacher/ learner.
3.    Is a compassionate and caring practitioner.
4.    Is an excellent communicator.
5.    Uses and participates in research as a base for practice.
6.    Bases practice in sound knowledge from the humanities; biological, social and psychological and nursing sciences, including knowledge of the particular health challenges with elderly, rural and aboriginal populations.
7.    Provides excellent nursing service.
8.    Demonstrates commitment to the profession and practice of nursing.

Standards of Professional Conduct

Students and faculty are bound by the Standards of Practice of the College and Association of Registered Nurses of Alberta and the Code of Ethics of the Canadian Nurses Association (CNA) (2008). The central values outlined in the CNA Code are:

a.     Health and Well-Being: Nurses value health and well-being and assist persons to achieve their optimum level of health in situations of normal health, illness, injury or in the process of dying.

b.     Choice: Nurses respect and promote the autonomy of clients and help them to express their health needs and values, and to obtain appropriate information and services.

c.     Dignity: Nurses value and advocate the dignity and self-respect of human beings.

d.     Confidentiality: Nurses safeguard the trust of clients that information learned in the context of a professional relationship is shared outside the health care team only with the client’s permission or as legally required.

e.     Fairness: Nurses apply and promote principles of equity and fairness to assist clients in receiving unbiased treatment and a share of health services and resources proportionate to their needs.

f.      Accountability: Nurses act in a manner consistent with their professional responsibilities and standards of practice.

g.     Practice environments conducive to safe, competent and ethical care: Nurses advocate practice environments that have the organizational and human support systems and the resource allocations necessary for safe, competent and ethical nursing care.