Nursing Program Home
Message from the Assistant Dean
Welcome to the Nursing Programs at Ramapo. It has been an exciting year for the Nursing Programs transitioning totally to Ramapo College, moving to the new ASB building and opening the Nursing Learning Center.
The Faculty and Staff of the nursing programs at Ramapo take great pride in our programs and students. We have clinical partnerships which are unique in Nursing Education. Our Clinical Partners, the Englewood Hospital and Medical Center and The Valley Hospital have been designated as Magnet Hospitals by the American Nurses Credentialing Center. Such a designation certifies each of these hospitals as Centers of Excellence in Nursing. We find that these partnerships allow the students in our programs to experience nursing in some of the best nursing departments in the country.
There are three major academic tracks in our Programs: the Generic Nursing Program for individuals who are preparing to become a nurse; and RN to BSN track for nurses returning to school for the BSN degree; and a MSN track to prepare future nurse educators. Graduates of all three programs are working across the United States in various areas of nursing. Some graduates are working within our own program. The opportunities are endless!
Please take a look at our webpage and let us know what you think. If you are interested in our program, please feel free to contact me. It is an exciting time to be a nurse!
Kathleen Burke PhD, RN
kmburke@ramapo.edu
INTRODUCTION
As an essential component of Ramapo College of New Jersey, the program strives for excellence through achievement of the following goals: (1) provide a program of nursing curricula, including undergraduate programs and graduate education (2) provide an interdisciplinary diverse academic environment stimulating a life-long commitment to learning, service and research; (3) prepare professional nurses for practice as specified by faculty, professional organizations and the State of New Jersey; (4) graduate nurses committed to professional and personal values, responsibility and lifelong learning; (5) foster commitment to critical thinking, research and interdisciplinary collaboration; and (6) provide an academic foundation for furthering nursing education.
The nursing curriculum is organized by the metaparadigm concepts, the nursing process and the curricular constructs specific to the Nursing Programs at Ramapo.
MISSION STATEMENT
Ramapo Nursing Programs are committed to providing quality baccalaureate and masters level education. The mission is congruent with that of the college with a strong emphasis on interdisciplinary curriculum enhanced by experiential opportunities and intercultural understanding. Graduates of the nursing programs will function in a variety of settings caring for individuals of diverse backgrounds having been well equipped to form partnerships with professionals from other disciplines.
PHILOSOPHY
The philosophy of the Nursing Programs is based on the conceptual model that humans cannot be understood, studied, or treated apart from their environment. The faculty’s beliefs about humans, the environment, nursing, health and nursing education influence all aspects of the curricula, including both undergraduate and graduate programs.
Nursing—The faculty believe that nursing is a profession that provides an essential service to society. Nursing is the diagnosis and treatment of human responses to actual or potential health problems. Nurses facilitate the health of humans through the nursing process and critical thinking. Nursing is a practice-oriented profession based on knowledge derived from nursing research, basic sciences, humanities and social sciences. Through critical analysis and delivery of quality care, nurses assist humans achieve optimum health.
Health—Health is a dynamic state manifested by the individual’s total pattern or state of being. As an ideal condition, health refers to the fullest possible realization of human potential. As a relative condition, health refers to the state of an individual with a certain environment at a particular point in the relative present.
Human beings—Each human being is unique and can be understood only by examining the whole person rather than by examining parts. Humans are thinking, reasoning, and feeling and are endowed with dignity and worth. Humans possess the capacity for growth, the potential for freedom of choice and the right to optimum health. Humans exist as individuals and as members of groups, families and communities.
Environment—Like humans, the environment can best be understood by looking at the whole, rather than by examining parts. The environment is dynamic and continuously changing. Humans and the environment are evolving continuously, mutually and creatively. Society exists within the environment. Society is composed of a dynamic interacting group of humans, characterized by shared institutions and relationships. Societal behavior is influenced by diverse cultural values, beliefs and mores.
Learning—Learning is an ongoing process involving the acquisition of knowledge, skills and attitudes that guide nursing practice. The faculty believe that their role is to facilitate intellectual curiosity in an academic environment wherein students can attain the requisite knowledge and skills for nursing practice and that sets the foundation for ongoing independent learning. Learning occurs when an individual desires and seeks new knowledge. The faculty are committed to interdisciplinary education and to facilitating collegial relationships among members of the health sciences. Learning fosters personal growth and development. The faculty are committed to educating students with diverse social, cultural and educational backgrounds.
ORGANIZING FRAMEWORK
The foundation of the nursing programs, the metapradigm concepts are organized around the key principles of the nursing process; assessment, diagnosis, planning, implementation and evaluation. The nursing process is a cyclic, outcomes based critical thinking tool that supports the autonomy of nursing science and furnishes the student with a sound foundation upon which to build a nursing practice. These concepts were used in designing the curriculum and are reflected in all course syllabi. The ANA Standards of Clinical Practice (1991) were used in the design of the baccalaureate curriculum , and the NLN Core Competencies for Educators (2006) were used in the design of the MSN curriculum.
The principles and standards are operationalized through the following eight constructs: (1) knowledge; (2) clinical practice; (3) teaching and learning; (4) leadership and management; (5) change; (6) scientific research; (7) role function; and (8) professionalism. These constructs were selected as they reflect the faculty’s belief in the values of quality care, professional competence, ethical behavior, interdisciplinary collaboration and life-long learning.
Any complaints about the program should be addressed to:
Assistant Dean in Charge of Nursing
or
NJ State Board of Nursing
124 Halsey Steet, 6th floor
Newark, NJ 07102