Nursing Program Mission Statement
The mission of the SGU Department of Nursing is to prepare skilled
professionals to serve as agents of healing and grace, within diverse
populations, in global settings, while providing expert nursing care
with Christian love.
Three Pillars of the St. Gregory’s University Nursing Program
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Academic Preparation – offering high quality instruction, student-centered learning environments, individual
attention and support.
Skill Development – preparing graduates to provide safe care of extraordinary quality and service who can
communicate and collaborate as full partners in the healthcare team.
Spiritual Formation – developing students who through their own spiritual development can foster and promote
holistic, healing environments of care.
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Program Outcomes
Upon graduation from St. Gregory’s University Department of Nursing the student will be able to:
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Integrate liberal arts education into basic nursing practice with an emphasis on social justice, ethical, spiritual,
and holistic care. (Essentials I and IX)
Collaborate with interprofessional team members, patients, families, and communities to provide safe, evidencebased, quality care. (Essentials III and VI)
Demonstrate leadership as global healthcare professionals through partnership and advocacy to promote health
and wellness while affecting healthcare disparities. (Essentials II and VIII)
Blends informatics and technology with clinical decision-making and caring to ensure safe, timely, efficient and
effective nursing care. (Essentials IV and VI)
Apply knowledge of healthcare policy, standard of practice, regulatory and financial processes to transform client
and population health. (Essentials V, VII, and IX)
Engage in reflective practice, lifelong learning, and self-care to nurture healthy relationships and healing
environments. (Essentials VI, VII, IX)
Themes and Threads
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Liberal Arts Integration
o Cultivation of Curiosity and Inquiry
o Evidence-based Practice
o Life Long Learning
o Wisdom
Spirituality
o Self Care
o Creating Healing Environments
o Sanctity of Life
Service Culture
o Communication
o Customer Service
o Patient Satisfaction
o Interprofessional Collaboration
Clinical Competence
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Patient Safety
o Technology and Informatics
1 o National Patient Safety Goals
o Institute of Medicine
Health Promotion/Wellness
o Education
o Life Span Development
o Quality of Life
Leadership
o Advocacy
o Change Agent
o System Thinking
o Integrity
Diversity
o Global Perspective
o Inclusivity
Philosophy of Nursing at St Gregory’s University
Barnes, S.J., Johnson, J., Robertson, J., & Robinson, W. (2014)
Think - Do - Love
Dedication
It has been said that the development of a new nursing program becomes a collective biography
of the faculty. This is certainly to be considered when viewing the mission, pillars, outcomes
and philosophy of St. Gregory’s University (SGU) Nursing Program. Four dedicated team
members have spent much time and energy creating the framework of a unique and cohesive
endeavor that combines education with experience to allow for the development of exceptional
nurses who are prepared to practice in various and global settings.
Overview
The philosophical underpinnings of the nursing department at SGU begin with the importance of
creating a healing environment, an environment of graciousness and kindness. The book of
Ecclesiastes refers to the idea that a chord of three strands is not easily broken and in the context
of this program, three pillars or conceptual strands are interwoven to produce the structure of the
nursing approach. These three pillars include the following:
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Academic Preparation – offering high quality instruction, student-centered learning
environments, individual attention and support.
Skill Development – preparing graduates to provide safe care of extraordinary quality
and service who can communicate and collaborate as full partners in the healthcare
team.
Spiritual Formation – preparing students who through their own spiritual development
can foster and promote holistic, healing environments of care
The three pillars guide the curriculum and provide the format for didactic and clinical
instruction. The pillars serve to conceptually organize the elements essential to the holistic
outcomes of the program.
Beyond the pillars, the philosophy provides what, in our collective perspective, makes up the
practice of nursing. The graduate of the SGU program is to take competent, skillful actions based
on clear and well-informed thinking and Christian Love.
Origins
The philosophy of the nursing department dovetails with the philosophy of the University. St
Gregory’s University places emphasis on the education of the whole person in the context of a
Christian community in which students are encouraged to develop a lifelong love of learning and
to live lives of balance, generosity, and integrity.
The perspective of the departmental faculty is that every student has potential as an individual
and as a nurse, and the process begins by developing that potential.
2 The pillars have been identified by the foundational faculty as providing an organizational
scheme to the nursing philosophy and are identified here in the short form of “think, do, love.”
Within these pillars are many threads and strands. It is only when these threads and strands are
woven together in a meaningful way that the character of the nurse can be developed. It is a
primary belief that in the context of this program, character development is a critical part of what
is required in the process of preparing professionals to practice nursing. By weaving the
appropriate threads and strands, character development is something that takes place across all of
the didactic and experiential blocks. Despite the difficulty in quantifying the outcomes,
character development is an essential intent of the St. Gregory’s Nursing School.
Think
Taylor (1992) provides words that express the foundational premise for the necessity of creating
a safe environment for intellectual exploration and testing of abstract thought. He describes the
process of exploring what it means to be a human agent. Understanding what is good and what
is not good is necessary to act as a moral agent in the modern world. Nurses function
consistently as moral agents, making decisions based on what is good and what is best in diverse
and divergent circumstances with other, often vulnerable, human beings as the recipient of the
outcome of that decision making process. It is of the highest importance then, that nurses, acting
as moral agents, be first and foremost informed with a broad base liberal arts education, with
intense exposure to the issues that define culture and context. Students also need to achieve
demonstrable competence in the sciences most closely associated with the corporal expression of
human life. Furthermore, these foundations should be followed by instruction in and experience
with the practice discipline itself, allowing for competent expression of caring in the clinical
environment. The challenge of integrating the various components of the university offerings is
to be addressed in each core nursing course. The Humanities, Science, Society, and Expressive
Arts all come to play in the profession of nursing. In building the capacity of the student to
eventually practice independently as a health care provider, the final capstone for function in the
modern health care environment is the ability of the practitioner to determine best practices by
accessing, evaluating and translating the most current research literature in the daily performance
of nursing duties. This is truly the outcome of cognitive development in an information rich
environment.
Paul (1999) articulates the need for universities to graduate professionals in their field as
individuals who think within the frameworks, assumptions and ideologies of their field. For
example graduating a mathematician who can do math is inadequate. Universities must graduate
mathematicians who think like mathematicians. The same is true for nurses. Preparing
professionals who think like nurses and who are in a position to make decisions, express ideas
and contribute to professional dialog from the framework of the nursing discipline is an
expectation of the SGU program. The intention of this program is to create an environment
where intellectual curiosity is fostered. It is a significant intention to create an environment
where the student is allowed to go beyond the simple content and ask the larger questions in
order to create solutions of persistent problems
3 Do
Let us begin this section with the conclusion: The practice of the art of nursing is the expression
of the personhood of the individual. It is a journey to arrive at the expert level of practice, and
there is a synergy and a synchronicity required between all three components of the pillars
summarized in “think, do, love.” Instruction by seasoned faculty and introductory experience in
the clinical setting provide students the opportunity to develop action patterns that will provide
healing and respite to patients.
A number of well-known nursing theorists can add to the understanding of the importance of
“doing.” Benner’s body of work provides guidance for understanding the development of
professional competence. The transformative process in that takes place in education requires
the instructor to act as facilitator and mentor in the development of the competent student. The
student is center of the learning process with the faculty as peripheral. In addition, Benner’s
work speaks of the importance of teaching complicated material which is ultimately meant to
develop the capacity for best action in multilevel complex environments.
Technology is to be embraced as a tool. It should be used to build the human connection rather
than creating a barrier. Fawcett (2012) expresses the truth that although we need competent and
highly technical nursing skills in order to function in the technology driven health care
environment, the use of such resources must be driven by a theoretical conceptualization. It can
be argued that in the global environment, some health care settings are less high tech but are
actually more demanding in the ingenious application of theory to achieve the desired patient
outcomes. In other words, this application of theory to practice or “doing” is the central focus
for bringing about change for patients.
In “doing,” the metaparadigm of nursing is identifiable. There is a relationship between a nurse
(the advocate, change agent, liaison, action figure) and the patient (the entity in need in some
capacity), an environment (micro through macro levels), and some aspect of health/healing/or
wellness. The variations of each of these components are innumerable and the new professional
nurse should be capable of seeing these variations in global settings. Nursing is involved in
moving the human towards health in all environments
To further understand the issue of “doing” in nursing, Fawcett points out that there is a
significant relationship between theory (thinking) and [applying] research (doing). She refers to
this as a Double Helix, making the analogy to the function of the double helix in the structure of
DNA—the source of life. Within the double helix one strand is nursing theory and the other
nursing practice, the two are dynamically interrelating to provide quality care. One part of the
DNA cannot function without the other. In our philosophy of nursing care, we see three strands
rather than two. The "doing" is ineffective without the "thinking" and both are more effective if
performed with love. The three together provide great synergy for effective nursing care
Love
As a Catholic and as a Christian organization, the SGU nursing program is dedicated to value of
love in human relationships. Love for our fellowman should be at the center of our practice and
4 guide all our decisions and actions as nursing. Christian nursing rests on the idea that protection
of life and the dignity of the individual are essential.
Josepha Campinha-Bacote (2002) provides guidance in her sage work by pointing out that we
need to be competent enough and confident enough in our own selves to meet the patient at their
level. This can refer to a number of components of the human experience including educational
level, cultural perspective, and spiritual expression. There is a requirement for empathy as a
component of loving care when prescribing nursing actions. This approach assures real healing
takes place rather than a rote prescription of behaviors.
Because of the unique knowledge, skills, and abilities of the nurse, he/she is more and more in
demand for providing leadership in the health care environment. This phenomena might be
attributable to numerous sources, but the implication is certainly that the BSN graduate needs to
be ready for any number of possibilities of leadership.
It is expected that many nurses who graduate from SGU will enter these leadership positions.
The leader’s role is to serve others and it is a complex task. Leading with love includes:
reminding others of the common vision; creating connections and building relationships;
empowering others to address barriers and challenges; helping others find their path; providing
feedback and support along the way.
The leader that has love as the foundation for their leadership style will also ensure that those in
the team will exhibit appropriate self-care. Being centered, serene, and at peace despite the
environmental distractions can be achieved through self-awareness, conscious contact with God,
and an appreciation for the role and boundaries appropriate for the nurse. Self-care is essential to
wellness and wellness essential for the professional role.
Leaders role model listening with the ear of the heart. It is essential that nurse leaders practice
the therapeutic use of self, focusing personal energy to be able to give to others. Leaders must be
dedicated to lifelong learning. Leaders are to use critical thinking processes and techniques to be
discriminating in judging quality of information in order to grow professionally and maintain a
current knowledge base.
Benner (2010) has called for a radical transformation in the education process. This would
include a paradigm shift from teacher centered learning to student centered learning. Benner
calls for a refocusing of nursing education to graduate the novice nurse who is best prepared to
advance in professional development. That graduate must synthesize and assimilate constant
change and advancement in the healing arts. Benner clearly states that incorporation of caring
practices and relational work between the care provider and the patient serves to foster growth,
brings about empowerment and liberation. There is no doubt that the caring practices are indeed
knowledge-based and complex.
In the end, the ideas about human beings and hence nurses as informed moral agents ties directly
into the expression of the spiritual. Taylor leaves us with the idea that human beings are capable
of expressing love and this belief forms the background for the view that humans are fit objects
for respect, that their life and integrity is sacred is not to be denigrated.
5 Conclusion
In conclusion, it is important to consider in the execution of this practice discipline “Nemo dat
quod non habet.” Translating the Latin, the phrase simply means that one cannot give what one
does not have. The issue of being prepared to give to others is couched in the idea that one must
practice reflectively, providing time for self-care and resolution of relationships that develop as a
result of one’s practice. Nursing care is an exchange where both the patient and the nurse are
forever changed.
All individuals are filled with potential. It is the intention of SGU to create a learning
environment that provides the elements that nurture, support, stimulate and challenge each
student in order to bring him/her to a realization of that potential. By providing this type of
environment, and through the instruction and role modeling of the faculty, this program intends
to produce graduates who possess the spiritual strength, self-knowledge, resiliency and skills to
practice the art of nursing and who can in turn help every client to realize his/her full potential.
Finally, note the words of Florence Nightingale who said, “Nursing is an art: and if it is to be
made an art, it requires an exclusive devotion as hard a preparation as any painter’s or sculptor’s
work; for what is the having to do with dead canvas or dead marble, compared with having to do
with the living body, the temple of God’s spirit? It is one of the Fine Arts: I had almost said, the
finest of Fine Arts.” Florence Nightingale.
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