Philosophy

The philosophy of the LPN to BSN program supports the mission of Berkeley College. Drawing upon established knowledge in nursing and education including policy, research, and theory, the faculty has defined the following concepts as a basis for our program philosophy:

Humans: Humans are unique, complex, continually changing, four-dimensional energy fields. Humans are open systems moving through space and time in continuous interaction with the environment. Humans are unitary beings within which physical and nonphysical systems are integral.

Patient: The patient is the recipient of nursing care. The patient may be a human, family, group, community, or population.

Environment: The environment consists of both external and internal energy fields in continuous interaction with the patient. Exchanges with the environment determine health status. Biological, chemical, physical, psychological, cultural, socioeconomic, and political forces within the environment have profound influences upon health.

Health: Health is participation in life through an optimal fulfillment of the patient’s potential. Health and illness are a continuum, and are integral with the functioning of the holistic human being in life events.

Nursing: The faculty believes that nursing is an art and a science, and agree with the American Nurses Association (2010) definition of nursing as “the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and abilities, prevention of illness and injury, alleviation of suffering through the diagnosis and treatment of human response, and advocacy in the care of individuals, families, communities, and populations.” Nursing is an evolving profession built upon caring, and using multiple ways of knowing in the provision of evidence-based practice. Nurses employ the nursing process, professional nursing ethics, professional standards, and a unique body of nursing knowledge and skills to develop a plan of care to promote, maintain, or restore patient health. The plan of care is developed and implemented in collaboration with the patient and the inter-professional healthcare team, and it is centered upon principles of quality and safety.

Caring: The faculty believes that caring is an essential metaparadigm concept for nursing. Caring is an inherent human process demonstrating the universality among people, and exhibited in diverse patterns. The nurse incorporates reflection and authenticity into intentional nursing actions centered on promoting healing and wholeness within self and others.

Teaching-learning process: The faculty believes that the teaching-learning process is unique, evolving, and varies among unique unitary humans; learner assessment and variations in learning plans are inherent in the educational process. The faculty believes in using principles of andragogy, in which the teacher and learner collaborate to achieve learning goals. Human beings are autonomous and self-directed, and the teacher supports these characteristics of growth in nursing education. Mutual respect and acknowledgment of adult life experience and prior learning are incorporated into the learning plan. The faculty believes that baccalaureate nursing education supports a continuous lifelong process of personal and professional growth, leading to a positive influence on the nursing profession and society as a whole. Baccalaureate nursing education serves to socialize and advance the student’s incorporation of professional knowledge, standards, and values into practice.