The University of Maine - School of Nursing

Undergraduate Programs - BSN Learning Outcomes

University of Maine
School of Nursing
BS in Nursing (BSN) Learning Outcomes

The mission of the UMaine BSN program is to provide leadership to improve health care and advance the discipline of nursing through education, scholarship and service. School of Nursing faculty and students value participation in the broader academic community which fosters excellence, self-reflection, accountability, respect for diversity and lifelong learning.

BSN program outcomes are consistent with professional standards and they are congruent with the program’s mission, goals, and objectives.

On completion of the baccalaureate nursing program the graduate will:

Provide patient-centered care which represents the patients’ preferences, values, and needs within the context of their families, communities and the health care delivery system.
Demonstrate professional behaviors in the practice of nursing.
Demonstrate integration of knowledge, skills and professional attitudes through the use of clinical evidence and reasoning.
Identify threats to safety and develop strategies to minimize risk of harm to individuals and populations.
Apply organizational, leadership, and management concepts in the provision of high quality nursing care.
Provide population focused care incorporating concepts of health promotion, disease and injury prevention.

Level-objectives for 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th year nursing major are displayed in the table below and in the School of Nursing Undergraduate Student Handbook.

Program Outcome # 1, Key Concepts and Level Outcomes

Program Outcome: The graduate will provide patient-centered care which represents the patients’ preferences, values, and needs within the context of their families, communities and the health care delivery system.

Key Concepts	Sophomore Level	Junior Level	Senior Level
Holistic Care	Describe and incorporate the essential elements of holism in the provision of patient care	Implement holistic, patient-centered care that reflects changes in patient condition, life-span variations in various health settings	Design holistic, patient-centered care that reflects an understanding of the health-illness continuum, life-span variations in all health care settings
Therapeutic Relationship	Establish a therapeutic nurse-patient relationship in a clinical setting	Examine the effect of professional role boundaries in the maintenance of a therapeutic relationship	Integrate the concepts of care, compassion, mutual respect and professional role boundaries into all aspects of the therapeutic relationship
Cultural Competence	Examine cultural beliefs, values and health care practices	Integrate the cultural beliefs, values, and healthcare practices of individuals and families into plans of care	Evaluates the influence of culturally-tied health benefits and practices to the healthcare of communities
Effective Communication	Demonstrate the ability to clearly and accurately convey information to selected members of the health care team	Demonstrate the ability to succinctly and accurately convey comprehensive patient information to members of the health care team	Use effective communication strategies to actively participate as a member of the health care team
Participatory Decision Making	Examine common barriers in active involvement of patients in their own health care processes	Facilitate active partnership with patients and families in planning, implementing, and evaluating patient-centered care	Integrate patient preferences for the degree of active engagement in the care planning process

Program Outcome #2, Key Concepts and level Outcomes

Program Outcome: The graduate will demonstrate professional behaviors in the practice of nursing.

Key Concepts	Sophomore Level	Junior Level	Senior Level
Professional Values	Examine how the values of altruism, autonomy, human dignity, integrity, and social justice provide the basis for professional nursing practice	Promote the image of nursing by modeling the values and articulating the knowledge, skills, and attitudes of the nursing profession	Reflect on one’s own beliefs and values as they relate to professional practice
Professional Attitudes	Identify the essential elements of practice excellence and professional development	Describe behaviors that demonstrate practice excellence and professional development	Articulate the value of pursuing practice excellence, lifelong learning and professional development
Professional Accountability	Identify professional standards of moral, ethical and legal conduct	Adhere to the professional standards of moral, ethical and legal conduct in selected settings	Demonstrate professional standards of moral, ethical and legal conduct in all health care settings
Ethical and Legal Practice	Identify care practices which are considered unsafe, illegal or unethical	Implement strategies to protect patients and their families from unsafe, illegal, or unethical care practices	Act to protect patients, families and communities from unsafe, illegal, or unethical care practices
Advocacy	Identify the influence of personal and societal attitudes, values, and expectations of care of patients and their families	Incorporate personal and societal attitudes, values and expectations in the care of patients and families	Advocate for safe and quality health care for patients, families, and communities
Professional Role	Explore the relationship between personal health, self-care, and the ability to deliver safe and sustained quality care	Reflect upon the relationship between personal health, self-care, and the ability to deliver safe and sustained quality care	Evaluate the relationship between personal health, self-care and the ability to deliver safe and sustained quality care

Program Outcome #3, Key concepts and Level Outcomes

Program Outcome: The graduate will demonstrate integration of knowledge, skills and professional attitudes through the use of clinical evidence and reasoning

Key Concepts	Sophomore Level	Junior Level	Senior Level
Liberal Education	Demonstrate selected components of liberal education to nursing practice	Apply theories and concepts from nursing and liberal education to inform professional nursing practice	Synthesize knowledge from nursing and liberal education to provide rationale for professional nursing practice with diverse populations
Clinical Reasoning	Evaluate the credibility of sources of information, including, but not limited to, databases and internet resources	Use current evidence to provide rationale for nursing interventions and to manage the care of patients across the life-span in selected settings	Integrate evidence, clinical judgment, interprofessional perspectives and patient preferences in the provision and evaluation of care
Empirical Evidence	Describe how empirical evidence is derived from the research process	Critique published research for applicability to clinical practice	Evaluate clinical practice based on available evidence
Evidence-Based Practice	Describe evidence-based practice to include the components of research evidence, clinical expertise and patient/family values	Integrate evidence from clinical practice and current research into patient care	Independently identify clinical problems, evaluate best evidence and develop appropriate nursing interventions to achieve good patient outcomes
Clinical Competence	Incorporate knowledge, skills and attitudes into the provision of clinically competent care	Appraise one’s own clinical competence	Assume responsibility for maintaining professional competence

Program Outcome #4, Key Concepts and Level Outcomes

Program Outcome: The graduate will identify threats to safety and develop strategies to minimize risk of harm to individuals and populations

Key Concepts	Sophomore Level	Junior Level	Senior Level
Safety	Identify strategies that create a culture of safety when providing care to patients	Apply concepts of safety when providing care to patients across the life-span in selected settings	Promote factors that create a culture of safety within the context of the health care team
Harm Reduction	Develop strategies to reduce harm to patients, staff & visitors	Implement appropriate steps to reduce harm in health care settings	Evaluate the effectiveness of harm reduction strategies
Information Technologies	Identify patient care technologies and information systems that support safe practice	Apply resource tools embedded in patient care technologies and information systems to support safe practice	Demonstrate proficiency in the application of patient care technologies and information systems to support safe practice

Program Outcome #5, Key Concepts and Level Outcomes

Program Outcome: The graduate will apply organizational, leadership, and management concepts in the provision of high quality nursing care

Key Concepts	Sophomore Level	Junior Level	Senior Level
Care Coordinator	Identify the phases of the care planning process	Implement the plan of care to maximize health, independence, and quality of life for individual patients	Manage care to maximize health, independence and quality of life for diverse populations
Quality Care	Demonstrate a basic understanding of standards of care for selected patient conditions	Incorporate standards of care to all patient situations	Evaluate the effectiveness of standards of care in achieving positive patient outcomes
Quality Improvement	Describe the process of quality improvement	Identify quality improvement programs in selected clinical settings	Participate in quality improvement programs as a member of the health care team
Collaboration	Participate as a member of the interprofessional health care team	Demonstrate active collaboration with members of the interprofessional team	Identify system barriers and examine strategies to facilitate interprofessional team functioning
Delegation	Discuss delegation as an essential function of the professional registered nurse role	Implement strategies for appropriately delegating care to other members of the health care team	Demonstrate clinical judgment and accountability for patient outcomes when delegating to and supervising other members of the health care team
Fiscal Responsibility	Explore the impact of economic factors and available resources that influence health care delivery	Discuss the impact of economic factors and available resources in the care of individuals and families	Evaluate the impact of human, fiscal, and material resources on healthcare delivery
Organizational Systems	Demonstrate a basic understanding of organizational structure and cultures	Participate in a variety of health care organizations	Demonstrate an awareness of complex organizational systems

Program Outcome #6, Key Concepts and Level Outcomes

Program Outcome: The graduate will provide population focused care incorporating concepts of health promotion, disease and injury prevention

Key Concepts	Sophomore Level	Junior Level	Senior Level
Global Health	Discuss global health issues and national objectives from Healthy People 2020	Incorporate national objectives from Healthy People 2020 and global health initiatives in the provision of nursing care	Examine the role of the registered professional nurse within the global health care community
Health Promotion/Disease Prevention	Describe the role of the nurse in health promotion and disease prevention	Apply appropriate nursing strategies to promote health and prevent disease and injury of selected populations	Evaluate the effectiveness of nursing strategies to promote health and prevent disease and injury across the life-span and in all settings
Risk Assessment	Identify protective and predictive factors including environmental exposure and family history of genetic risk that affect health	Implement care strategies to reduce risks to the health of individuals and families	Use current evidence to guide health teaching, health screening and program planning for individuals, families and communities
Health Policy	Discuss nursing’s role in shaping healthcare policies and how these policies influence nursing practice	Identify strategies that may be used by professional nurses to influence healthcare policies at the state, national and international level	Examine the effectiveness of nurses’ involvement in setting state, national, and international healthcare policy

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