Nursing Conceptual Framework

MATC Nursing Department Vision

The Milwaukee Area Technical College Department of Nursing is committed to advancing the science and art of the profession of nursing through rigorous education, dedication to teaching safe and effective nursing practice, and encouraging life-long learning for students and faculty alike.

MATC Nursing Department Mission

The Milwaukee Area Technical College Department of Nursing faculty are committed to facilitating students in the development of the knowledge, attitudes, and skills they need to prepare them for careers in Nursing by providing students with a rigorous and dynamic curriculum and creating a learning environment which stimulates the spirit of inquiry, clinical reasoning, and self-directed life-long learning.

MATC Nursing Philosophy Statement

The Milwaukee Area Technical College nursing faculty strives to provide a dynamic curriculum; flexible and accessible for a diverse group of learners based on the statewide nursing curriculum which was developed in response to the current and future workforce needs.  Curriculum must change in response to new technology and knowledge and the evolving roles within nursing and health care.  The MATC faculty value the students’ prior learning, experience and career mobility and our efforts are aimed at facilitating articulation between levels of nursing. 

Nursing has varying levels of education and scopes of practice.   Information on the needs of the current healthcare community are gathered through the community network which includes advisory committees, employers, and health care consumers in order to enhance curriculum review and revision. This continual review process ensures that the curriculum supports multiple employment options for its graduates as well as articulation with higher education programs.  The philosophy incorporates the faculty beliefs regarding nursing, health, person, lifespan, community, nursing education, the teaching/learning process, and nursing practice and are framed by the Conceptual framework focusing on the program, the customers, and the students.

______________________

Nursing is the dynamic interpersonal goal-directed process that seeks to promote optimal holistic health within the context of individuals, family, community, and society.  The concept of caring, which is central to nursing, is demonstrated through both attitude and actions in all nursing settings.  Nursing uses the nursing process, a problem solving approach to provide holistic care to individuals, families, and groups throughout the lifespan within the health care system. Nurses assess health and make clinical decisions to provide safe and effective nursing care according to standards of practice within the legal, ethical and regulatory frameworks.

Nursing practice is based on its own body of knowledge.  Through collaboration with other health care professionals, nursing is responsive to the needs of individuals and the community across the health-illness continuum.

Health is a dynamic state of being, evaluated on a continuum, including physical, psychological, cultural and spiritual elements.  While each element can be evaluated separately, the impact of all elements must be fused to describe health. 

The person is a complex living being, in which physical, psychological, cultural and spiritual processes are in constant interaction.  Each person is unique, however all individuals share similar human responses.  Every person has inherent worth and dignity and is the focus of nursing practice. Each individual has a right to self-determination in matters of health and well-being and deserves the highest quality nursing care.

Lifespan is a time period from conception to death and is a continuous, dynamic process during which clients experience maturational and situational milestones. Interrelated physical, psychological, cultural, spiritual, social, and environmental elements impact the length and quality of life.

Community is comprised of the social, emotional, physical, cultural and environmental influences that affect individuals, families and groups.   The nurse manages care within the context of community, and influences health care policy and systems.

Nursing education is the process that enables learners to achieve knowledge and skills appropriate to their level of nursing practice.  Using performance-based instruction, faculty members assist learners in acquiring general and nursing specific knowledge, skills, and values required for the discipline of nursing.  Faculty and learners create an environment which stimulates curiosity, creativity, and growth while fostering feelings of respect, worth, and dignity.  Individuals are responsible for their own learning. Nursing education seeks to promote critical thinking, communication, problem solving, cultural diversity, quantification skills, and use of information and science technology.

Learning is a continuous, goal-directed process that results in measurable change.  Learning occurs best when individuals are active participants in the teaching/learning process.  Learning increases when application and practice occur in various settings.  Ongoing evaluation, based on measurable behavioral outcomes, is an essential and dynamic part of the teaching/learning process.  Faculty and learners share accountability for assessment and evaluation of learning. Evaluation of learner and graduate performance facilitates continuous improvement of the seamless, statewide nursing curriculum.