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USI Department of Nursing
Strategic Plan

Vision

Cultivating Excellence in Nursing through Innovation, Education and Leadership

Mission

We prepare nurse leaders to advance healthcare through clinical excellence, critical thinking and compassionate, evidence-based practice. Our graduates drive transformative change, promote health equity, and lead interprofessional efforts to improve patient outcomes across diverse settings.

Core Values

  1. Compassionate Integrity: Emphasizing ethical practice and compassionate care.
  2. Leadership and Advocacy: Combining the roles of guiding others and advocating for patients' needs and rights.
  3. Inclusive Collaboration: Fostering teamwork and inclusivity in diverse healthcare settings.
  4. Strategic Evidence-Based Practice: Encouraging continuous quality improvement in nursing scholarship and practice.
  5. Professional Identity: Promoting personal well-being and commitment to ongoing professional development.

Goals

1. Develop and implement innovative BSN, BSN Completion, MSN, Post-MSN APRN Certificate, and DNP curricula that align with professional standards, ensuring graduates are well-prepared for entry-level and advanced nursing practice.

  • AACN Essentials Domains: Domain 1 (Knowledge for Nursing Practice)
  • Concepts: Clinical Judgment, Evidence-Based Practice
  • Aligned with USI Goals: Academic Excellence, Innovation and Impact

2. Create a learning environment that empowers nursing students to advocate for health and wellness globally, foster inclusivity, adaptability, and address complex healthcare challenges through health policy and system change.

  • AACN Essentials Domains: Domain 2 (Person-Centered Care), Domain 3 (Population Health), Domain 7 (Systems-Based Practice)
  • Concepts: Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Social Determinants of Health, Leadership, Health Policy, Ethics
  • Aligned with USI Goals: Access and Opportunity, Community Engagement

3. Support and advance nursing research and evidence-based practice by facilitating collaboration, consultation and partnerships among students, faculty and healthcare professionals, providing a foundation for lifelong learning and contributing to the advancement of nursing knowledge.

  • AACN Essentials Domains: Domain 4 (Scholarship for the Nursing Discipline), Domain 10 (Personal, Professional, and Leadership Development), Domain 9 (Professionalism)
  • Concepts: Evidence-Based Practice, Lifelong Learning, Professional Identity
  • Aligned with USI Goals: Community Engagement, Academic Excellence

4. Promote quality and safety in nursing practice by incorporating principles of risk management, patient safety and quality improvement into the curriculum.

  • AACN Essentials Domains: Domain 5 (Quality and Safety)
  • Concepts: Quality Improvement, Patient Safety
  • Aligned with USI Goals: Academic Excellence, Institutional Excellence

5. Cultivate leadership qualities in nursing students, encouraging active participation in university, community, and professional activities to enhance the overall image and influence of the nursing profession.

  • AACN Essentials Domains: Domain 9 (Professionalism), Domain 10 (Personal, Professional, and Leadership Development)
  • Concepts: Professional Identity, Ethics, Leadership
  • Aligned with USI Goals: Innovation and Impact, Institutional Excellence

6. Foster a strong professional identity by helping students understand and embrace their roles within the healthcare system, emphasizing the importance of self-care and personal well-being, ethical practice, compassionate care, and continuous learning.

  • AACN Essentials Domains: Domain 9 (Professionalism), Domain 10 (Personal, Professional, and Leadership Development)
  • Concepts: Professional Identity, Ethics, Compassionate Care, Lifelong Learning
  • Aligned with USI Goals: Institutional Excellence, Community Engagement

7. Establish a caring and collaborative educational environment where students, alumni, faculty, staff and healthcare professionals work together to optimize personal and professional development, emphasizing empathy, teamwork, communication, mentorship and interprofessional collaboration.

  • AACN Essentials Domains: Domain 6 (Interprofessional Partnerships), Domain 7 (Systems-Based Practice), Domain 10 (Personal, Professional, and Leadership Development)
  • Concepts: Collaboration, Teamwork, Compassionate Care
  • Aligned with USI Goals: Institutional Excellence, Community Engagement

8. Integrate informatics and healthcare technologies into the curriculum to enhance patient-centered care, improve communication, support clinical decision-making and optimize healthcare outcomes.

  • AACN Essentials Domains: Domain 8 (Informatics and Healthcare Technologies), Domain 5 (Quality and Safety)
  • Concepts: Informatics, Technology, Communication, Quality Improvement, Patient Safety
  • Aligned with USI Goals: Innovation and Impact, Academic Excellence

April 30, 2025