SWAG��Ƶ

The mission of the School of Nursing is to facilitate the education of students as safe clinicians and leaders. As professional nurses, students are prepared to promote the ability of individuals, families, and communities in attaining their highest level of wellness. As leaders, students are consumers of evidence-based practice and advocates for individuals, families, and communities.

Philosophy

Nursing, a caring art and science, encompasses the diagnosis and treatment of human responses to health and illness. The nurse serves in multiple capacities, using a variety of theoretical frameworks to guide individuals, families, and communities* of diverse cultures and backgrounds toward identifying their own needs for health care, healing, and health promotion, moving toward and maintaining health in their human experiences.

The environment in which the nurse functions is globally diverse, technologically oriented, and rapidly changing. Nursing care is informed by evidence-based practice that includes individual, family, and community preferences and values, clinical expertise, and best research evidence, as well as socio-political influences and issues of justice and equality. Professional nursing practice must be in accordance with established standards as outlined by the American Nurses Association Code of Ethics (ANA, 2015) and the Maine Nurse Core Competencies (MPNEP, 2013).

Professional nursing education is grounded in the integration of academic and experiential learning. A strong educational foundation rooted in the arts, sciences, and humanities enables nurses to improve health care delivery to individuals, families, and communities. The faculty is committed to a curriculum that encourages a diverse, global perspective, expanding each student’s professional identity and social conscience. The curriculum cornerstones of clinical judgment, professional values, and interprofessionalism prepare students to be safe and competent nurses. The acquisition of competency-based knowledge, skills, and attitudes prepares future nurses to meet the healthcare needs of diverse populations.

Learning is a collaborative process whereby students and faculty learn from each other, individuals, families, and communities, peers, mentors, and preceptors as well as other health care professionals. Reflective practice forms the basis for the development of sound clinical judgment necessary for the provision of safe, quality nursing care. Student centeredness is the cornerstone to optimal learning. Faculty are committed to a supportive, caring, and interactive environment that considers the diversity of culture and experience that students bring to the learning environment.

Self-care practices can positively impact student academic achievement, individual, family, and community outcomes, and perceived well-being. Students are encouraged to take responsibility for and become skilled in self-care to ensure personal health, emotional resiliency, and ability to care for others. As future nurses, students have an ethical duty to care for their own health and safety in order to provide safe care for others.

*“Individual, family, and community” is referred to as “client” by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN), which also includes significant others and populations.

The Partnership Bachelor of Science in Nursing (PBSN) program for employees of MaineHealth provides a twenty (20)-month professional program for highly motivated and committed students who already have a bachelor’s degree in a discipline other than nursing. The curricular requirements for the PBSN are the same as the sixteen (16)-month Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing program, but the course load for each semester is decreased to allow for work requirements.  The PBSN program mirrors the School of Nursing's vision, mission, philosophy and program outcomes for BSN education.

Students build on a foundation of knowledge from previous learning and engage immediately in nursing coursework starting in the first term. Throughout the next twenty (20) months, students are deeply immersed in nursing coursework and clinical experiences that emphasize clinical reasoning and judgment, health and human functioning, care and therapeutics, person, environment, and health care resources. Nursing skill laboratories, combined with simulation and clinical experiences, occur in a variety of hospital and community settings. 

Upon successful completion of the curriculum, The SWAG��Ƶ awards a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree and students may be eligible to take the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN).

Department Policies

Academic Integrity Policy

The SWAG��Ƶ values academic integrity in all aspects of the educational experience.  Academic dishonesty in any form undermines this standard and devalues the original contributions of others. It is the responsibility of all members of the university community to actively uphold the integrity of the academy. Failure to act, for any reason, is not acceptable.

Charges of academic dishonesty will be reviewed by the program director and if necessary the Dean of the College. This may result in a failing grade on the assignment and/or possible dismissal from the program and/or the SWAG��Ƶ. Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to the following:

• Cheating, copying, or offering or receiving unauthorized assistance or information*
• Fabrication or falsification of data, results, or sources for papers or reports, or experiential/clinical documentation
• Actions that destroy or alter the work of another student
• Multiple submissions of the same paper or report for assignments in more than one course without the permission of each instructor
• Plagiarism:
  • The appropriation of records
  • Research materials
  • Ideas
  • Language of other persons or writers and the submission of them as one’s own

*The School of Nursing considers the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in these instances as a form of academic dishonesty.

Please refer to the University Division of Student Affairs website for further information.

HIPAA Compliance

Prior to attending any experiential offering (clinical or community setting), it is mandatory that each nursing student document yearly completion of the SWAG��Ƶ training program explaining their legal responsibilities under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) in addition to the School of Nursing training that highlights specific clinical environment examples/scenarios. Under this regulation, nursing students are permitted to have access to Protected Health Information (PHI) only when observing and performing direct client/patient care as a part of their training and must follow approved HIPAA policies on usage of PHI. More detailed information is available in the SWAG��Ƶ School of Nursing Student Handbook, and will also be provided by the SWAG��Ƶ HIPAA training program. Students requiring further clarification are referred to as the faculty of this course. Students must comply with requirements and expectations for appropriate storage and transmittal of client information. No PHI can leave a covered entity site unless it is de-identified. All HIPAA violations will be reported to the SWAG��Ƶ HIPAA Compliance Officer.

Student Access Center

The SWAG��Ƶ Student Access Center will make reasonable accommodations for students with documented disabilities. Students need to register with the Student Access Center and inform their faculty of any academic accommodations. Timely accommodations are dependent on early registration with the Student Access Center. Further information is available through the Division of Student Affairs website.

This office is located in Linnell Hall on the Portland Campus and can be contacted at (207) 221- 4302.

WCHP Course and Instructor Evaluation Policy

Course and instructor evaluations are an important tool for evaluating the quality of education, and for providing meaningful feedback to course faculty. Students completing course evaluations by the published deadline will have access to their grades as soon as they are available. Students who do not complete their evaluations by the published deadline will have grades masked for approximately two (2) weeks.

School of Nursing Academic and Progression Standards

Students accepted into the Westbrook College of Health Professions at the SWAG��Ƶ are subject to two (2) sets of academic guidelines, the first to meet minimum qualifications for ongoing enrollment at the SWAG��Ƶ and the other to meet specific School of Nursing requirements.

• Students must maintain a minimum grade point average (GPA) of 2.50.
• Students must comply with requirements for attendance and professionalism.
• Students must comply with policies stated in SWAG��Ƶ and Nursing Student Handbooks.
• Students must obtain a C or better in the required science course of pathophysiology. Failure to meet this requirement will result in the student repeating the course a maximum of one (1) time.
• Students must obtain a minimum cumulative examination average of 77 (C+) in all nursing courses that have a clinical component in order to continue to progress through the program without interruption.
• Students must obtain an overall grade of 77 (C+) or higher in all nursing courses in order to continue to progress through the program without interruption.
• Students must meet the receive a Satisfactory (S) level of competency evaluation in the clinical or experiential setting for each nursing course with a clinical/experiential component. A final grade evaluation resulting in a Needs Improvement (NI) or Working Towards (WT) of Unsatisfactory (U) assigned to the clinical component, regardless of the grade in the classroom/didactic component of the course, will result in a failure of the course with a grade no higher than C and may interrupt program progression.
• If a student’s exam average is 77 (C+) or greater, their final grade will be determined by the calculation as stated in the syllabus for the course. If student’s exam average is less than 77 (C+),  the final grade will be determined by the exam grade average combined with the non-exam grades.  If the exam grade average is less than 77, the final grade will be determined by the calculations as stated in the syllabus for the course; students will not receive higher than a C, but may receive less than a C according to the final calculations as stated in the course syllabus.
• Failure to obtain a minimum grade of 77 (C+) in any nursing course necessitates that the student repeat the course to achieve the minimum grade a maximum of one (1) time.
• A student may enroll in any of the science or nursing courses listed above a maximum of two (2) times. Enrollment consists of achieving receiving a letter grade. Receiving a W from a course is not considered being officially enrolled. A student may not withdraw (W) more than twice from a course.

Dismissal from the Nursing Program

A student may be dismissed from the nursing program for one (1) or more of the following reasons:

• Violations of the academic integrity policies.
• Following admission and enrollment, the discovery of dishonest proclamation of self-report of crime on application following criminal background discovery.
• A criminal background finding which results in clinical partner refusal to admit to facility for clinical education.
• Failure to maintain a grade point average (GPA) of 2.50.
• Failure to achieve a grade of C or higher in a required pathophysiology science course after a prior failure in the same course.
• Failure to achieve a grade of C+ or higher in any nursing course after a prior failure to achieve a satisfactory grade in the same course.
• Professional misconduct, including unsafe and unacceptable conduct, as stated in the Nursing Student Handbook (Technical Standards, ANA Code of Conduct, NSNA Code of Academic and Clinical Conduct – found in NSG Student Handbook).

Students dismissed from the nursing program related to academic deficiencies (low GPA or second failure of a nursing course) may appeal the decision to the nursing faculty. The faculty will make a recommendation to the Director of the School of Nursing regarding a decision on re-admission to the nursing program.

Technical Standards

Technical standards consist of functional abilities essential for the delivery of safe, effective nursing care. These basic abilities are necessary for safe and effective education, training, and nursing practice. There is an increased risk of untoward consequences for clients cared for by nursing students who fail to demonstrate these functional abilities. In compliance with state and federal laws, nursing education programs must attend to these essential functional abilities in the teaching and evaluation of students preparing for the practice of nursing.

This statement of technical standards identifies the functional abilities deemed by the Nursing Faculty in the School of Nursing at the SWAG��Ƶ to be essential to the practice of nursing, and as such, are reflected in the requirement for satisfactory progression through the program and in the performance-based outcomes which are the basis for teaching and evaluating all nursing students. Technical standards can be found in the School of Nursing Student Handbook.

Accreditation

The nursing programs are accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN) and approved by the Maine State Board of Nursing. Further information regarding accreditation can be obtained from ACEN at 3343 Peachtree Road NE, Suite 850, Atlanta, G.A. 30326. 1-404-975-5000, www.acenursing.org.

Upon completion of the program, the graduate will be able to:

• Demonstrate the clinical judgment necessary for the provision of safe, evidence-based nursing care that improves health outcomes for individuals, families, and communities (Clinical Judgment/Evidence-based Practice).
• Demonstrate use of information management and client care technology that supports the provision of safe, quality nursing care (Informatics).
• Demonstrate leadership principles that support effective health care delivery (Leadership).
• Demonstrate effective interprofessional communication and collaboration that contributes to safe, quality, team-based care (Interprofessionalism).
• Model professional values (ethical, moral, and legal tenets), including care of self, that are inherent in the practice of nursing (Professionalism/Self Care).

Westbook College of Health Professions (WCHP) Core Values

Academic Excellence and Lifelong Learning

Through a continuum of rigorous educational opportunities, the College ensures students achieve at the highest level of disciplinary proficiency and as members of diverse health teams. Academic priorities of critical reasoning, self-reflection, commitment to evidence-based practice, and cultural responsivity inspire curiosity and a commitment to lifelong learning.

Integrity

We advance an interactive learning culture grounded in authenticity, accountability, adherence to ethical principles, and professionalism. These qualities provide an essential foundation for enduring academic, clinical, professional, and personal interactions.

Service

We are committed to working together to serve the common good. Through local partnerships, service learning, and global endeavors, the College provides students with opportunities for meaningful community engagement, exploration of civic responsibility, and reflection on complex problems facing society today.

Relational Connectivity

Learning in the College takes place within a relationally-informed culture based in respect, caring, empathy, and compassion for all individuals, communities, and populations.

Quality of Life and Well-being

We promote the broadest definition of health to include physical, emotional, spiritual, environmental, and planetary considerations. We believe attention to personal well-being promotes resilience, adaptability, perseverance, and fulfillment in current and future endeavors.

Collaboration

Collaboration is an ethos of the Westbrook College of Health Professions, grounded in an interprofessional/interdisciplinary culture that encourages collegial exchange across programs and amongst all students. Intentional preparation for team-based care equips learners for 21st century health practice and leadership.

Cultural Diversity, Difference, and Inclusivity

We welcome diversity and celebrate differences among students, faculty, professional staff, clinical partners, and our extensive communities of interest. We believe that differences should not divide us; rather we perceive differences as adding richness to our living and learning environments. The College prioritizes cultural humility and curiosity throughout all educational offerings and campus life.

Maine Nurse Core Competencies

The Maine Nurse Core Competencies (2013) represent eleven (11) core competencies that guide the transformation of academic curricula and professional practice standards across the state of Maine.

Professionalism

Demonstrates accountability as a life-long learner for the delivery of evidence-based nursing care. Evaluates own practice that is consistent with ethical, moral, altruistic, humanistic, legal, and regulatory principles, and utilizes self-care to practice in a mindful manner.

Leadership

Demonstrates leadership in the professional practice setting through accountability, influence, change management, and collaboration with others in a way that will facilitate the establishment and achievement of shared goals.

Patient-Centered Care

Enters into a holistic, compassionate, respectful partnership with the patient and family that facilitates shared decision-making, recognizing consumer preferences, values, and needs in providing age and culturally appropriate, coordinated, safe, and effective care.

Evidence-Based Practice

Identifies, integrates, and evaluates current evidence and research findings coupled with clinical expertise and consideration of consumers' preferences, experience, and values to make practice decisions for quality outcomes.

Teamwork and Collaboration

Practices effectively with the healthcare consumer, family, and interprofessional teams, to build relationships and foster open communication, mutual respect, and shared decision-making.

Communication

Communicates effectively, fostering mutual respect and shared decision making to enhance knowledge, experience, and health outcomes.

Systems-Based Practice

Knowledgeable and responsive to the changing healthcare system and demonstrates the ability to access resources in a safe, effective, and financially responsible manner to provide value-based care.

Informatics and Technology

Demonstrates proficiency in the use of technology and information systems to communicate, manage knowledge, mitigate error, and to support decision making for safe practice.

Safety

Utilizes clinical reasoning and critical thinking that drives a culture of safety to prevent risk of harm to healthcare consumers, families, colleagues, and the environment.

Quality Improvement

Contributes to evidenced-based nursing practice by participating in improvement strategies/processes including the use of data to design, implement, and evaluate outcomes to improve the quality and safety of healthcare systems.

Geriatrics

Values the unique psychosocial, physical, and cultural attributes of the older adult in order to promote healthy aging and provide safe and effective care.

Interprofessional Competencies (2023)

Values and Ethics

Work with team members to maintain a climate of shared values, ethical conduct, and mutual respect.

Roles and Responsibilities

Use the knowledge of one’s own role and team members’ expertise to address individual and population health outcomes.

Interprofessional Communication

Communicate in a responsive, responsible, respectful, and compassionate manner with team members.

Teams and Teamwork

Apply values and principles of the science of teamwork to adapt one’s own role in a variety of team settings.

Non-nursing courses completed at another college/university may be considered for transfer into the program according to the School of Nursing's grading requirement policy. Courses must be close in scope and content to the required courses offered at SWAG��Ƶ in order to transfer as equivalent. All courses completed must be approved by the appropriate College Program Director.

Other restrictions may apply. See Undergraduate Admissions for more information.

These students do not take general electives, and they take only two (2) non-nursing courses during their program, which we may accept in transfer.

In order to be considered for admission to the Accelerated Nursing Program, students should possess the following:

• A baccalaureate degree (non-nursing) with a GPA of 3.0 or higher
• Satisfactory completion of program pre-requisite coursework
  • Anatomy and Physiology I and II w/Lab
  • Microbiology w/Lab
  • Chemistry w/Lab or Nutrition
  • Human Growth and Development
  • Statistics
• General requirements for admission to the University

All prerequisite science courses should have been taken within ten (10) years of admission and students must achieve a grade of B- or better in the course. Faculty will look at individual cases if coursework is greater than ten (10) years.

Clinical Placement Requirements

SWAG��Ƶ Immunization Requirements

• Tetanus/Diphtheria (Td) (< 10 years ago)
• Attenuated Pertussis (Whooping cough)
• Measles/Mumps/Rubella (MMR) proof of two (2) vaccinations or proof of positive immunity
• Hepatitis B (series and proof of positive immunity)
• Varicella (chicken pox) proof of two (2) vaccinations or proof of positive immunity
• Tuberculin Skin Testing (two-step test on admission)
• COVID 19 original series or currently accepted CDC COVID 19 vaccination

School of Nursing Additional Immunization Requirements

• Annual Influenza Vaccination
• 10 panel drug screen*
• Criminal Background Check*
• Covid 19 Baseline Immunization or acceptable CDC immunization requirement (no booster required thereafter)
• Basic Life Support CPR only through American Heart Association at the Healthcare Provider level
• HIPAA training modules through SWAG��Ƶ HIPAA Compliance Office
• Ability to meet Technical Standards per Student Handbook

*Students with positive drug screen or background check may be dismissed from the Nursing program if denied entrance to clinical partner site(s).

Tuition and Fees

Tuition and fees for subsequent years may vary. Other expenses include required course resources, books, nursing equipment, etc. Further questions related to tuition and college expenses should be directed to Student Financial Services.

Equipment

Students are responsible for the costs of the following required items: uniforms, shoes, name tag, watch with a sweep second hand, dual-head stethoscope, adult blood pressure cuff, and penlight. A comprehensive list will be provided in advance of clinical rotations.

Transportation

Nursing students are responsible for their own transportation to clinical facilities and experiential events throughout the program.

Commencement Activities

Commencement activity expenses include the cost of the cap and gown for the university commencement ceremony (graduation). These expenses may vary each year. Students may inquire in the nursing office for an estimate of current costs.

Financial Aid

Detailed information and applications are available on request from the Financial Aid Office at the University Campus. Call (207) 602-2342 or visit the Financial Aid website.