School of Nursing

Marla Seacrist, Ph.D., R.N., Director

Professors: Perea-Ryan, Katsma, Tavernier, Seacrist, Roper
Associate Professors: Crayton, Brown, Matthew, Peltier, Stokman
Assistant Professors: Gleason, Merriam, Yingrengreung, Wilson
Lecturers: Pruitt, Pehl, Fisher

Office: Science 1 - 225
Phone: (209) 667-3141
 

The School of Nursing offers four tracks leading to a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing: 1) traditional pre-licensure, 2) RN to BSN track, 3) the LVN to BSN track, and 4) Accelerated Second-Degree Bachelor of Science in Nursing, for student with a prior bachelor’s degree.  The traditional Pre-licensure track is offered on a full-time basis (six semesters) on the Turlock campus.  The RN to BSN track is designed to advance the associate degree RN to the next level in the profession, preparing the graduate BSN nurse for professional leadership roles. The RN to BSN program is offered on a full or part time basis.  Applicants who apply and are accepted into the online RN to BSN program will take classes in 8-week blocks fully online.  The LVN-BSN track allows a nursing professional to obtain their BSN in order to advance their career prospects. Applicants for the LVN-BSN track are evaluated on an individual basis as space allows. LVN-BSN students who are accepted are admitted to an existing cohort in the Prelicensure program. The ASBSN option is designed for the student with a bachelor’s degree in a discipline other than nursing who has completed all prerequisites; the accelerated option requires students to attend full-time for 17 months versus the traditional pre-licensure track which requires 3 years of full-time study.

Mission of the School of Nursing

The mission of the CSU Stanislaus School of Nursing is to cultivate nursing professionals who are adept across the full spectrum of healthcare needs, from disease prevention to end-of-life care. Through a curriculum that values diversity, equity, and inclusion, we commit to developing nurses skilled in clinical judgment, ethical decision-making, evidence-based practice, and compassionate communication. Our focus is on integrating leadership, professionalism, and a comprehensive understanding of social determinants of health into nursing education, preparing our graduates to improve healthcare outcomes in diverse communities. We aim to foster personal health, resilience, well-being, self-awareness, and adaptability among nursing professionals. By prioritizing the personal health and resilience of our students, we empower them to manage the demands of their profession while maintaining their own well-being.

Goals of the School of Nursing

The Stanislaus State School of Nursing (SON) is committed to cultivating nursing professionals equipped with the knowledge, skills, and ethical frameworks necessary to excel in an ever-evolving healthcare landscape. Our mission emphasizes a dedication to diversity, equity, and inclusion while preparing graduates to address the full spectrum of healthcare needs, from disease prevention to end-of-life care. To achieve this mission and fulfill our vision of transforming healthcare through innovative nursing education, we have established a series of strategic goals aligned with our Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs). These goals demonstrate how the SoN promotes students’ achievement of the mission and PLOs.

These goals are designed to enhance clinical judgment, promote ethical leadership, and foster compassionate care, ensuring our graduates can effectively navigate and influence diverse healthcare settings. Through targeted objectives, we aim to integrate vital concepts into our curriculum, enabling students to apply critical thinking and evidence-based practices in real-world scenarios. Our commitment extends to understanding social determinants of health and advocating for policies that promote equitable health outcomes, ultimately preparing our graduates to lead within complex systems of care.

As we advance our goals, we prioritize fostering resilience and well-being among our students, recognizing the importance of personal health in the nursing profession. By embedding principles of collaboration, inclusivity, and continuous learning into our educational framework, the SON aims to develop nursing leaders capable of delivering high-quality, person-centered care that respects and responds to the diverse needs of the communities we serve.

Exercise Clinical Judgement:

• Goal: Enhance students’ clinical judgment abilities, enabling them to make informed and effective decisions in diverse healthcare settings. 
  • Objective: Integrate clinical judgment training into the curriculum through case studies, simulation exercises, and interprofessional collaboration, allowing students to apply critical thinking, evidence-based practices, and ethical considerations in real-world scenarios.

Promote Ethical Leadership and Decision-Making:

• Goal: Instill strong ethical values and leadership skills in students, preparing them to lead initiatives, influence policies, and make decisions that transform healthcare practices toward equitable health outcomes. 
  • Objective: Integrate leadership and ethical concepts throughout the curriculum, coupled with real-world applications and mentorship, while providing opportunities for students to engage in advocacy projects that address health disparities and promote equitable health policies.

Enhance Understanding of Social Determinants of Health:

• Goal: Equip students with a deep understanding of how social determinants affect health outcomes and healthcare access. 
  • Objective: Embed social determinants of health into all aspects of the curriculum and provide community-based learning experiences that expose students to diverse populations and health equity issues.

Foster Compassionate Care:

• Goal: Ensure that all graduates implement holistic, person-centered care that demonstrates compassion, empathy, and respect in their interactions with diverse populations, patients, and colleagues. 
  • Objective: Introduce courses and incorporate concepts within the curriculum that focus on compassionate communication, empathy building, and patient-centered care practices to prepare students for effective, respectful engagement in their professional roles.

Encourage Evidence-Based Practice:

• Goal: Prepare students to utilize and contribute to evidence-based practices in nursing and healthcare. 
  • Objective: Teach critical appraisal skills, integrate research into clinical practice courses, and provide opportunities for student-led projects that promote the translation of evidence into practice.

Support Personal Health and Resilience:

• Goal: Foster resilience, personal health, and well-being among nursing students to prepare them for the demands of the nursing     profession. 
  • Objective: incorporate concepts focused on mental health, stress management, and physical well-being, such as mindfulness training.

Advance Health Quality, Equity, and Inclusivity:

• Goal: Prepare students to actively contribute to improving healthcare quality and advancing equity and inclusivity within the field. 
  • Objective: Deliver diversity, equity, and inclusion training, apply Jedi practices and engage students in community service and advocacy projects that focus on health disparities.

Encourage System-Based Practice:

• Goal: Prepare graduates to respond to and lead within complex systems of health care, ensuring the delivery of equitable care to diverse populations across the continuum of care. 
  • Objective: Create opportunities for students to coordinate resources and implement strategies that provide safe, quality, and equitable care to diverse populations, while fostering an understanding of how to navigate and lead within various healthcare settings throughout the continuum of care.

Promote Intentional Collaboration:

• Goal: Prepare students to communicate across professions and with care team members, patients, families, communities, and other stakeholders to optimize care, enhance the healthcare experience, and strengthen outcomes. 
  • Objective: provide opportunities for students to participate in team-based, person-centered care

Incorporate Communication Technologies:

• Goal: Prepare students to be proficient in using communication technologies and informatics processes to improve care delivery, data collection, information formation, and decision-making effectiveness. 
  • Objective: Provide opportunities for students to use communication technologies and informatics processes to improve care delivery, data collection, information formation, and decision-making effectiveness. 

Promote Professionalism and Continuous Learning:

• Goal: Cultivate the formation of a professional identity that is committed to lifelong learning and continuous professional development. 
  • Objective: Create opportunities for continuous learning and professional development into the nursing program and beyond, ensuring that students and alumni remain engaged in advancing their knowledge and skills through CEU opportunities.

Support Personal Health and Resilience:

• Goal: Foster resilience, personal health, and well-being among nursing students to prepare them for the demands of the nursing profession. 
  • Objective: incorporate concepts focused on mental health, stress management, and physical well-being, such as mindfulness training.

Program Learning Outcomes (PLO’s)

Toward the achievement of these goals, the following student learning outcomes have been identified:

Program Learning Outcomes (PLO’s)

An undergraduate with a Bachelor of Science, Nursing degree will:

1. Utilize established and evolving disciplinary knowledge and ways of knowing from a variety of disciplines, including liberal arts and natural and social sciences, to inform clinical judgment and innovative practice. 
2. Implement person-centered care that is holistic, individualized, and reflects an understanding of human growth and development, the determinants of health, pathophysiology, pharmacology, medical and nursing management across the spheres of care. 
3. Create action plans, interventions, and influence policies towards health equity and improved health spanning the healthcare delivery continuum from public health prevention to disease management of populations. 
4. Synthesize, translate, apply, and disseminate knowledge to improve health and transform health care. 
5. Employ quality care, established and emerging principles of safety, and improvement science through both system effectiveness and individual performance.
6. Engage in professional collaboration across disciplines and with other stakeholders including patients, families, and communities, to optimize care, enhance the healthcare experience, and strengthen outcomes that recognize the unique contribution of all members. 
7. Coordinate resources to provide cost-effective, safe, quality, equitable care to diverse populations within complex systems of health care. 
8. Utilize patient care technologies, information systems, and communication devices to manage and improve the delivery of safe, high-quality, and efficient healthcare services. 
9. Cultivate and sustain a professional identity through the acquisition of expertise and assertion of leadership that reflects professional characteristics and values.
10. Foster personal health, resilience, well-being, self-awareness, and a capacity to adapt to ambiguity and change. 
11. Demonstrate characteristics of a mindful and present leader proficient in asserting influence and power in professional and personal contexts. 

A graduate with a Master’s in Science Nursing Degree will:

1. Incorporate advanced knowledge from nursing and diverse disciplines with current and emerging evidence to guide clinical judgment and improve education, practice, and research. 
2. Create comprehensive, person-centered plans of care that prioritize holistic and individualized approaches by integrating advanced assessment skills, diagnostic and decision-making processes, and clinical reasoning informed by current evidence. 
3. Formulate population health initiatives that span the healthcare delivery continuum, engaging traditional and non-traditional partnerships to improve equitable health outcomes across diverse populations. 
4. Critique diverse sources of evidence to enhance nursing practice and uphold ethical standards in scholarly activities. 
5. Appraise established and emerging principles of safety and improvement science to develop and implement strategies that enhance quality initiatives, minimize risk in nursing practice, and ensure patient and provider safety through systemic and individual performance measures. 
6. Integrate initiatives to enhance communication across professions and with care team members, patients, families, and communities to optimize care delivery, enhance the healthcare experience, and improve health outcomes while fostering shared decision-making and mutual respect among all stakeholders. 
7. Design initiatives to effectively coordinate resources and enhance safety, quality, and equity while adapting to evolving challenges and encouraging collaborative solutions within complex healthcare systems. 
8. Evaluate information flow across diverse healthcare settings while assessing ethical and legal considerations of healthcare technology and its impact on care processes to effectively address needs, gaps, and inefficiencies in service delivery. 
9. Demonstrate ethical leadership to foster a culture of accountability in nursing practice by facilitating participatory communication, advocating for policies that empower nurses, and leading with moral courage to influence decision-making, ensuring that care reflects nursing’s core values. 
10. Exhibit a commitment to personal health and well-being by actively contributing to an environment that promotes self-care and evaluating the workplace conditions to assess overall health and well-being. 
11. Demonstrate cognitive flexibility in managing change within complex environments while showcasing effective leadership and mentoring skills during times of uncertainty and crisis. 

Programs

• Health Science B.S.* (Hybrid)
• Nursing B.S.: Accelerated Second Bachelor Science Nursing (ASBSN)*
• Nursing B.S.: Pre-licensure Track
• Nursing B.S.: RN to BSN Track
• Nursing B.S.: RN to BSN Track (Online)

• Post Graduate Psychiatric APRN Certificate

• Health Informatics and Data Analytics Concentration

• Nursing M.S.