Our Lady of Holy Cross College
Institutional Effectiveness Plan for Academic Departments Academic Year: 2013-2014
Program: Nursing (RN to BSN)
Department: Nursing and Allied Health
Program Description: The Department of Nursing offers an RN to BSN program of study leading to a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree. This program is fully accredited by the American Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN) and is approved by the Louisiana State Board of Nursing (LSBN).
Coordinator: Anita Althans RNC, MSN Chairperson: Dr. Patricia Prechter Student Learning Outcomes (SLOS):
Upon successful completion of the RN to BSN program in Nursing, graduates should be able to demonstrate the ability to:
1. Evaluate research in nursing and the related disciplines for its applicability to nursing theory and evidence-based practice
2. Improve health care delivery by practicing leadership skills and collaboration with the interdisciplinary healthcare team.
3. Promote accessible, comprehensive, cost effective quality patient centered care to diverse populations across the lifespan.
Assessments
Students are assessed in each course through a variety of means including quizzes, papers and presentations. Complexity and rigor increase over the course of the curriculum.
SLO #1: Evaluate research in nursing and the related disciplines for its applicability to nursing theory and evidence-based practice.
ASSESSMENTS FOR SLO #1:
N 485 Special Topics in Nursing addresses this student learning outcome. SLO #1 is assessed through assignments:
Nursing research discussions provide a means for the student to discuss course content with others to contribute new ideas, introduce related topics, and broaden the discussion to related disciplines, apply nursing theory in diverse situations and provide examples of evidence-based practice in health settings.
A nursing research project is required for N 485. The individual topics for the nursing research project are selected by the student and approved by the instructor. A rationale must be given for the choice of the topic and the relevance to evidence based practice in the nursing profession. The plan for the research project is specifically provided after a thorough research in the form of a literature review is clearly documented. An evaluation/critique method is outlined to determine how effective the nursing research project would be.
EXPECTATIONS: The expectation is that 100% of the students will achieve the minimum passing grade, with 66% achieving a grade of B or higher. Expectations were achieved or exceeded.
RESULTS
Mean Grades NSG 485 (Since Summer 2011) Nursing research project
Topic with rationale 100 Planning, research, and documentation 96.1 Evaluation/Critique 98.6
Online threaded discussion 97
All results indicate that 100% of students achieved the minimum passing grade and more than 66% achieved a grade of B or higher.
SLO #2: Improve health care delivery by practicing leadership skills and by collaborating with the interdisciplinary health care team.
ASSESSMENTS to assess SLO #2:
N455 Nursing Leadership & Decision Making addresses this student learning outcome. SLO #2 is assessed through:
Written course work that addresses nursing leadership and decision making utilizing
knowledge of management principles, leadership theories, and critical thinking skills to enable the professional nurse to provide evidence-based practice
Case studies. Four (4) case studies are chosen by students from multiple examples placed in folders (1-4) to utilize their critical thinking and efficient case management in varied and complex health settings. The students provide in depth answers to scenarios where the nurse manager makes decisions to best affect practice. Rationales are provided using the various nursing and management principles.
The expectation is that 100% of the students will achieve the minimum passing grade, with 66% achieving a grade of B or higher. Each case study accounts for 10% of the student’s course grade.
Nursing leadership project. The nursing leadership project is an avenue for the student to recognize and initiate change and to motivate, facilitate, and ultimately contribute to improving a specific aspect in their work environment. By researching best practices through literature reviews, the student can appreciate the nurse’s contribution to evidence-based practice.
Online threaded discussions
This course has weekly online threaded discussions that are closely tied to the course content. The online threaded discussions account for 30% of the student’s course grade. EXPECTATIONS: The expectation is that 100% of the students will achieve the minimum passing grade, with 66% achieving a grade of B or higher. Expectations were achieved or exceeded.
RESULTS
Mean Grades NSG 455 (Since Fall 2010) Case studies 94 Nursing leadership project 93.3 Online threaded discussion 99.4
All results indicate that 100% of students achieved the minimum passing grade and more than 66% achieved a grade of B or higher.
ASSESSMENTS for SLO #3:
NSG 471 Community Health Nursing of Diverse Populations addresses this student learning outcome.
SLO #3 is assess through: Written course work
• Public health/community health nursing focused case studies • Public health/community health focused journal article critiques Clinical project within the community
Focused community health discussions
Written work
Written course work in NSG 471 addresses specific public health/community health determinants.
Case studies
Two case studies from five public health categories are chosen addressing specific examples within each area. Within each category are three to five case studies for a total of 18 examples to choose from. The topical categories are:
• Tools of Population Health • Principles of Population Health
• Public Health Institutions and Systems • Preventing Disease, Disability, and Death
• Healthcare Professionals, Healthcare Institutions, and Healthcare Systems
A case study rubric evaluates the quality of the submitted case study in areas addressing content, critical thinking, and writing quality. The expectation is that 100% of the students will achieve the minimum passing grade, with 66% achieving a grade of B or higher.
Journal article critiques
Two journal articles chosen by the student and approved by faculty address an aspect of public health/community health. A case study rubric evaluates the critique in areas of content, critical thinking, and writing quality. The expectation is that 100% of the students will achieve the minimum passing grade, with 66% achieving a grade of B or higher.
Clinical project
Sixty hours are spent for the clinical project. This includes planning, community assessment, implementing the project and evaluating its effectiveness.
The community project topic is chosen by the student based on their interest and discussed with faculty who approves the topic. The student documents the time spent on project components (planning, community assessment, topic research, meetings with project stakeholders where it will be implemented) in the Project Diary discussion board where the class addresses various aspects of the project.
Each component of the project is submitted as an assignment and evaluated with an overall project rubric. Components in this rubric address project topic selection with specific outcomes related to the population group chosen, community assessment data demonstrating community congruency with project topic, evidence-based practice and/or theoretical research guiding project development, project implementation and evaluation, and project presentation to the entire class. Elements of writing quality and critical thinking are inherent in this rubric.
EXPECTATIONS: The expectation is that 100% of the students will achieve the minimum passing grade, with 66% achieving a grade of B or higher. The expectations were achieved or exceeded.
Results:
Mean Grades NSG 471 (since Spring 2011)
Case Study 91
Journal Article Critique 93
Clinical Project 93
Online threaded discussion 100
MODIFICATIONS: (Implemented improvements)
The nursing faculty reviewed this plan at the December 2013 end of semester meeting
(documented in the December 2013 faculty minutes). All of the data was not available but the faculty reviewed the plan. There were no modifications made at that time. Faculty did discuss each expectation and discussed achievement in that expectation.
Once all of the data was available, faculty reviewed the plan August 20, 2014 at the first faculty meeting Fall 2014. Each expectation was discussed. Each achievement was reviewed. No modifications at this time.
Location
These results are contained in end of semester course reports which are kept electronically in password protected computers in the departmental office.
Dissemination/Discussion
Results from all assessments are shared with students and the RN to BSN Program coordinator. The Department has a Nursing Faculty Organization Committee which provides an operational framework for discussion and determination of academic policies, goals, outcomes and
standards of the Department. All nursing faculty are members of the Nursing Faculty Organization Committee. There are also two standing committees in the Department: the Curriculum, Instruction, and Evaluation Committee and the Admission, Progression, Retention, and Graduation Committee. Each full time faculty is assigned to one of the standing
committees. Each semester the RN to BSN program coordinator is a member of the
Administrative Council of the Department. Any issues or concerns regarding achievement of the SLOs are brought forth to the Administrative council for the Department.
TIMELINE, REQUIREMENTS, AND APPROVALS
The Nursing Department reviews this plan each fall (December) and then again as soon as all data is available (usually April or May). So the Department reviews the plan a minimum of twice a year. Documentation of the reviews is in the Nursing Faculty Organization minutes.
The last ACEN visit was spring 2013. The Department received full approval with the next visit for re-accreditation to take place in spring 2021. The Department received an eight year approval which is the maximum time awarded by ACEN.
