Mission Statement
The Centofanti School of Nursing supports the missions of Youngstown State University and the Bitonte College of Health and Human Services. The Centofanti School of Nursing provides high quality baccalaureate and graduate nursing programs that are responsive to the health care needs of society. The Centofanti School of Nursing values high standards of professional ethics; cultural, racial and ethnic diversity; and student-faculty relations that foster excellence in teaching, learning, scholarship and public service.
The purpose of the undergraduate program is to prepare nurses at the baccalaureate level. The program offers both a four year entry-level track for new or transfer students who do not have a diploma or degree in nursing and an online completion track for Registered Nurses with a diploma or associate degree. The curriculum is designed to include a broad base in general education and a strong nursing foundation. Graduates are prepared to function as generalists with professional and technological competence in a variety of settings.
The purpose of the graduate program is to prepare nurses at the graduate level for advanced practice. The program provides a strong graduate nursing education in four clinical options that build on baccalaureate nursing foundation. At the masters level, students choose a specialization in the role of the Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner, Family Nurse Practitioner and Nurse Education. At the doctoral level, the Nurse Anesthesia program is offered. The core curriculum centers on professional nursing issues, nursing science, and research methods for building nursing knowledge. The program prepares nurses to implement essential characteristics and core competencies for nursing practice in the selected specialty areas.
Philosophy
The human being and environment form an integrated system. The environment, which influences human function, consists of internal and external components that affect individuals, families, communities, and physical surrounding. Human beings can creatively change components of the environment that may increase their ability to achieve a desired level of human functioning.
The individual and society share the responsibility for one’s health. Health is a state of wholeness or integrity of individuals. It is a result of an individual’s unique cultural, biological, psychosocial, spiritual and environmental elements that exist on a continuum across the life span. Health demands are met by assisting individuals to participate in activities necessary to meet optimal health outcomes.
Nursing is a caring profession that exists to meet society’s healthcare needs, by assisting individuals, families, groups, and communities to identify and achieve their health goals throughout the life cycle. Nursing is an art that creatively uses knowledge from the sciences and humanities to plan and provide therapeutic interventions to meet the unique healthcare needs of society. Nursing is an evolving science that synthesizes concepts and theories through research and critical inquiry to develop an understanding of human responses to health needs. Nursing process is the basis of professional practice. Nursing assumes leadership roles in healthcare, legislation and public service to identify and implement changes in the delivery of healthcare.
Learning in the undergraduate and graduate nursing education programs is a continuous process involving cognitive, affective, and psychomotor skills. Personal growth and self-discovery in the learning process are enhanced in an environment that encourages collegial relationships that stimulate a curious examination of the world. The results of the educational experience are the development of critical thought, analytic inquiry, creativity, and professional judgment that prepares the student for future challenges in nursing practice.
Faculty serve as motivators and facilitators of learning. Faculty seek to inspire an appreciation and desire in each student for new knowledge and life-long learning. Graduates of baccalaureate nursing education programs will be an integral part of the continued development of our profession. The graduates will participate in endeavors to discover new knowledge and methods to meet the health needs of all individuals.
Program Goals
Our YSU Nursing graduates will be responsive to the health care needs of society by providing evidence-based patient care to patients, families and communities.
As a result of their YSU nursing education, our graduates are members of the health care team contributing as practitioners, leaders and life-long learners in their profession. They are grounded in a culture of diversity ethical behavior and service to those in need.