Department of Nursing

Department Head: Subasic
Professor: Subasic
Assistant Professors: Batie, Bukay
Instructors: Couture, Plitnick, Rutherford
Clinical Coordinator: Coulter
Simulation Coordinator: Couture

The Swain Department of Nursing is structured to prepare students for the role of a novice nurse in clinical practice. The department focuses on the caring and healing aspects of nursing and promotes the leadership role that nurses play in the care of individuals, families and communities. Courses progress from the care of healthy and/or chronically ill but stable individuals through the care of multiple individuals, those with complex health care needs and the health needs of populations. The critical role of quality and safety in healthcare is threaded throughout the curriculum.

All undergraduate courses taken at The Citadel with a subject prefix of NURS will count towards the major GPA.

Mission

The mission of the Swain Department of Nursing is to educate and develop our students to become principled leaders in the health care environment and profession of nursing by incorporating The Citadel’s core values of honor, duty and respect into their learning experience. The curriculum is focused on holistic and person-centered care across the lifespan and within various healthcare environments. The Citadel nurse understands the impact of the social determinants of health and integrates this knowledge to meet the unique care needs of the communities they serve.
The application of clinical judgment enables the student to apply abstract concepts to concrete situations using methodological skills and current evidence.
The Citadel nurse understands and applies evidence-based practice in accordance with accepted standards of professional practice. He/she provides safe and quality care as a contributing member of the interprofessional team. The vision of the Swain Department of Nursing is to educate nurses who are prepared to be leaders in the healthcare environment.

Swain Department of Nursing Core Values

Honor: The commitment to honor is a life-long obligation to moral and ethical behavior. Citadel nurses will uphold the long-standing tradition of being recognized as the most trusted profession through advocacy for persons and families as well as the health of communities.

Duty: Duty is a call to serve others before self. Citadel nurses will recognize the responsibility of being a leader within the inter-professional healthcare team and promote holistic health, healing and caring practices to individuals, families and communities.

Respect: Respect means to treat other people with dignity and worth. Citadel nurses will provide quality and safe care to all people without regard to rank, position, age, race, color, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, or physical attributes. Citadel nurses will assume a leadership role in promoting a positive image of the profession.

Expected Student Learning Outcomes

The purpose of The Citadel nursing program is to prepare nurses who are baccalaureate educated and are able to assume leadership roles within the healthcare team, providing quality and safe practice in a complex healthcare environment. Specifically, students will:

Apply foundations of nursing practice by incorporating theory and research-based knowledge using clinical judgments and critical thinking.
Promote evidence-based nursing care to gain a holistic understanding of the person, family, community, and population to guide nursing practice.
Apply a systems-based approach to population health and person-centered care, and its interface with health care in addressing disparities and needs.
Apply scholarship for clinical decision making based on disease process, diagnostics, and therapeutic modalities to improve or transform patient outcomes.
Develop a professional identity that supports the professionalism of nursing, its characteristics, and values.
Practice in an environment of collective learning, respect, and shared values through interprofessional and collaborative engagements.
Develop the capacity for principled leadership that incorporates an understanding of ethical, legal, and regulatory standards that guides nursing practice.

Admission Policy

The following criteria are used for admission into the nursing program:

Overall cumulative GPA of a 2.7 or higher
A grade of a B or better in all math and science courses
Written essay
Evidence of volunteer work over the past three years
Meet the Core Performance Requirements

Corps of Cadets
Cadets interested in applying to nursing will be admitted through the Undergraduate Admissions Office according to the requirements and standards described in the Admissions section of the University Catalog. Cadets will declare biology as their major for the freshman year and also indicate their interest in nursing on the registration form. In the spring semester of the freshman year, students may apply to the nursing program. A total of 24 cadets will be accepted into the nursing major. Following a review of application, students will officially be accepted into the nursing program.

Veteran Status Students

If a veteran is accepted into the nursing program, he / she has the option to attend the day or evening nursing program.

Progression Policy

Students must successfully pass and complete nursing courses in the sequence as identified in the undergraduate nursing curriculum plan of study. Students must maintain an overall GPA of 2.7 and a minimum of a “B” grade in all science and nursing courses to progress in the nursing program.

Students may repeat a nursing course one time during the program. When a student fails a nursing course, they are required to meet with the Department Head and to devise a remediation plan for future success. If the student fails to meet the minimum grade requirement on the second attempt, they may not take the course again and cannot continue to progress through the program.

If a student fails to meet the required GPA of 2.7, a one-semester probation will be permitted. The student will be required to meet with the Department Head to develop a formal remediation and progression plan. The remediation plan will be determined on an individual basis and granted at the discretion of the Department Head. Under unusual circumstances and at the discretion of the Department Head, the probationary period may extend into a subsequent semester. If a student is unable to improve their grades following 2 continuous semesters of being on probation, the student will be dismissed from the program.

If a student fails two different nursing courses or two failures in the same course, they will be dismissed from the program.

The student must pass both the didactic and associated clinical course that are deemed as co-requisites. If the student fails either the didactic or the clinical component of the course, they will fail both classes, and will need to repeat both courses. The failure of the didactic and clinical course will constitute as one failure in the nursing program.

Term limits for the completion of the program is no longer than six years from the start of the first class. If a student exceeds the six-year time limit, they will be dismissed from the program because of the time expiration. The student may reapply to the nursing program and restart the nursing program according to the college catalog.

Research Opportunities

Students are encouraged to participate with faculty in research and evidence-based practice projects. As a developing science, the opportunities for research in nursing are numerous. Clinical practice partners are increasingly interested in scientific evidence to support the practice of nursing and students have an opportunity to support this need through evidence-based projects.

Programs

Majors

Nursing Major

Courses

Nursing