Programme Philosophy
The programme philosophy reflects the major concepts and common beliefs in nursing education. The philosophy serves as the foundation of programme development, and determines the conceptual framework, educational goals, programme structure, teaching strategies as well as the characteristics expected of the graduates. The programme philosophy emphasises five aspects: People, Environment, Health Status, Nursing and Education. These five concepts compose the programme framework which highlights the dynamic progressions from individual to family then to community, health and diseases as well as the nursing of primary, secondary and tertiary preventions.
2.1 People
Each individual is an entire but unique open system, composed of five sections in the physiological and psychological, social culture, spirit and development aspects. Each person is changing with his/her surroundings in a dynamic way. While internally adjusting oneself to the environment, he/she has developed unique abilities throughout the understanding process in order to adapt to the external changes, therefore allowing him/her to make progress to different developmental stages. In addition, the potential within oneself can be brought forth during this process. During the changes of life at different stages, especially to people fighting against illness, they deserve the rights to receive proper care. The care should embody a healthy, fair, impartial, autonomous and participatory environment and each individual is responsible for maintaining and promoting the health of him/herself.
2.2 Environment
Environment consists of internal and external factors. Internal environment indicates all factors within an individual including the mutual influences of the factors to the individual for example an individual's physiological and psychological activities. External environment indicates the factors outside the individual and their mutual influences to the individual such as natural and social environments. People and the environment are closely correlated; the environment can affect an individual's health status, while people can create and change the environment with their strengths and abilities.
2.3 Health Status
Health indicates the wellness state of an individual, his/her family and the community including a balanced and coordinating development among physiological and psychological, social culture, spirit and development aspects. A good health status implies an optimal functional standard of an individual at different stages of life so that he/she can form positive interactions with the environment around him/her. Hence, health reflects a harmonic behaviour of an individual in terms of cognitive and physical activities based on his/her individual and social-cultural backgrounds. Health is also a dynamic successive process; the mission of nursing is to facilitate people's health status towards equilibrium.
2.4 Nursing
Nursing is a purposeful intervention that attempts to reduce or avoid sources of stress and unfavorable condition that affects the optimal functional condition of an individual. Through nursing it is hoped to help individual, family and community to maintain the utmost possible health standards. The main idea of nursing is care, which is the fundamental of the 3-level preventive care, namely primary prevention (health promotion, special protection), second prevention (early detection, early diagnosis, early treatment) and tertiary prevention (rehabilitation). Nursing is science and art; its standards are enhanced through practical implementations and scientific researches. Nursing consists in a systematic process with scientific problem solving measures including a series of proactive actions (assessment, diagnosis, planning, implementation and effectiveness evaluation) based on analysis with critical thinking and evidence-based clinical practice. A professional nurse has the competence to work independently, or collaborates with other health care professionals, to promote human health status under ever-changing and complex environment. Nurses are responsible for assisting individual, family and community to select and join a healthy mode of life, allowing them to be competent in health-related decision making. People, Environment, Health Status and Education are the main concepts of nursing works, while Nursing is the core of the whole framework.
2.5 Education
Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills through a series of purposeful, planned and organised activities. It is to develop the abilities of learners, to help them enhance the essential knowledge, skills, ethics and literacies for the nursing profession. In addition, it educates creative development of the nursing profession, helps students develop their own abilities and sense of responsibility so as to enable them to apply what they have learnt, to think and make judgments in clinical practices as well as to develop lifelong learning attitudes.