UPMC Shadyside School of Nursing at UPMC Harrisburg Mission, Vision, and Values

Mission of UPMC Shadyside School of Nursing at UPMC Harrisburg

The mission of UPMC Shadyside School of Nursing at UPMC Harrisburg is to foster the development of an entry-level graduate nurse who is prepared to transition to practice as a member of the inter-professional healthcare team. The school is part of UPMC Harrisburg which is part of the UPMC health system. The focus of our program is mastery of high level competencies reflecting the knowledge, skills, and attitudes required for the delivery of safe, quality nursing care.

School of Nursing Vision

The vision of UPMC Shadyside School of Nursing at UPMC Harrisburg is to advance the heart and science of nursing through the provision of excellence in nursing education by integrating the use of best evidence through innovative teaching strategies, remaining a leader in nursing education at the local and national level, and maintaining successful outcomes.

Our Values

The values of the School of Nursing are synonymous with the UPMC Core Values of Quality and Safety, Dignity and Respect, Caring and Listening, Responsibility and Integrity, and Excellence and Innovation.

• Quality and Safety
  We create a safe environment where quality is our guiding principle.
• Dignity and Respect
  We treat all individuals with dignity and respect.
• Caring and Listening
  We listen to and care for our students, our patients, our health plan members, our fellow employees, our physicians, and our community.
• Responsibility and Integrity
  We perform our work to the highest level of responsibility and integrity.
• Excellence and Innovation
  We think creatively and build excellence into everything that we do.

Our Beliefs

Beliefs about the Individual and Health

The faculty believes that the patient is the center of all healthcare experiences. Every patient has the right to autonomy, respect, dignity, and healthcare education. We assist each patient to a level of optimal health while respecting their unique needs and diversity.

Beliefs about Nursing

The faculty has adopted the definition of professional nursing as defined by the American Nurses Association (ANA): "is the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and abilities, prevention of illness and injury, alleviation of suffering through the diagnosis and treatment of human response, and advocacy in the care of individuals, families, communities, and populations." The faculty at UPMC Shadyside School of Nursing at UPMC Harrisburg believe the discipline of nursing is scientific and evidence-based that requires continuous inquiry to advance the knowledge and practice of the profession. The professional nurse utilizes clinical judgment as a basis for decision-making to ensure safe nursing practice and adhere to professional nursing standards. The nurse, as a patient advocate, utilizes all available resources to ensure collaboration and quality care for all patients across the lifespan.

Beliefs about Education

The faculty at UPMC Shadyside School of Nursing at UPMC Harrisburg embrace and incorporate a diverse theoretical foundation encompassing nursing and adult learning principles.

Malcolm Knowles’ Theory of Adult Learning guides our use of andragogy and self-direction and goal-orientation based on the learner’s self-concepts, experience, readiness, and motivation.

Through the adoption of Christine Tanner’s Model of Clinical Judgment, we design experiences to prepare graduates to respond to rapidly changing patient situations and help learners identify strengths as well as areas for improvement utilizing Tanner's concepts of noticing, interpreting, responding, and reflecting.

The faculty at UPMC Shadyside School of Nursing at UPMC Harrisburg base our curriculum on quality and safety principles.

The curriculum is designed to prepare the graduate nurse for practicing professional nursing at an entry-level based on the foundations of quality and safety in nursing education. The UPMC Shadyside School of Nursing at UPMC Harrisburg has integrated the Quality and Safety Education for Nurses (QSEN) competencies into the framework of its curriculum. These principles are intended to equip the graduate nurse with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes (KSA's) necessary to provide optimal patient care.

QSEN Competencies

1. Patient-Centered Care – Recognize the patient or designee as the source of control and full partner in providing compassionate and coordinated care based on respect for the patient’s preferences, values, and needs.
2. Teamwork and Collaboration– Function effectively within nursing and inter-professional teams while fostering open communication, mutual respect, and shared decision-making to achieve quality patient care.
3. Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) – Integrate best current evidence with clinical expertise and patient/family preferences and values for delivery of optimal health care.
4. Quality Improvement – Use data to monitor the outcomes of care processes and use improvement methods to design and test changes to continuously improve the quality and safety of health care systems.
5. Safety – Minimize risk of harm to patients and providers through both system effectiveness and individual performance.
6. Informatics – Use information and technology to communicate, manage knowledge, mitigate error, and support decision-making.

The faculty at UPMC Shadyside School of Nursing at UPMC Harrisburg is dedicated to fostering life-long learning.

Learning is a dynamic relationship between students and faculty. Students share responsibility for their acquisition and development of clinical reasoning through learner-centered strategies that actively engage the student.

The faculty at UPMC Shadyside School of Nursing at UPMC Harrisburg is dedicated to best-practice in nursing education.

The faculty recognizes the ever-changing health care environment and the needs of the student population while striving to meet those needs through ongoing professional development.

The faculty at UPMC Shadyside School of Nursing at UPMC Harrisburg is dedicated to a positive learning environment.

The faculty displays mutual respect and dignity for all students through honest communication and feedback serving as professional role models.