School of Nursing

L. Gale Lemerand School of Nursing

739 W. International Speedway Blvd.

P: 386-481-2100

Mission/Vision Statements

The Mission, Goals, and learning outcomes of the School of Nursing are congruent with those of the University and are also consistent with professional nursing standards and guidelines for preparing nursing professionals. The school of nursing program utilizes the following standards to underpin the program’s mission.

❖ Quality and Safety Education for Nurses QSEN

❖ American Nurses Association Code of Ethics.

❖ National Patients’ Safety Goals

❖ Accrediting Commission for Education in Nursing ACEN

❖ Florida State Board of Nursing Rules and Regulations

Mission Vision:

The mission of the School of Nursing (SON) is congruent with the mission of the university. It is dedicated to the provision of an education to a diverse student body that will instill a desire for leadership and service to a diverse global community. Our goal is to graduate competent, visionary Professional Nurse Leaders who are at the forefront of innovative, culturally sensitive healthcare practices that promote human flourishing. The faculty believes that baccalaureate education is the basic preparation for professional nursing practice. As a faculty, our purpose is to prepare Professional Nurse Leaders who are excellent healthcare providers, engaged with local and global communities, and who serve as advocates for health equity. We are grounded in Mary McLeod Bethune’s holistic merger of academics (Head), skills (Hand), and activism (Heart). We honor her desire that faculty strive to be true to the values of the university, maintain a spirit of service, and be comprehensively prepared and effective in our discipline of Nursing. The meta paradigm of Nursing: Personhood, Health, Environment, and Nursing is the framework of our curriculum. Service learning is a vital strategy to prepare students as knowledgeable community leaders. These learning experiences reinforce the values of lifelong learning and service.

Philosophy

The School of Nursing endeavors to develop the Professional Nurse Leader to serve, educate, and empower all citizens towards optimal personal wellness. The Professional Nurse Leader advocates for opportunities for all citizens to improve their quality of life through innovative nursing practice with the primary goal of eliminating health disparities within our immediate and global communities.

Program Overview

History:

The inception of the School of Nursing began early in the hopes and dreams of Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune. Her desire to build a school of nursing came from her experiences with her students and the racial disparities that existed in those times. When a black student was turned away from a hospital in Daytona Beach, Dr. Bethune opened a hospital to serve the black community. This hospital later led to the evolution of the School of Nursing that exists today.

In 1976, the Bachelor of Science Nursing Program was established and housed within the Division of Science and Mathematics. The first class of the School of Nursing graduated five Bachelor of Science (BSN) prepared nurses in 1980. In December 1996, the National League for Nursing, Council of Baccalaureate and Higher Degree Programs granted initial accreditation to the baccalaureate program for five years.

In the spring of 1997, the Board of Trustees approved divisional status for nursing, with the unit becoming the sixth academic Division within the college. In 2001, the School of Nursing was reaccredited by the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission (NLNAC). Since the initial accreditation in 1996, Bethune-Cookman University School of Nursing has remained in full approval and good standing with the State of Florida. In 2005, the Division of Nursing became the School of Nursing.

In 2008, the L. Gale Lemerand School of Nursing building opened. The building is approximately 33, 628 square feet in size. It serves to facilitate learning environments for the students and faculty of the College of Nursing and Health Sciences. This building also houses the Odessa Chambliss Center for Health Equity. This center serves as a hub for health literacy and community outreach for the B-CU faculty, staff, and students as well as the surrounding community.

The School of Nursing defines public service as community service, clinical practice, and political activism from a nursing perspective. Within this framework, community service is aimed at fostering collaboration and sharing of nursing faculty and student expertise within the health care professionals, formal and informal groups that exist in the community. This service includes membership or offices held on community boards, sharing professional knowledge and skills to help others solve actual or potential problems, and presentations at local, state, or national professional meetings.

Clinical practice focuses on providing education and nursing care to a diverse population by providing students with experience to meet the needs of the local and global communities.

Throughout the history of the School of Nursing, the mission of Bethune-Cookman University has permeated all efforts to improve the nursing program towards the goal of “Enter to Learn and Depart to Serve”. The mission of teaching, learning, departing, and serving places the student at the center of its planning. Historically, Dr. Bethune’s mission was to provide education to minority students who would not be afforded the opportunity of education.