College of Nursing and Health Professions

Upon degree completion, graduates of our programs will be able to...

Practices within a legal and ethical framework of health care delivery.
Advances the role of advanced nursing practice in the health care system through scholarship, clinical experience and political involvement.
Demonstrates critical thinking and diagnostic reasoning skills in clinical decision-making.
Integrates multiple technologies and relevant theories into the organization and synthesis of health data required to develop plans of care for patients, families and communities.
Integrates culturally sensitive health promotion activities that contribute to the health and wellness of the community into clinical practice.
Demonstrates leadership in nursing and health care through involvement in the development of outcome-based standards of care and practice-based health policy issues.
Evaluates and modify the quality and effectiveness of clinical practice based on current research findings, standards of care and patient outcomes.
Contributes to the advancement of nursing, health care and humanity through communication, collaboration

Assume health care and public health leadership positions in professional, academic, clinical and/or community organizations.
Educate students and practitioners in health sciences in academic, clinical, and community settings.
Collaborate with key stakeholders, communities, and professionals in health and other fields, to advance interprofessional practice, education, and research.
Contribute to and disseminate scholarship for transfer of knowledge in the health sciences to promote excellence and best practice.

Demonstrate competence as an entry‐level practitioner of physical therapy
Be prepared to pursue professional development
Exhibit civic responsibility and compassion in interaction with the community
Show creativity and innovation in the delivery of physical therapy services
Demonstrate professional responsibility

Understand and apply historical, contemporary, postmodern and evidence-based clinical practices, using a social justice lens.
Create culturally responsive clinical practices and programs.
Teach and supervise within traditional and non-traditional educational programs while upholding a socially just framework.
Lead program development, administration and evaluation, while upholding a socially just framework.

Establish a research agenda that will impact health and rehabilitation sciences.
Collaborate, integrate expertise, and conduct research within interprofessional teams.
Write research proposals that are competitive for grant funding.
Disseminate and translate research through presentations, publications, and contemporary media.
Teach effectively and contribute to the academic community.
Create innovative mechanisms, methods, interventions, and approaches for service delivery for health promotion and rehabilitation.
Institute a plan for continued professional development as a research scientist.

Contribute to the scholarly generation of nutrition science knowledge, and the translation of this knowledge with respect to health, disease prevention and treatment.
Actively participate in scientific communication through publishing of research results, presenting at scientific meetings, and interacting with the lay public.
Continually be aware of the need for and obtain the knowledge to be able to engage in scientific research and education with ethics and integrity
Write research proposals that are competitive for grant funding.

Provide health care services with physician supervision to a variety of patients across the life span (neonatal to geriatric patients) and from diverse populations in a culturally sensitive manner
Provide health care services with physician supervision in a range of primary health care settings including hospital- based to ambulatory care settings
Provide health care services with physician supervision to patients with emergent, acute or chronic health care problems
Demonstrate interpersonal and communication skills that result in the effective exchange of information and collaboration with patients, their families and other health professionals
Demonstrate proficiency in patient evaluation through data collection methods including the performance of history and physical examinations (complete and directed), ordering and/or performing appropriate diagnostic studies, and review of current medical literature.
Synthesize data from the patient history, physical examination, diagnostic studies and medical literature to formulate an appropriate patient assessment
Develop and implement appropriate management plans for patients incorporating pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic therapy, and referral to other practitioners and community resources as needed
Evaluate the psychosocial aspects of the patients’ health and provide appropriate counseling and/or referral for counseling beyond the PA’s expertise
Demonstrate proper documentation of patient-provider interactions that promotes communication and reduces error.
Demonstrate proficiency in a variety of technical skills utilized in primary care settings
Apply concepts of health promotion in patient care
Provide education and counseling to patients about symptoms and signs of their illnesses, the rationale for performing diagnostic studies and procedures, the meaning of the diagnosis(es), the goals and effects of therapy, and the prognosis of their illness
Describe the basic principles of medical ethics and the problem-solving skills required for ethical decision making in the physician assistant profession, including the core concepts of patient autonomy, informed consent, truth telling and confidentiality
Search, interpret and evaluate the medical literature including its application to individualized patient care; apply concepts of evidence based medicine; and, utilize ‘best practices’ measures in patient care.
Apply concepts to improve patient safety, reduce medical errors, and contain risk as it pertains to patient care.
Discuss concepts of public health as they relate to the role of the practicing PA.
Discuss the types of health care delivery system and summarize current US health policies.
Maintain the ethical code of the PA profession with respect for the diversity of patient values and beliefs
Develop skills for life-long learning, including appropriate use of the medical literature
Practice collegially and work collaboratively with other health team professionals

Describe methods for summarizing health and epidemiological data and use those methods to analyze statistical data sets.
Identify ethical principles relevant to health care systems to analyze health care or health administrative issues based on these principles.
Analyze which method of quality management is most appropriate given a specific health care environment.
Apply economic concepts and economic analysis to examine health care expenditures in the delivery of health services propose solutions based on the results.
Describe the major components of organizational structure (e.g., structure, vision, mission) and identify how they affect health care business and apply tools in human resources management to health care environment (e.g., employee selection, training and development, performance management and performance appraisal) in the context of current legal responsibilities.
Apply the appropriate financial management tools in a healthcare delivery system, for the purpose of planning, budgeting, and financial analysis.
Describe the major components a healthcare organization’s strategic planning process and apply appropriate environmental assessments, and identify key components of market analysis.
Conduct policy analysis on current health policy issues based on the role of all branches of government, the role of regulation at federal, state and local authority in health matters, including environmental health and workplace safety.
Identify the political, legal, and regulatory factors that presented avenues and obstacles for healthcare delivery, explain the importance of historical foundation of American values, culture and norms in the evolution of healthcare system changes and discuss the implications of the historical events and patterns on the health of the US population.

Communicate effectively in a variety of situations
Demonstrate understanding of the physical, biological, and social sciences as they apply to nutrition
Demonstrate an understanding of public health nutrition
Understand and utilize research and research techniques
Demonstrate an understanding of foods including food science, food preparation, food safety, nutrient composition of foods and recipe modification for modified diets
Understand and apply principles of nutrition and medical nutrition therapy
Demonstrate ability to use the techniques and tools for managing human and non-human resources in food service and other management areas
Demonstrate a working knowledge of health care systems
Demonstrate critical thinking and problem solving skills
Exhibit professional attitudes and values

Work with culturally diverse populations, applying cultural and social diversity theories and competency models to an understanding of identity development, empowerment, concepts of health and pathology, collaboration, and advocacy, with respect for differences, and a commitment to social justice.
Demonstrate an understanding of systems of care and professional roles within systems.
Effectively communicate, interface, and collaborate with other professionals and lay people as part of clinical practice.
Demonstrate mastery and consistent application of ethical principles and standards of practice.
Self -evaluate for continued improvement and professional growth.
Critically interpret and apply research and other scholarly literature in practice, including research designs and methodologies relevant to art therapy and counseling.
Provide individual and group art therapy and counseling services across a diverse spectrum of recipient populations and ages, including assessment, evaluation, and intervention.
Recognize the history and theory of art therapy and relate specifically how it informs assessment and treatment planning.
Demonstrate an understanding of therapeutic utility and psychological properties for a wide range of art media, processes and materials.
Maintain an ongoing relationship with personal art making.
Develop therapeutic goals and intervention strategies based on the therapeutic effect of art making, including benefits, limitations and contradictions of art materials, strategies to effectively manage resistance and accentuate strengths for creative expression.
Demonstrate the ability to administer and apply appropriate art therapy assessments.
Apply understanding of artistic language, symbolism, metaphoric properties of media their pluralistic meanings across cultures and within a diverse society such as North America.

Provide individual and group dance/movement therapy and counseling services across a diverse spectrum of recipient populations and ages, including assessment, evaluation, and intervention.
Utilize improvisatory and creative processes in therapeutic work applying theories of creativity and curative properties of artistic communication and expression.
Apply understanding of functional, relational, and expressive movement to support health.
Work with culturally diverse populations, applying cultural and social diversity theories and competency models to an understanding of identity development, empowerment, concepts of health and pathology, collaboration, and advocacy, with respect for differences and a commitment to social justice.
Critically interpret and apply research and other scholarly literature in practice, including research designs and methodologies relevant to counseling and dance/movement therapy.
Effectively communicate, interface, and collaborate with other professionals and lay people as part of clinical practice.
Demonstrate an understanding of systems of care and professional roles within systems.
Demonstrate mastery and consistent application of ethical principles and standards of practice.
Self -evaluate for continued improvement and professional growth.

Work with culturally diverse populations, applying cultural and social diversity theories and competency models to an understanding of identity development, empowerment, concepts of health and pathology, collaboration, and advocacy, with respect for differences and a commitment to social justice.
Demonstrate an understanding of systems of care and professional roles within systems.
Effectively communicate, interface, and collaborate with other professionals and lay people as part of clinical practice.
Demonstrate mastery and consistent application of ethical principles and standards of practice.
Provide individual and group CAT specialty and counseling services across a diverse spectrum of recipient populations and ages, including assessment, evaluation and intervention.
Self -evaluate for continued improvement and professional growth.
Critically interpret and apply research and other scholarly literature in practice, including research designs and methodologies relevant to music therapy and counseling.
Utilize creative processes in therapeutic work, applying theories of creativity and curative properties of artistic communication and expression.
Apply comprehensive knowledge of the foundations and principles of music therapy practice.
Apply comprehensive knowledge of current methods of music therapy assessment, treatment, and evaluation within a developmental and multicultural framework.
Utilize extensive and varied repertoire of contemporary and traditional idioms within improvisational, re-creative, songwriting and receptive music therapy methods in order to enhance creative and therapeutic processes.
Selectively modify music therapy approaches based on knowledge of the roles and meanings of music in various cultures.

Practices within a legal and ethical framework of health care delivery and scope of practice.
Advances the role of advanced practice in the health care system through scholarship, clinical experience, advocacy and political involvement.
Demonstrates critical thinking and diagnostic reasoning skills in clinical decision-making. Integrates multiple technologies and relevant theories into the organization and synthesis of health data required to develop plans of care for patients, families and communities.
Integrates culturally sensitive health promotion activities that contribute to the health and wellness of the community into clinical practice.
Demonstrates leadership in health care through involvement in the development of outcome-based standards of care and practice-based health policy issues.
Evaluates and modify the quality and effectiveness of clinical practice based on current research findings, standards of care and patient outcomes.
Contributes to the advancement of complementary and integrative health and humanity through communication, collaboration and education.

Design evidence-driven healthcare delivery approaches using fiscally responsible and environmentally sustainable strategies to meet current and anticipated individual and population health needs across the illness-wellness continuum.
Execute established steps of evidence-based practice when leading efforts to improve healthcare quality based on measurable and manageable outcomes.
Model communication skills necessary to lead and contribute to effective interprofessional collaborations and patient care encounters to accomplish high-quality and mission-driven outcomes.
Appraise healthcare systems’ delivery processes to improve quality, accessibility, and/or the sustainability of healthcare enterprises.
Propose policy initiatives that promote social justice and the health and wellness of all people, including those who are disparaged, oppressed, or vulnerable.
Appraise practice dilemmas using moral reasoning and legal/ethical analyses to make decisions in practice settings and to create policies that are consistent with professional codes, practice standards, and laws.
Utilize information systems/technologies to analyze health outcomes for individuals, aggregates, and populations and to evaluate healthcare delivery systems.
Demonstrate advanced specialty and role competence as an advanced practice registered nurse or as an advanced nurse in a role focused on advanced aggregate/systems/organizational expertise.

College of Nursing and Health Professions Graduate Program Level Outcomes