ADN General Information
Associate of Science in Nursing (ADN)
Registered nurses (RN), regardless of specialty or work setting, treat and educate patients and the public about various medical conditions and provide advice and emotional support to patients’ family members. RNs record patients’ medical histories and symptoms, help perform diagnostic tests and analyze results, operate medical equipment, administer treatment and medications, and help with patient follow-up and rehabilitation.
RNs teach patients and their families how to manage their illnesses or injuries by explaining post-treatment home care needs; diet, nutrition, and exercise programs; and self-administration of medication and physical therapy. Some RNs may work to promote general health by educating the public on warning signs and symptoms of disease. RNs also run general health screening or immunization clinics, blood drives, and public seminars on various conditions.
When caring for patients, RNs establish a care plan or contribute to an existing plan. Plans may include numerous activities, such as administering medication, including careful checking of dosages and avoiding interactions; starting, maintaining, and discontinuing intravenous (IV) lines for fluid, medication, blood, and blood products; administering therapies and treatments; observing the patient and recording those observations; and consulting with physicians and other healthcare clinicians. Some RNs provide direction to licensed vocational nurses and nursing aides regarding patient care.
Program Learning Outcomes
PLO1. Apply principles of health promotion, illness prevention and restorative or end of life care using ethical, legal and social principles to assist patients, families and the community across the lifespan to their optimum level of human flourishing.
PLO2. Identify and apply evidence-based concepts and theories related to caring, the development of holism in the mind, body and spirit and the nursing process to assist patients, families and the community to develop or live within an optimal range of human flourishing across the lifespan.
PLO3. Demonstrate critical thinking and nursing judgment in situations that require acute, chronic and complex care and teaching that utilizes knowledge of the sciences, current evidence and the nursing process.
PLO4. Recognize and practice personal professional development, including lifelong learning that leads to evidence-based nursing judgment for patients, families and communities across the lifespan.
PLO5. Apply the principles of quality and safety to patient and family care in all healthcare locations, including ethical decision making, patient advocacy and demonstration of integrity that are integral to the professional identity of the nurse.
PLO6. Describe and demonstrate the ability to use information technology for communication with the healthcare team, development of knowledge and prevention of errors in order to support nursing professional identity in clinical practice.
PLO7. Describe and demonstrate patient-centered care with communication practices (verbal, nonverbal, electronic) that develop relationships with the patient and family, acknowledge diversity and cultural competence and demonstrate the professional identity of the nurse.