• Creative problem-solving through critical thinking and innovative use of information technology
• Best practice models for culturally appropriate health services, in local to international arenas
• Nursing knowledge development related to healthy lifestyles, self-care, functional enhancement, effective symptom management, and delivery systems
• Leadership in health policy

• To raise educational achievement and intellectual aspiration in Indianapolis, the state of Indiana, and beyond, through leadership, access, and commitment to lifelong learning
• To develop and apply knowledge to ever-changing issues of health and of economic and social well-being, through teaching, research, and service
• To enhance the professional and personal lives of students by offering the state's most comprehensive range of effective academic programs
• To serve as a model for collaboration and interdisciplinary work
• To build understanding and respect in academic and human relationships through the appreciation and celebration of diversity

Letter from the University Dean

Dear Graduate Student:

Indiana University is a multicampus university and Indiana University School of Nursing (IUSON) is a multicampus school. As dean of Indiana University School of Nursing, it is my pleasure to welcome you to our core campus, the IUPUI/C-IUB Corridor, and to your chosen nursing program. IUSON has a proud history going back to its founding in 1914, and we have about 23,000 alumnae/i in every state and most countries. Ours is one of the top-rated nursing schools in the country, so you are joining a tradition of excellence that has made its mark on both the profession and the health of citizens in our state and beyond.

The faculty and I are pleased that you have chosen IUSON for your advanced degree preparation. IUSON has been a pioneer in master's education and has a doctoral program that matriculated its first students a quarter century ago. We are one of relatively few nursing schools to have an NIH-funded core research center. Thus, you are joining a tradition of excellence with deep roots that can nourish your particular career aspirations.

All of us, faculty and staff alike, are here to facilitate your learning and to support you as you move towards your career goals. We see ourselves as coaches whose job it is to facilitate your learning and to cheer you on as you play a leadership role in a quickly changing field with many challenges and opportunities. Please take advantage of the resources available as you progress through your program of study. We wish you every success as you begin this part of your journey. I am personally pleased to have you as a colleague in our wonderful profession.

Best wishes,

Angela Barron McBride, Ph.D., R.N., F.A.A.N.
University Dean and Distinguished Professor

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Accreditations

National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission—A.S.N., B.S.N., and M.S.N. programs

Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education—B.S.N. and M.S.N. programs

Indiana State Board of Nursing—A.S.N. and B.S.N. programs

American Nurses Credentialing Center's Commission on Accreditation

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Memberships

The School of Nursing is an agency member of the National League for Nursing's Council of Associate Degree Programs and the Council of Baccalaureate and Higher Degree Programs, Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE), as well as the Committee for Institutional Cooperation (CIC). The school is also a constituency member of the National League for Nursing; and the American Association of Colleges of Nursing. The Clarian Health Nursing Service is an agency member of the Council of Hospitals and Related Institutional Nursing Services.

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Professional/Technical Standards

Students of the School of Nursing will be held to the American Nurses' Association's "Standards of Professional Performance" and "Code for Nurses," and the School of Nursing's Essential Abilities (outlined below). Failure to uphold these standards may result in dismissal from any nursing program.

ANA Standards of Professional Performance (revised 1989)

1. The nurse systematically evaluates the quality and effectiveness of nursing practice.
2. The nurse evaluates his or her own nursing practice in relation to professional practice standards and relevant statutes and regulations.
3. The nurse acquires and maintains current knowledge in nursing practice.
4. The nurse contributes to the professional development of peers, colleagues, and others.
5. The nurse's decisions and actions on behalf of clients are determined in an ethical manner.
6. The nurse collaborates with the clients, significant others, and health care providers.
7. The nurse uses research findings in practice.
8. The nurse considers factors related to safety, effectiveness, and cost in planning and delivering client care.

Each registered nurse inherits a measure of the responsibility and trust associated with the profession, along with the corresponding obligation to adhere to the standards of ethical practice and conduct it has set. Nursing students are expected to show responsibility in their behavior, to deal with faculty, peers, patients, and clinical staff in a direct and honest manner, and to be professional in their conduct. Students who violate accepted standards for professional nursing may be discharged from the program.

1. The nurse, in all professional relationships, practices with compassion and respect for the inherent dignity, worth, and uniqueness of every individual, unrestricted by considerations of social or economic status, personal attributes, or the nature of health problems.
2. The nurse's primary commitment is to the patient, whether an individual, family, group, or community.
3. The nurse promotes, advocates for, and strives to protect the health, safety, and rights of the patient.
4. The nurse is responsible and accountable for individual nursing practice and determines the appropriate delegation of tasks consistent with the nurse's obligation to provide optimum patient care.
5. The nurse owes the same duties to self as to others, including the responsibility to preserve integrity and safety, to maintain competence, and to continue personal and professional growth.
6. The nurse participates in establishing, maintaining, and improving health care environments and conditions of employment conducive to the provision of quality health care and consistent with the values of the profession through individual and collective action.
7. The nurse participates in the advancement of the profession through contributions to practice, education, administration, and knowledge development.
8. The nurse collaborates with other health professionals and the public in promoting community, national, and international efforts to meet health needs.
9. The profession of nursing, as represented by associations and their members, is responsible for articulating nursing values, for maintaining the integrity of the profession and its practice, and for shaping social policy.

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Essential Abilities

The School of Nursing faculty have specified essential abilities (technical standards) critical to the success of students enrolled in any IU nursing program. Qualified applicants are expected to meet all admission criteria, and matriculating students are expected to meet all progression criteria, as well as these essential abilities (technical standards) with or without reasonable accommodations.

1. Essential judgment skills to include ability to identify, assess, and comprehend conditions surrounding patient situations for the purpose of problem solving and coming to appropriate conclusions and/or courses of action.
2. Essential neurological functions to include ability to use the senses of seeing, hearing, touch, and smell to make correct judgments regarding patient conditions for the purpose of demonstrating competence to safely engage in the practice of nursing. Behaviors that demonstrate essential neurological functions include, but are not limited to, observing, listening, understanding relationships, writing, and employing psychomotor abilities.
3. Essential communication skills to include ability to communicate effectively with fellow students, faculty, patients, and all members of the health care team. Skills include verbal, written, and nonverbal abilities consistent with effective communication.
4. Essential emotional coping skills to include ability to demonstrate the mental health necessary to safely engage in the practice of nursing as determined by professional standards of practice.
5. Essential intellectual and conceptual skills to include ability to measure, calculate, analyze, synthesize, and evaluate to engage competently in the safe practice of nursing.
6. Other essential behavioral attributes to include ability to engage in activities consistent with safe nursing practice without demonstrated behaviors of addiction to, abuse of, or dependence on alcohol or other drugs that may impair behavior or judgment. The student must demonstrate responsibility and accountability for actions as a student in the School of Nursing and as a developing professional nurse. (Policy VI-A-15)