Nursing: RIBN Collaborative

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This program is a collaboration between Surry Community College (SCC) and Western Carolina University(WCU) providing nursing students with an affordable and accessible opportunity to attain a baccalaureate degree in nursing on the campus of Surry Community College. Students are dually enrolled at SCC and WCU taking classes at both SCC (on SCC campus) and WCU (on-line) during the first three years of the program. At the end of the third-year students take the licensure examination for registered nurses (NCLEX-RN) and are then eligible to work as a RN while completing their final year of nursing courses online with Western Carolina University. Completion of this program will provide opportunities for employment in various fields of nursing, and will open doors to additional opportunities in nursing including board-certifications, and the ability to attain further education at the master’s and doctoral levels.

Curriculum Description

The RIBN curriculum provides knowledge, skills, and strategies to integrate safety and quality into nursing care, to practice in a dynamic environment, and to meet individual needs which impact health, quality of life, and achievement of potential. Course work includes and builds upon the domains of healthcare, nursing practice, and the holistic individual. Content emphasizes the nurse as a member of the interdisciplinary team providing safe, individualized care while employing evidence-based practice, quality improvement, and informatics. The final year of education provides a particular emphasis on gerontological and community health nursing, use of evidence-based nursing knowledge, and leadership development.

SCC Program Learning Outcomes

Graduates of the SCC/WCU RIBN Program will:

• Communicate professionally and effectively with individuals, significant support person(s), and members of the interdisciplinary healthcare team
• Integrate knowledge of the holistic needs of the individual to provide an individual centered assessment
• Incorporate informatics, to formulate evidence-based clinical judgments and management decisions;
• Implement caring interventions incorporating documented best practices for individuals in diverse settings
• Develop a teaching plan for individuals, and/or the nursing team, incorporating teaching and learning principles
• Collaborate with the interdisciplinary healthcare team to advocate for positive individual and organizational outcomes
• Manage health care for the individual using cost effective nursing strategies, quality improvement processes, and current technologies

WCU Program Learning Outcomes

Graduates of the SCC/WCU RIBN Program will:

• Apply the nursing process with clinical judgment to provide safe, holistic, and compassionate care to diverse individuals and populations across the lifespan.
• Synthesize knowledge from nursing and other disciplines to inform clinical judgment, provide evidence-based care, and explore innovative solutions to improve healthcare on the individual and systems level.
• Improve individual and population health by integrating principles of leadership, advocacy, health equity, and social justice with knowledge of health policy, health care systems, and the social determinants of health.
• Collaborate in a culture of safety and quality through an understanding of healthcare systems, care outcomes, evidence-based practice, economics, and regulatory requirements.
• Communicate effectively through written, verbal, behavioral, and technological modalities to manage information, collaborate with the healthcare team, gain knowledge, and drive decisions for safe, high-quality, efficient, and evidence-based nursing care.
• Cultivate lifelong learning and integrate professional standards rooted in the ANA Code of Ethics to lead with empathy, self-awareness, integrity, and resilence in providing therapeutic care and supporting nursing excellence.

Employment Opportunities

Graduates of this program are eligible to apply to take the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX­-RN) at the completion of the third year. Employment opportunities are vast within the global health care system and may include positions within acute, chronic, extended, industrial, and community health care facilities. Additionally, opportunities in nursing including management and leadership, community and population health, and case management are available to graduates of this program.

Contact

Surry Community College
Dr. Yvonne Johnson
Dean for Health Sciences
Director of Nursing
johnsony@surry.edu
(336) 386-3368

Financial aid is available to eligible students: https://surry.edu/paying-for-college/financial-aid/

Contact: financialaid@surry.edu or (336) 386-3264 for more information.

Western Carolina University
Dr. Ramona Winchello, Interim Director RIBN
Assistant Professor
Western Carolina University School of Nursing
rwhichello@email.wcu.edu
828.898.2549

Completion Information

Each nursing (NUR) course must be taken sequentially as indicated in the curriculum plan and successfully completed to progress to subsequent nursing courses. A nursing student prohibited from participating in a clinical agency will be dismissed from the nursing program due to their inability to progress.

Programs

• RIBN Curriculum Plan: Surry Community College and Western Carolina (A45110R)

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