All actual consumers and potential consumers, including those who are disenfranchised from the health care system, have the right of access to health care. Environment has a significant impact on health. Any setting in which consumers function is an appropriate environment for nursing practice. Nurses must be active in social, political, and economic arenas to shape policy that creates optimal environments for maximizing health. Health is affected by illness, disability, and dysfunction.
Consumers ultimately define health for themselves and make decisions regarding it.
At the School of Nursing, faculty and learners function from the perspective of the Unification Model. Nursing practice, education, and research are the three interdependent elements of this model, each element enhancing the others. Unification embodies both a philosophical approach and an organizational structure which promotes and facilitates faculty practice and strengthens operational interdependence among practice, education, and research. Research strengthens education and practice through development of the nursing knowledge base. Practice enriches both research, through generation of questions, and education, through continual application of scientific knowledge.