Nursing involves the development of clinical practice skills as well as self-mastery of critical thinking and decision making skills. Management skills are essential for professional nurses to best meet the needs of clients and address health care delivery problems in the 21st century. The professional nurse must be able to manage the health care of an increasingly diverse population in an environment of economic constraint and expanding technology and delivery settings. To do this, the nurse must develop skills in case management, coordination, collaboration, negotiation, policy formulation, and financial management. Professional nursing skills include professional nursing practiced in the context of human relationships.
Clinical judgments have as much to do with values and ethics as with knowledge and technology.
Professional nurses must develop skills in human valuing and ethical reasoning, as well as caring and compassion, to be true advocates for clients at the local, state, and national levels. Advances in technology require the nurse to be able to address ethical dilemmas for clients, the health care system, and for one's self. Development of skill in integrating professional, ethical, and legal standards into practice is necessary. Professional nurses are committed to life-long learning, the development and utilization of nursing knowledge, and the advancement of the profession. In this environment, faculty endeavor to demonstrate the value of individual uniqueness in students and facilitate the development of the student as a whole person.