About the Kramer School of Nursing

We, the Faculty of Kramer School of Nursing, believe:

• As faculty of a faith-based institution of higher education, the education of individuals for the profession of nursing is a calling with spiritual implications that leads to a deeper commitment, higher goals, a pursuit of excellence and service to others. We believe our obligation is to produce professionals who are skilled clinically, who can think critically, and who are ethically and legally accountable for their actions. We believe that both faculty and students must be culturally competent and sensitive to the range of beliefs they will encounter among those with whom they have professional interaction. We aspire to treat each member of our student body as an individual with distinct needs for fostering his or her success and welfare.
• Baccalaureate graduates develop a foundation for the acquisition of the knowledge, skills, critical thinking, and experience necessary for success and leadership in nursing. We strive to provide well-rounded clinical experiences caring for clients throughout the life span. Graduates are prepared to:
  • Function within the global community and to employ the fruits of their education to improve their communities.
  • Nursing at the master’s level requires the attainment of knowledge, beliefs, and skills needed for more complex and higher level nursing roles through theoretical, evidence-based and applied studies. Master’s education prepares nurses for these roles by building on the foundations of baccalaureate nursing education.
  • Doctoral education prepares nurse scholars for leadership roles in education, research, and service by developing and advancing empirical knowledge. Nursing knowledge is derived from the scholarship of discovery, application and integration into practice. Doctoral education stimulates intellectual inquiry and creativity to promote evidence-based practice in the discipline of nursing.

Faculty of the Kramer School of Nursing offer the following descriptions of core concepts of the nursing curriculum:

Nurse/Nursing

• Professional nursing incorporates direct care to clients, education, leadership and scholarship. The professional nurse is an integral part of the health care team who uses critical thinking, the nursing process and competent clinical skills to assist clients to achieve optimal levels of health.
• Nursing practice integrates knowledge of liberal arts, sciences and general education as a basis for caring for clients in diverse settings.
• Nursing practice is a collaborative activity involving individual clients, family members, community members and other members of the health care system. The nurse collaborates with and educates clients according to the ability of the client to participate actively in health care decision-making and activities.
• The uniqueness of nursing is an attitude of caring demonstrated through ethically and legally accountable frameworks of nursing practice.
• Professional nursing is a calling with spiritual implications that leads to a deeper commitment, higher goals, a pursuit of excellence and service to others.

Caring

• Caring requires connections between the nurse and client based on empathy, acceptance and respect.
• The caring nurse collaborates with the client to promote health, restore wellness and prevent illness.
• Caring incorporates dignity, humanity, wholeness and spiritual harmony.

Client

• “Client” is defined as those with whom the nurse interacts for the purpose of optimizing health care.
• The client may be an individual, a family, a group or the community as a whole. The concept of community may range from local communities to the broad global community.
• Nurses care for clients across the life span of human development.

Environment

• The environment consists of multiple factors that influence the interactions of nurse, client and health outcomes.
• The environment incorporates the client’s internal micro system as well as the external macro system.
• • The micro system includes the interdependent physical, mental, social and spiritual subsystems.
  • The macro system is the structures, settings and organizations within which health care, education or scholarship is provided.
• Within the health care system, the professional nurse coordinates, collaborates and delegates nursing care of clients.

Health

• Health is a framework for identification of the level of physical, mental, social and spiritual well-being of clients.
• Wellness is a state of optimal physical, mental, social and spiritual well-being.
• A well individual assumes responsibility to function at optimal levels in physical, mental, social and spiritual realms.
• An individual's actual or perceived level of wellness may be identified using the wellness-illness continuum.

STRATEGIC INITIATIVE I: Provide a comprehensive curriculum utilizing a dynamic educational experience that encourages service, leadership and spiritual growth which is led by faculty who have and maintain expertise in their designated specialty.

STRATEGIC INITIATIVE II: Provide a comprehensive educational program that prepares KSN graduates with the knowledge and skills to provide health and illness care to a diverse community that includes local, state, national and global populations.

STRATEGIC INITIATIVE III: Benefit the community in health and wellness initiatives, providing teaching, learning and service opportunities for students in the local and broader community.

STRATEGIC INITIATIVE IV: Increase KSN visibility and financial strength.

STRATEGIC INITIATIVE V: Maintain a planning culture through ongoing systematic and empirically grounded assessment of student and program outcomes using the standards and criteria of the Accreditation Commission for Nursing Education (ACEN).

These policies and procedures, supplemental in nature to policies and procedures in the Oklahoma City University (OCU) Student Handbook, the OCU Undergraduate Catalog and the OCU Graduate Catalog are intended to clarify material contained therein or to address concerns and subjects not covered by those documents. Where Kramer School of Nursing (KSN) policies are silent as to policies enumerated in the OCU Student Handbook and catalogs, those documents shall govern.

KSN Student Handbook (pdf) 2023-2024

KSN Undergraduate Clinical-Practicum Handbook (pdf) 2023-2024

KSN Graduate Clinical-Practicum Handbook (pdf) 2023-2024

KSN Student Handbook (pdf) 2022-2023

KSN Undergraduate Clinical-Practicum Handbook (pdf) 2022- 2023

KSN Graduate Clinical-Practicum Handbook (pdf) 2022-2023

KSN Student Handbook (pdf) 2021-2022

KSN Student Handbook (pdf) 2020-2021

KSN Student Handbook (pdf) 2019-2020

KSN Student Handbook (pdf) 2018-2019

KSN Student Handbook (pdf) 2017-2018

KSN Student Handbook (pdf) 2016-2017 Part one

KSN Student Handbook (pdf) 2016-2017 Part two

KSN Student Handbook (pdf) 2015-2016