History & Heritage
Our vision has a 96-year heritage. The Florida Hospital School of Nursing operated on this site from 1913 until 1958, when Southern Missionary College (now Southern Adventist University) sent nursing students from Tennessee to Orlando for clinical experience. In 1983, Southern Missionary College opened an Orlando Center, offering an associate degree in Nursing. Florida Hospital founded a School of Practical Nursing on this campus in 1964, and also offered programs in radiography and sonography.
In 1992, Adventist University of Health Sciences, formerly Florida Hospital College of Health Sciences, began with the merger of four programs - the Associate of Science degree in Nursing, Practical Nursing, Radiography, and Sonography - to form a new school. The University became a baccalaureate-granting institution in 1998 when it took over the Southern Adventist University Bachelor of Science Nursing Program. Since then, the University has added associate degree programs in Nuclear Medicine, Occupational Therapy Assistant, and Pre-Professional Studies. Six baccalaureate programs have also been added: online-learning degrees in Radiologic Sciences, Diagnostic Medical Sonography and Nursing, and on-campus degrees in Health Sciences, Biomedical Sciences, and Nuclear Medicine.
In 2008, the University began its first graduate program, offering a master’s degree in Nurse Anesthesia. The second, a master’s degree in Occupational Therapy, began in the fall of 2011. The third, a master’s degree in Healthcare Administration began fall 2013. The fourth, a master’s degree in Physician Assistant, began summer 2015. The fifth, a doctoral degree in Physical Therapy, began Summer 2016. Building on its rich educational heritage, Adventist University continues to grow as an institution with a commitment and passion for healthcare as ministry.
Mission Statement
Adventist University of Health Sciences, a Seventh-day Adventist institution, specializes in the education of professionals in healthcare. Service-oriented and guided by the values of Nurture, Excellence, Spirituality, and Stewardship, the University seeks to develop leaders who will practice healthcare as a ministry.
Vision Statements
These four words and their accompanying definitions are an identification and explanation of the values underlying the University Mission Statement. They play a vital role in the fulfillment of this Mission.
Nurture
Adventist University will be an institution that encourages the personal and professional growth of its students, faculty, and staff by nourishing their spiritual development, fostering their self-understanding, and encouraging a zeal for knowledge and service.
Excellence
Adventist University will be an institution whose programs are built upon an optimal blend of superior pedagogy, technology, and spiritual values, a blend designed to lead to the highest level of professional practice by its graduates.
Spirituality
Adventist University will be an institution where Christian professionalism is such an integral part of its programs and practices that it becomes the distinguishing characteristic of the organization.
Stewardship
Adventist University will be an institution where the wise stewardship of its human, intellectual, financial, and physical resources enables the University to achieve outcomes consistent with its mission.
Learning Outcomes
Adventist University strives to create an educational environment that fosters the inculcation of its four core values: Nurture, Excellence, Spirituality, and Stewardship. From those four ideals the University has identified seven learning outcomes which inform its curricular and extracurricular endeavors with the goal that they be manifested in the lives of its graduates.
Caring
The ADU graduate will be a caring professional who possesses a willingness to nurture other individuals in the context of healthcare as a ministry.
A caring individual:
- Defines the concept of caring.
- Identifies the principles of caring.
- Engages in caring behaviors.
- Analyzes the impact of caring behaviors in healthcare.
- Evaluates caring behaviors of one’s self and others in healthcare.
- Constructs new caring strategies for quality improvement in healthcare.
Communication
The ADU graduate will be an effective communicator who possesses appropriate verbal, nonverbal and written skills in the practice of healthcare as a ministry.
The effective communicator:
- Employs appropriate mechanics, grammar, and word usage based on American Standard English.
- Organizes and presents thoughts in a coherent form.
- Adapts both written and oral communication to the target audience.
- Analyzes and critiques the communication of oneself and/or others.
- Reads and evaluates research reports within the healthcare field.
- Designs and presents scholarly activity.
Critical Thinking
The ADU graduate will be a critical thinker who gathers relevant information and analyzes and uses that knowledge in practicing healthcare as a ministry.
The critical thinker:
- Identifies critical thinking strategies.
- Interprets meaning using critical thinking strategies.
- Classifies information using critical thinking strategies.
- Develops solutions for complex problems.
- Evaluates solutions for complex problems.
- Uses critical thinking strategies in the design and implementation of scholarly activities.
Ethical/Moral
The ADU graduate will exhibit the characteristics of a Christian professional: treating everyone with respect and dignity in the context of healthcare as a ministry.
The ethical/moral individual:
- Identifies the principles of moral/ethical behavior.
- Illustrates principles of ethical/moral behavior.
- Rates or ranks the importance of ethical/moral principles.
- Applies ethical/moral principles in decision making.
- Evaluates the ethical/moral principles in healthcare practice.
- Integrates ethical/moral principles in healthcare practice.
Professional Expertise
The ADU graduate will demonstrate professional expertise by passing appropriate professional examinations and exhibiting proficiencies within the context of healthcare as a ministry.
The professional:
- Demonstrates an adequate knowledge base of profession.
- Performs skills appropriate to the clinical environment.
- Advocates for the patients.
- Examines the impact and effectiveness of the profession.
- Supports the profession within the arena of healthcare.
- Constructs new ideas and/or practices for improvement in the profession.
Service to the Community
The ADU graduate will be one who fulfills their social, civic and environmental responsibilities in their involvement of healthcare as a ministry.
The serving individual:
- Identifies the needs of under-served populations.
- Explains the importance of participating in a professional community.
- Examines strategies to provide service to the community.
- Engages with civic entities.
- Evaluates service opportunities completed through self-reflection and peer evaluations.
- Designs solutions to assist populations in need.
Lifelong Learning
The ADU graduate will be a lifelong learner who pursues excellence and the ongoing acquisition of knowledge and professional expertise.
The lifelong learner:
- Defines the principles of lifelong learning.
- Reflects on learning strategies.
- Engages in a variety of learning opportunities.
- Demonstrates information fluency.
- Examines growth and improvement in learning experiences.
- Develops a personal plan for lifelong learning.
Assessment of Learning Outcomes
Adventist University of Health Sciences believes that assessment of learning outcomes and general education competencies should include:
- Both direct and indirect measures
- Assessments at the class level where a variety of techniques can be employed
- Student self-assessment
- Alumni self-assessment
- Use of nationally normed instruments where appropriate and available.
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