Mission, Values, and Graduate Outcomes
Graduate Education in Nursing Intercollaborative Excellence (GENIE) Mission
Our nursing program aims to be a global leader in graduate education, preparing a diverse nursing workforce to deliver primary healthcare that addresses health justice and enhances community well-being, with emphasis on people of color and those who are systematically excluded in urban and rural populations in Georgia, the nation, and the world.
GENIE Values
Graduate Education in Nursing graduates will be recognized as exemplary healthcare leaders and in community engagement and health justice. The program’s core values shape the curricular framework, enhancing the professional identity formation of our learners. Through these ten foundational values, students develop and demonstrate the essential tenets of professionalism in their healthcare roles:
- Integrity - Maintain unwavering adherence to ethical nursing principles and professional standards. Demonstrate transparency in communication with patients, colleagues, and systems, while accepting accountability for advanced practice decisions.
- Justice - Work actively to eliminate healthcare disparities and promote equitable access to care. Challenge systemic barriers to health equity through policy advocacy, research, and ethical healthcare delivery.
- Scholarship - Advance nursing knowledge through research, inquiry, and evidence-based practice. Engage in scholarly activities that improve patient outcomes and contribute to the profession.
- Humanism - Treat every individual with empathy, cultural humility, and deep respect. Build authentic, therapeutic relationships across diverse communities with dignity and compassion.
- Wisdom - Integrate clinical experience with the best available evidence to inform sound judgment. Mentor while valuing diverse perspectives from interdisciplinary colleagues, patients, and community stakeholders to enhance collective healthcare wisdom.
- Excellence - Consistently strive to exceed expectations in practice, scholarship, and leadership. Deliver evidence-based care with precision and competence. Pursue lifelong learning and continuous professional development.
- Innovation - Create forward-thinking solutions to healthcare challenges using research, quality improvement, and new technologies. Drive transformation in care delivery and health policy.
- Courage - Act with moral and ethical conviction in challenging situations. Stand up for justice, advocate for patients, and lead change—even in the face of resistance.
- Leadership - Lead with vision, empathy, and integrity. Mobilize interdisciplinary teams, foster collaboration, and guide systems change across clinical and community settings.
- Professionalism - Demonstrate accountability, respect, and ethical behavior in all professional interactions. Uphold the reputation and responsibilities of the nursing profession.
Graduate Outcomes
The Graduate Education in Nursing program outcomes are aligned with the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) The Essentials: Core Competencies for Professional Nursing Education (2026) and guide the development of advanced practice and doctoral nursing competencies. These outcomes prepare graduates to provide evidence-based, person-centered care, lead quality improvement initiatives, collaborate across disciplines, and advance health equity while meeting the evolving healthcare needs of individuals, families, communities, and populations.
Upon successful completion of the program, graduates will be able to:
- Integrate foundational and advanced specialty knowledge and ways of knowing utilizing nursing’s and other disciplines perspective, theory, and research-based evidence to inform education, research, practice and socially responsible leadership (Domain 1 KFNP- Knowledge for Nursing Practice)
- Synthesize advanced scientific knowledge from diverse sources, emphasizing health justice, social and political determinants of health, to deliver person-centered care, mitigate disparities in health delivery and impact community health outcomes(Domain 2 PCC-Person Centered Care)
- Engage collaboratively in strategic innovative partnership with inclusive stakeholders to address population focused priorities healthcare needs and advocate for equitable population health outcomes. (Domain 3 PH- Population Health)
- Disseminate translational nursing evidenced-based practice to optimize wellness and address health justice. (Domain 4 SND- Scholarship for the Nursing Discipline)
- Demonstrate proficiency in improvement science and data analytics to achieve effective system improvements and equitable health outcomes. (Domain 5- QS-Quality and Safety)
- Collaborate inter-professionally as a leader and team member to improve communication, coordination of care and healthcare system processes for diverse and marginalized populations. (Domain 6-IP-Interprofessional Partnerships)
- Design ethical system improvement strategies, across the continuum of care, that address structural racism and societal inequities (Domain 7 -SBP Systems Based Practice)
- Apply emerging technology and health informatics to implement decision-making processes for safe delivery of nursing care to diverse populations (Domain 8: IHT- Informatics and Healthcare Technologies)
- Demonstrate professionalism and ethical accountability to the provision of population based health justice while delivering care that respects the uniqueness of all individuals (Domain 9: Prof- Professionalism)
- Develop critical reflective leadership skills and attributes to foster life-long learning, empathy, resilience and well-being to advocate for the nursing profession and global health justice (Domain 10: PPLD-Personal, Professional and Leadership Development)