Nursing & Health Professions College at GMercyU 

The Mission of the Frances M. Maguire School of Nursing and Health Professions of Gwynedd Mercy University is to present educational programs that will prepare health professionals at the Baccalaureate, Master and Doctoral Degree levels.  As a school founded and sponsored by the Sisters of Mercy, it carries responsibility for the education of health professionals within a learning community rooted in Gospel values.  This education is grounded in the liberal arts, as it seeks to prepare citizens of the world as well as health professionals. Individuals educated through the Frances M. Maguire School of Nursing and Health Professions are prepared to offer direct and/or indirect patient care to diverse groups of people in varying states of health in a variety of settings.  These graduates are prepared to effect positive changes in the health status of those for whom they care with respect for the physical, emotional, socioeconomic, cultural and spiritual dimensions of each individual.

As a leading school of nursing in Pa., GMercyU offers fully equipped laboratories and other equipment that are paired with patient simulators to help you build your nursing or health profession skills and confidence.

SIM Family

Low and high fidelity patient simulators let you practice techniques before performing them on real patients in clinical settings. GMercyU’s SIM family includes:

• SimNewB®, an interactive simulator, designed by Laerdal with the American Academy of Pediatrics to meet the training requirements of neonatal emergency medicine and resuscitation courses. With realistic newborn traits and lifelike clinical feedback, SimNewB is ideal for training for the specific needs of neonates. Utilizing SimNewB for multidisciplinary simulation-based training allows Gwynedd Mercy University students to improve communication, refine critical thinking skills, and ultimately help improve neonatal patient outcomes.
• SimBaby™ is the advanced infant patient simulator for team training. With realistic anatomy and clinical functionality, SimBaby allows learners to practice and perfect their skills in a risk-free environment.
• SimJunior® is an interactive pediatric simulator, designed by Laerdal with the American Academy of Pediatrics to meet the education and training needs of health care providers.
• SimMan® is a realistic, full-body adult, wireless patient simulator that offers comprehensive clinical functionality to teach the core skills of airway, breathing, cardiac and circulation management.
• Nursing Anne, designed by Laerdal, features interchangeable parts and accessories to create a variety of simulated patients with a variety of skin tones.

Advanced Video System

The AVS gives you real-time feedback on your care techniques.

• The AVS captures the dynamics of your simulation experience by providing a debrief file including audio and video streams that are embedded with the synchronized data log and patient monitor
• Allows you to accurately replay scenarios and understand what actually occurred, as opposed to what you think occurred

VERT System

The Virtual Environment of a Radiotherapy Treatment room is a state-of-the-art teaching tool for GMercyU's Radiation Therapy Program. 

• Offers a safe, simulated radiotherapy treatment room for learning
• Displays 3D views and life-size visualizations
• Allows students to look “inside” the patient and to practice, explore, and investigate treatments before entering a real-world clinical experience

Anatomage Table

For GMercyU's Medical Laboratory Science, Occupational Therapy, Radiation Therapy, Nursing, Radiologic Technology, Respiratory Care, and Biology programs, this life-size dissection table provides an interactive life-size look at the human body.

• The most advanced combination of hardware and software for virtual dissection, it features ultra-high quality (UHQ) visualization for students to view photorealistic anatomical structures.
• It features both male and female life-size gross anatomy. Its digital library also offers more than 1,300 clinical cases and veterinary cases — full-body cat, dog, and mouse cadavers and 150+ other species and breeds.
• The table offers a high quality lab experience without the use of cadavers or chemicals.
• The Anatomage Table is FDA-cleared for use in assisting medical diagnosis. It can be utilized as a powerful radiology workstation and as a valuable tool for surgical case review, patient consultation, and medical research

• 8 to 1 student-to-faculty ratio on clinical experiences
• More than 100 regional health care affiliations with well-known facilities, such as:
  • Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP)
  • Doylestown Hospital
  • Abington-Jefferson Health Hospital
  • Gwynedd Mercy University Adult Health Center

1. Synthesizes knowledge of nursing and the liberal arts and sciences as a basis for professional nursing practice.
2. Utilize professional judgment to formulate nursing decisions which reflect professional standards consistent with moral and ethical and legal principles.
3. Engages in reflective evaluation of self and other members of the healthcare team in accordance with the prevailing standards of care.
4. Collaborates with other health care providers and consumers in promoting the health and wellbeing of individuals, families, and communities.
5. Demonstrates responsibility and accountability in the use of the nursing process to deliver person centered care.
6. Utilize inter and intra professional communication and collaboration skills to deliver evidence-based care to promote the health and safety of individuals, families, and communities.
7. Applies leadership concepts, skills, and values to effectively implement patient safety and quality improvement initiatives in a variety of healthcare settings.
8. Creates a supportive environment through the therapeutic use of self when caring for individuals, families, and communities.
9. Demonstrates skills in using patient care technology, information systems, and communication devices that support safe nursing practice.
10. Integrates knowledge of social and cultural factors to deliver culturally sensitive care.
11. Advocates for social justice including a commitment to the health of vulnerable populations and the eliminations of health disparities to improve the human condition.
12. Articulates the value of pursuing practice excellence and lifelong learning to facilitate personal and professional development.

Upon completion of the MSN Program, the graduate: 

1. Contributes to advanced nursing knowledge through scientific inquiry for a foundation for evidence-based practice in advanced nursing roles. (UL 1 and 4; MSN Essentials I and III)   
2. Demonstrates expertise in providing population based holistic care in advanced nursing roles in accordance with the standards of practice and codes of ethics.  (UL 2,3 and 4; MSN Essentials V, VII, and VIII)    
3. Demonstrates professional and social responsibility for self, individuals, family and community grounded in the Mercy tradition and within the context of a multicultural society.  (UL 1, 3 and 5; MSN Essential VII, VIII and IX)  
4. Improves health care by demonstrating interdisciplinary collaboration.  (UL 2 and 4; MSN Essential IV and VI)   
5. Applies leadership skills in the provision of culturally responsive, high quality nursing care in advanced practice roles.  (UL 2, 3 and 5; MSN Essentials II and IX) 

Upon completion of the Doctor of Nursing Practice Program the DNP graduate will be able to: 

1. Practice as an advance practice nurse at the doctoral level within the context of the Mercy tradition of social justice.  (UL 3: DNP Essential V and VIII) 
2. Advance the practice of nursing as a clinical scholar through dissemination of evidence-based protocols and research to improve population health.  (UL 1 and 2; DNP Essential I and III) 
3. Demonstrates organizational leadership through interprofessional collaboration for quality improvement and systems thinking.  (UL 4;  DNP Essential I and VI) 
4. Evaluate critical nursing care delivery models using concepts related to social determinants of health.   (UL 3 and 5;  DNP Essential VII)