Mission and Values

Mission

The ultimate Mission of the Yale School of Nursing is better health for all people.

We accomplish this by educating each generation of nurse leaders, scholars and practitioners; transforming healthcare practice; and advancing science. Building on the tradition of our Founding Dean, Annie W. Goodrich, the YSN community relates the “adventure of thought to the adventure of action, in touch with the fundamentals of human experience”1 across local, national and international systems of care. 

1 Annie W. Goodrich, 1934

In order to position itself for this important work, the school underwent a yearlong strategic planning process in 2017 that drew viewpoints and data from several activities. These included discussions among faculty, students, and staff; analyses of the school’s academic programs; responses from the fall 2017 alumnae/i survey; and an external scan conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers. Values, weaknesses and strengths, threats, and opportunities were all examined.

The resulting Yale Nursing: Strategic Vision for a Resilient Future identifies the four areas where the school will prioritize its efforts over the next five years—Education, Science, Health Systems, and Partnerships—this robust “blueprint” will help Yale Nursing to align its resources and efforts to clearly focus on the work ahead.

YSN’s Mission: In their own words

Cecilia Duran, Nurse-Midwifery Student


Values 

The Yale School of Nursing is a community that holds an expansive view of health and believes that access to high quality patient‐centered health care is a social right, not a privilege. In our intellectual and clinical work, we value integrity, dignity, rigor, curiosity and excellence. Mindful of our traditions, as well as those of Yale University, we emphasize innovation grounded in creativity and the integration of education, scholarship, practice and policy in service of social justice and health equity. Respect for diversity of thought, ideas, and opinions of others, guides all of our work. We value the wise use of resources. We are committed to interprofessional education, research, and practice and mentorship of the next generation of leaders. We strive to create an environment for study that is caring and supports openness and transparency. 

Adopted by Executive Committee, November 2011