History
The School was established in 1891 as a diploma granting institution, and named the Central Maine General Hospital Training
School.
The first student was admitted on July 9, 1891, and on March 24, 1893 the first student was graduated. A total of five (5)
students were graduated from the School during 1893. A Cadet Program was started at the School in 1943 and remained in
existence until 1946.
Until 1953, when an academic year calendar was established, admissions to the School occurred at any time during the year.
Since then, students have been admitted annually.
The first male student was admitted to the School in 1953. Since then, male students have been admitted to, and present in,
each class. The then existing student residences became coeducational in 1976.
The process of shortening this nursing curriculum from three (3) years (thirty-six months), to its current four (4)
academic semesters, began in 1968. The School granted diplomas to its graduates until 1977, when Governor James B. Longley
signed into law, L.D. 446, granting the School the authority to award the Associate in Applied Science Degree in Nursing to
its graduates.
In 1976 the name of this School was changed from Central Maine General Hospital School of Nursing to Central Maine Medical Center College of Nursing and Health Professions.
In 1978, the Central Maine Medical Center College of Nursing and Health Professions became the first single entity, post-secondary nursing
educational institution to become accredited by the Commission on Vocational-Technical Career Institutions of the New
England Association of Schools and Colleges, Inc.
The Class of 1994 was the last class to wear the blue and white pinstriped student uniform. Beginning with the Class of 1995, the new student uniform is white with the School insignia on the left chest.
In 1995, all of the school offices and classrooms were moved to Metcalfe Building.
In 2001, the School moved into its new state-of-the-art facility at 70 Middle Street, Lewiston.
In 2002, the School began offering its Associate in the Applied Science of Nursing degree program via video-conferencing to its Rumford site and in 2003 to its Farmington site.
Philosophy
The philosophy of the Central Maine Medical Center College of Nursing and Health Professions is congruent with the Purpose and Mission of the School.
Nursing:
Nursing is an art and science with a distinct body of knowledge, which is fundamental to the profession.
The faculty believe:
- In the uniqueness, worth, and value of each individual.
- Providing nursing care to patients, families, and communities includes a multitude of factors necessitating a variety of knowledge and skills.
- Nurses use knowledge from theory, research and clinical experience to guide their practice.
- Inherent in nursing care are safety, advocacy, patient rights, accountability, and integrity.
- Caring for patients' physical, emotional, psychosocial, spiritual, cultural, and cognitive health creates the greatest potential for achieving health and well being.
- Caring intertwines with the art and science of nursing to create a positive atmosphere when working with patients, families, members of the health care team and communities.
Education:
Learning is a meaningful life long experience, which may lead to self-actualization. The educational process provides students with opportunities to acquire knowledge and skills.
The faculty believe:
- Students have individual learning needs and learning styles.
- Education should provide the student with academic diversity, development of creative and critical thought processes, and opportunity for personal and intellectual growth.
- Educating students in a supportive, caring and interactive environment facilitates learning.
Nursing Education:
Nursing education is a process of formal education by which the student acquires the specialized theories and concepts necessary for the beginning level practitioner. Nursing education provides the opportunity for students to learn and to provide care within the nurse's scope of practice.
The faculty believe:
- Knowledge is acquired by progressing from the simple to the more complex concepts.
- Nursing education occurs in a variety of settings.
- Nursing education takes place in collaboration with patients, families, and members of the health care team.
- An increasing awareness of the needs of society demand that nurses have diverse roles, functions and responsibilities.
Graduate Nurse
Nurses with an associate degree use the nursing process to provide care congruent with the law regulating the practice of nursing, standards established by professional nursing organizations and the American Nurses Association Code of Ethics for Nurses.
The faculty believe:
- The nurse should focus upon providing safe, compassionate, knowledgeable, and holistic patient care.
- The nurse participates in the advancement of the profession through life long learning.
- The nurse collaborates with other members of the health care team in order to meet patients' and families' health care needs.
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