ABSTRACT
An integrative, professional nursing curriculum grounded in liberal education has the capacity to prepare empowered, competent, and humanistic nurses as well as informed, democratic citizens. The purpose of this qualitative research study was to explore the meaning of the lived- experience of recent Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) graduates from a small private college in a curriculum grounded in a liberal education. The phenomenological psychological philosophy of Paul Colaizzi (1978) provided the theoretical foundation for this study. Twelve recent BSN graduates were interviewed. The three major themes that emerged were "confusion of the meaning of liberal education", "the value of liberal education", and "descriptions of the learning experiences."In conclusion, most recent graduate nurses were able to articulate the values of liberal education to professional nursing education after they understood the meaning of the term. The study suggests recommendations for strengthening curricular connections between liberal and professional learning .
