Curriculum Model For Under Graduate Program In Nursing Education

Under Graduate Program In Nursing Education and Curriculum Model

Possible Curriculum Models for Undergraduate Programs In Nursing Education

    In this era of unprecedented health care change, opportunities abound for nursing faculty to develop undergraduate curriculum models that respond to emerging challenges and foster innovative thinking. When faculty teaching in an undergraduate nursing program discuss curriculum, they usually are referring to the plan or course of study for a group of students leading to licensure. 

    However, the idea of curriculum considered more broadly should include what is taught, how it is organized, how it is taught (such as delivery method and pedagogy), and what student and program outcomes are intended. Dezure (2010) argues that the concept of curriculum should be broad and dynamic, accounting for innovations in methods, sequencing, goals, and content.

    A well conceived curriculum is critical to the preparation of entry level nurses. Undergraduate curricula in all disciplines have been under increasing scrutiny for the last two decades. There have been a number of reports since the 1980s that have been critical of higher education, suggesting that reform is needed if graduates are to meet the expectations of business and industry (Dezure, 2010). 

    These calls for reform led to a number of initiatives that continue to influence undergraduate curricula today, such as the introduction of learning outcomes in the language of competencies, emphasis on integration of learning experiences, focus on enhancing and streamlining learning, and growth in learning from a more global perspective (Dezure, 2010). 

    Today the priority for learning is not so much on what is learned, as much as it is on what graduates can do with their learning. For nursing, the curriculum must prepare graduates to function in a dynamic and increasingly complex health care environment.

    The challenge facing nurse educators is how to re-envision curriculum to prepare nurses to practice in a changing health care system and proactively create learning that prepares graduates to flourish. Tanner (2010) suggests that the critical questions that curricula designs need to address are what must be taught, how to teach it effectively and efficiently, and where teaching and learning should occur to achieve the best outcomes.

     Dezure (2010) indicates that the curriculum shifts that shape curricula today are the move to broad learning competencies from a narrower focus on mastery of learning specific content, a shift to more integrative learning experiences from those that emphasize specific skill sets, and an exploration of innovative teaching practices beyond the traditional pedagogical approaches designed to deliver subject matter.

    Within the nursing profession, undergraduate curricular design must be flexible. Benner, Sutphen, Leonard, and Day (2010) have called for radical curriculum transformation to best prepare nurses to practice and lead. This transformative process needs to focus on how to design or revise curricula without simply adding onto curricula that are already overloaded with content. 

    Faculty have historically viewed curriculum revisions that meet student learning needs from a content perspective rather than a contextual perspective. As new technologies emerge, new evidence is discovered, and new best practices are identified, they are too often packed into a curriculum structure that is already saturated with content. 

    Instead of simply continuing to add content to the curriculum, the most critical challenge for faculty planning undergraduate curricula is to determine what students need to learn to practice competently and how to design learning experiences that will facilitate acquisition of needed competencies. 

    Mackey, Hatcher, Happell, and Cleary (2013) call for preparation of nurses to practice in new and varied environments, such as the home, community, and through the use of technology. They assert that nurses must be prepared to effectively respond to the social determinants of health, in addition to the physical needs of their patients. 

    This shift will require faculty to redefine what has been identified as traditional competencies critical to nursing practice to more deeply encompass competencies associated with practicing in communities, with populations, and considering the nurse’s key role in facilitating transitions in care. 

    Furthermore, as the care environment changes to include new treatment modalities, such as telehealth, consumer devices, and programs that facilitate health, competencies should be modified to reflect these changes. 

    This chapter discusses undergraduate program and curriculum designs. It is important to reflect on the issues that continue to shape nursing curricula as faculty make decisions about the design of curriculum in their programs.