NURSFPX6107 :Curriculum, Overview, Framework and, Analysis

Introduction 

Curriculum development in nursing education is a creative and scholarly process aimed at producing an evidence-based, unified and content relevant curriculum. This process is a continuous activity in nursing education and ranges from creation of an original and reconceptualised curriculum to frequent refinement and revision of existing curriculum. According to Baxter (2017), curriculum is the desired set of goals or values that can be activated by adoption of a development process leading to experiences to the learners. This aspect implies that there is need for taking continuous improvement in nursing curriculum to enable nursing student be in line with current knowledge and practice. 

In most cases, designing a curriculum incorporates configuration of courses in a program and deciding the sequencing of this course is to attain the desired outcomes. According to Oermann (2013), it is important for developers of a nursing curriculum to adopt objectivity by incorporating the goals, philosophy, values and mission of a healthcare entity to attain the desired outcomes. The adoption of these parameters in developing a nursing curriculum contributes to development of strategic goals that enable attaining of nursing objectives. 

The proposed nursing curriculum incorporates development of a simulation learning program to address COVID-19 and other severe acute respiratory diseases (SARS). This curriculum will lead to increasing the knowledge and capability in managing global pandemics in a dynamic health care needs and challenges. This program will be rolled out for the second year students at Capella University nursing School and will continue for the next semesters to increase the understanding of current technologies in managing global pandemics such as COVID-19. This curriculum will be applicable to increase their expertise and competence of nursing students considering that the students will engage in different clinical hours. Also, the students will collaborate with other experienced stakeholders in different entities concerning the application of simulation in managing SARS and other respiratory complications. 

 To achieve these objectives, the proposed curriculum will utilize simulation based on the nursing standards through the application of effective tools in this perspective. This implies that the simulation will apply the necessary tools and systems that will enable the students understand the rationale behind management of SARS such as COVID-19. One of the key aims for developing this curriculum is to enable the students engage with other stakeholders in developing new modalities and approaches in addressing global respiratory pandemics. Through the use of simulations, students are expected to have a clear viewpoint concerning the best possible approaches in managing SARS to avert negative health consequences. 

 This curriculum is needed in the school to enable learners develop insight and competence related to management of global respiratory pandemics that have impacted negatively on healthcare delivery systems. Considering that the topic of global respiratory diseases has gained minimal focus until the recent past, use of simulation can be imperative in facilitating attaining objectivity in management perspectives. Also, the need to address global respiratory pandemics is due to the impact that these respiratory diseases have on the healthcare delivery system. 

Simulation incorporates the use of practical approaches in managing a healthcare condition (Gamble, 2017). This curriculum will offer the nursing students with an understanding of how to use current knowledge related to management of global respiratory pandemics. This approach will help in addressing the grey areas in use of simulation in addressing global respiratory pandemics. Currently, Capella University does not teach simulation for SARS. However, there is need to adopt this perspective considering the dynamism experienced in nursing and the need to adopt effective interventions to facilitate attaining overall positive health outcomes. The inclusion of simulation based learning for SARS will enable nursing students be in line with the current approaches in managing global respiratory pandemics. Therefore, use of simulation in managing global respiratory pandemics should be included in Capella university nursing school. 

Mission statement and course descriptions 

The mission of the curriculum incorporates delivering practical skills to nursing students in managing global respiratory pandemics through simulation. The mission statement of Capella University is to extend access to high quality bachelor’s masters, specialists, doctoral and certificate programs for all individuals who seek to maximize their personal and professional potential (Capella University, 2020). This mission is in tandem with the curriculum’s objectives of enhancing development of professional skills through simulation based learning. Besides, the proposed curriculum will be vital in enhancing the understanding of nursing students and equipping the baccalaureate nurses with new interventions in healthcare that will enable delivering of quality care to the patients. It’s also evident that personal and professional objectives are related to nursing goals through creating individual alignment to delivery of quality care. Therefore, this curriculum will aim at equipping students with personal skills that will consequently lead to development of professional nursing skills. 

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 Course description

The proposed courses for the curriculum will incorporate communication systems, nursing law, nursing leadership and management, nursing assessment and diagnosis, nursing care and ethical implications. These courses are highlighted in the following context;

Communication systems- Incorporates adoption of current communication techniques such as information technology and a plethora of communication systems applied in enabling delivering evidence based care. 

Nursing law - This topic will focus on the guidelines and policies related to simulation and their significance in nursing education. 

Nursing leadership – The aim of this course is to offer understanding of nursing leadership and skills critical for delivery of evidence based nursing. 

Nursing assessment and diagnosis- This course will increase the skills and competence of nurses to conduct patient assessment and make diagnosis for SARS based on evidence. 

Nursing care – The importance of this course is derived from the need to offer hands on skills to students on protocols and guidelines of managing SARS such as COVID-19 and other respiratory diseases. 

 Nursing ethics- Ethics is a crucial topic in nursing. The course will provide ethical guidelines relevant to the course in management of COVID-19. 

Professional standards, competencies and guidelines 

Several considerations have been made in choosing the curriculum. These include the alignment of the curriculum to the professional standards, competencies and guidelines. To begin with, it will be prudential to incorporate the Quality and safety Education for nurses (QSEN). The rationality of including this perspective in nursing is due to the need to adopt team working, quality improvements, collaborative care, patient-centred care and evidence based practice. Besides, selection of these competencies will be critical to offer the needed perspectives in managing global pandemics.

 Secondly, it will be essential to adopt the American Nurses Association (ANA) standards for all nurses. The purpose of this curriculum is to identify nursing standards critical for achievement of nursing care in addressing COVID 19 and other respiratory diseases. The adoption of ANA’s standards will be critical to enable nursing students attain professional competency. The commission on collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) has also set standards that must be followed in a graduate and baccalaureate programs. Including these standards will be critical in developing relevant competency (Monsen et al., 2019). The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) has standards on development of a curriculum. The entity has set guidelines to be followed in developing a graduate degree nursing and a baccalaureate programs to meet the health challenges and needs. 

These guidelines and professional codes of conduct are targeted at enabling nurses uphold moral and ethical standards to ensure that nursing education is offered based on current evidence. Besides, these professional guidelines aim at ensuring that nursing profession has a high degree of credibility attained through practical nursing skills. 

Student’s learning outcomes

One of the fundamental objectives of the proposed curriculum is to equip the students with skills and competencies in managing global respiratory pandemics through the use of simulation. By the end of the nursing curriculum, the students are expected to;

1. Attain in-depth understanding of patient assessment and diagnosis skills relevant to respiratory diseases. 
2. Adopt interdisciplinary collaboration and relationships with other colleagues and healthcare staff. 
3. Be able to communicate effectively in delivery of healthcare services to patients with respiratory challenges. 
4. Apply knowledge, skills and expertise concerning patient assessment, diagnosis and delivery of evidence based care. 
5.  Attain a clear understanding of pathophysiology and etiology of SARS and current evidence concerning its management. 
6.  Understand current nursing policies and practices concerning management of global respiratory pandemics. 
7. Understand and appreciate diversity and the role that this parameter plays in addressing these parameters. 
8. The importance of leadership and its role in addressing global respiratory outbreaks and other respiratory diseases. Leadership styles are critical in nursing practice and addressing cases of global respiratory outbreaks. 

Process to update healthcare knowledge in proposed curriculum

 It’s important that nursing students are updated on current strategies to manage global respiratory challenges. This implies a continuous update of healthcare knowledge through curriculum review (Iwasiw and Goldenberg, 2015). The proposed process of updating healthcare knowledge will incorporate yearly review of the curriculum’s abilities to meet the set objectives. Besides, the curriculum will incorporate determining the success of graduates in the professional nursing sector. The update process will involve assessing if there is need to include more courses in this perspectives or removing some courses in the program. This aspect will play a key role in determining the need to update the healthcare knowledge concerning proposed curriculum. 

 Demonstration of organizational design and theoretical framework 

The design of the curriculum is based on the ability of students to understand the fundamental concepts through collaborative approach. The adoption of a concept based learning approach will lead to improvement in learning process through offering evidence based information critical for this undertaking. According to Hendricks and Wangerin (2017), concept based learning approach is an effective approach in delivering critical information in the nursing profession. 

These domains are evident in the selected curriculum considering that simulation is a practical approach to solving healthcare issues. This curriculum also provides nursing students with hands on skills vital in the nursing profession. The simulation perspectives will be available throughout the course where the students will be significantly involved in practical learning. The adoption of intuition as a framework will be impetus for enhancing competency in nursing. These aspects will be vital to enhance success of the curriculum as they are part thereof. 

Historical overview of organizing design and theoretical framework

The adoption of Kolb’s experiential learning theory is vital in enhancing success for the selected curriculum (Lisko & O'Dell, 2010). This theory is anchored on the proposition that learning incorporates acquisition of knowledge of simple concepts that enhance learning process (Fewster-Thuente, & Batteson, 2018). The theory opines that skills and experiences are critical for developing new way of doing things. These are the critical parameters in developing a curriculum as it creates a key learning aspect in nursing education. Drawing from the historical perspectives of the theoretical approach, it’s critical to offer new and dynamic experiences to students to enable them develop analytical skills for management of new health challenges. 

Major concepts of organizing design and theoretical framework

The selected theory is anchored on the ability nursing students to attain new kills that will culminate in to professional expertise. The theory posits that experiential learning is attained through the transformation of experience (Seaman, Brown, & Quay, 2017). In this respect, knowledge arises from combining transformation of experience and grasping concepts. Certain parameters such as cognitive, environmental and emotional factors influence the learning process. Learning by intuition as in the selected curriculum will create an evidence based approach that will enable the nursing students grasp concepts faster. These parameters ate incorporated in the proposed curriculum through simulation to offer practical skills and experiences.

References 

Baxter, K. (2017). Curriculum Planning for Undergraduate Nursing Programs. Curriculum Development and Evaluation in Nursing Education. 

Capella University. (2020, 02 21). University mission. Retrieved 03 02, 2021, from Capella University.: https://www.capella.edu/capella-experience/why-choose-capella-university/university-mission-leadership/

Carter, B. M., & Phillips, B. C. (2021). Revolutionizing the Nursing Curriculum. Creative N Mansour, M. J., Al Shadafan, S. F., Abu-Sneineh, F. T., & AlAmer, M. M. (2018). Integrating patient safety education in the undergraduate nursing curriculum: a discussion paper. The open nursing journal, 12, 125.

Fewster-Thuente, L., & Batteson, T. J. (2018). Kolb's Experiential Learning Theory as a theoretical underpinning for interprofessional education. Journal of allied health, 47(1), 3

Gamble, A. S. (2017). Simulation in undergraduate paediatric nursing curriculum: Evaluation of a complex ‘ward for a day’education program. Nurse education in practice, 23, 40-47.

Hendricks, S. M., & Wangerin, V. (2017). Concept-based curriculum: Changing attitudes and overcoming barriers. Nurse educator, 42(3), 138-142.

Iwasiw, C. L., & Goldenberg, D. (2015). Curriculum development in nursing education (3rd ed.). Burlington, MA:Jones and Bartlett.

Lisko, S. A., & O'Dell, V. (2010). Integration of theory and practice: Experiential learning theory and nursing education. Nursing Education Perspectives, 31(2), 106-8. 

Monsen, K. A., Bush, R. A., Jones, J., Manos, E. L., Skiba, D. J., & Johnson, S. B. (2019). Alignment of american association of colleges of nursing graduate-level nursing informatics competencies with American Medical Informatics Association health informatics core competencies. CIN: Computers, Informatics, Nursing, 37(8), 396-404.

Oermann, M. H. (Ed.) (2013). Teaching in nursing and role of the educator. New York, NY: SpringerPublishing Company.

 Seaman, J., Brown, M., & Quay, J. (2017). The evolution of experiential learning theory: Tracing lines of research in the JEE. Journal of Experiential Education, 40(4), NP1-NP21. -8.

Yang, J., Shen, L., Jin, X., Hou, L., Shang, S., & Zhang, Y. (2019). Evaluating the quality of simulation teaching in Fundamental Nursing Curriculum: AHP-Fuzzy comprehensive evaluation. Nurse education today, 77, 77-82.