Jean Foret Giddens

A New Curriculum for a for a NEW ERA of Nursing Education

The need for curriculum reform, a common theme in the nursing and health sciences literature for a number of years, is becoming urgent. This article describes an innovative undergraduate nursing curriculum. Central to the curriculum revision were the adoption of a conceptual approach, the institution of clinical experiences driven by conceptually based learning, and a focus on experiences across population groups and practice settings. An innovative, web-based community was developed as a platform for the curriculum.

Achieving diversity in nursing through multicontextual learning environments

Attempts to increase diversity within the nursing profession have resulted in the admission of more ethnically diverse students into nursing education programs. However, traditional curricular and pedagogical practices seen in many nursing programs do not accommodate the learning needs of diverse learners. Nurse educators are encouraged to adopt learner-centered pedagogical approaches and embrace multicontextual learning environments. The purpose of this article is to describe the concept of multicontextuality and to introduce an exemplar of a multicontextual learning environment that has been recently developed and implemented in an undergraduate nursing program. The virtual community, known as The Neighborhood, presents nursing concepts in a rich personal and community context through stories and supplemental multimedia. The perceived benefit is enhancement of conceptual learning in a student-oriented learning environment.

The Neighborhood: a Web-based platform to support conceptual teaching and learning.

The need for reform in nursing education has been clearly defined. The difficulty has been in finding ways to facilitate the process. This article describes an innovative web-based virtual community, The Neighborhood, used to promote conceptual learning across a new curriculum at the University of New Mexico College of Nursing. The Neighborhood features 30 fictional characters that represent various cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds and demonstrate a range of health and psychosocial problems. These characters interact with various community agencies in numerous health care settings. The Neighborhood has strong links to three well-founded teaching strategies: storytelling, case-based learning, and interpretive pedagogy. Because the cases unfold over time, in much the same way problems develop in real life, ongoing exposure to a concept is permitted, facilitating deep understanding.

Early Student Outcomes Associated with a Virtual Community for Learning

Virtual communities represent a new and innovative approach to learning within nursing education. Because this is an emerging trend, little is known about the use of virtual communities and the impact on students and their learning. This article reports the results of a study designed to assess the initial perceived benefits of using a virtual community known as The Neighborhood in a single undergraduate baccalaureate nursing program during the first few years following development. Results showed greater benefits reported among underrepresented minority students and students who expected to receive lower than a course grade of A. In addition, findings suggest the strength of perceived benefits increases over time among all learners. These findings merely scratch the surface of additional work needed in this area.

Report card: an evaluation of a concept-based curriculum.

ABSTRACT This article describes the evaluation of an innovative, concept‐based baccalaureate nursing curriculum. Curriculum evaluation is an ongoing process that serves to ensure the delivery of quality education. Findings from surveys and focus groups identified strengths of the new curriculum as the conceptual approach, interactive small‐group learning activities, clinical intensives, and early patient care experiences. Issues and challenges identified in the evaluation included perceived repetition of content in the Professional Nursing concept courses, coordination of community‐based clinical experiences, a perceived need for greater age‐span, pharmacology, and pathophysiology content, and NCLEX‐RN® preparation. Curriculum revisions based on these findings are described.

Learning and engagement with a virtual community by undergraduate nursing students.

Virtual communities are an emerging innovative teaching application in nursing education. The purpose of this multisite study was to examine variables associated with student-perceived benefits and utility among undergraduate nursing students using a virtual community. The study involved 350 student participants enrolled in 5 baccalaureate nursing programs using a virtual community. Data were collected using surveys, with a descriptive and comparative approach for data analysis. The relationship between the use of the virtual community and perceived benefits among learners was substantial: r = .416 (318), p = .000. The utility scale scores were higher among white/Asian students compared with minority students (t = .219, df = 330, p = .03), but there was no difference among students reporting frequent program use. Engagement was greater among minority students than white/Asian among students reporting frequent program use (F = 2.40 [4308], p = .05). Frequency of virtual community use in nursing education appears to be linked to positive learner benefits and engagement. Further research related to learning outcomes associated with virtual community use is needed in nursing education and practice.

A Survey of Physical Examination Skills Taught in Undergraduate Nursing Programs: Are We Teaching Too Much?

Because content saturation is a growing concern, as reflected in the nursing literature, the content taught in undergraduate nursing curricula should be critically examined. The purpose of this descriptive cross-sectional research was to determine and analyze the physical assessment content currently taught in undergraduate nursing programs. A total of 198 individuals teaching in undergraduate nursing programs completed a Web-based survey. Of the 122 skills included on the survey, 81% were reportedly being taught in most of the nursing programs. Total scores for 18 systems-based assessment categories were significantly different among associate and baccalaureate nursing programs in all but three categories: assessment of integument, breast, and female genitals. Previous research has shown that nurses use less than 25% of these same skills regularly in clinical practice, regardless of their educational preparation. Findings from this research raise questions about the breadth to which physical examination content should be taught in undergraduate nursing education.

Challenges and benefits of using a virtual community to explore nursing concepts among baccalaureate nursing students

This research study examines learner perceptions of benefits and challenges associated with the Neighborhood (NBH), an innovative pedagogy that fosters learner engagement and integration of nursing concepts using a “virtual community” as an alternative to lecture. First-semester students from five baccalaureate nursing programs that used the NBH intervention were divided into high (N = 78) and low faculty use (N = 203) groups. Qualitative analysis revealed that the NBH intervention promoted application of concepts to real life situation was engaging and “eye-opening,” allowing students to understand health care issues from a variety of perspectives. A major challenge was busy work generated by faculty assignments unrelated to enhancing conceptual clarity. Statistical analyses indicate that benefits and challenges grow together; benefits outweigh challenges and net benefit increases with increased faculty use. This study highlights the need to provide initial and ongoing training and support to faculty at schools who adopt this intervention.

Selecting concepts for a concept-based curriculum: application of a benchmark approach.

In response to a transformational movement in nursing education, faculty across the country are considering changes to curricula and approaches to teaching. As a result, an emerging trend in many nursing programs is the adoption of a concept-based curriculum. As part of the curriculum development process, the selection of concepts, competencies, and exemplars on which to build courses and base content is needed. This article presents a benchmark approach used to validate and finalize concept selection among educators developing a concept-based curriculum for a statewide nursing consortium. These findings are intended to inform other nurse educators who are currently involved with or are considering this curriculum approach.

Guided care: a new frontier for adults with chronic conditions

Purpose This article describes “Guided Care,” a promising new model of case management that includes disease management, self-management, transitional care, and caregiver support for multimorbid patients and their families. Primary Practice Settings Guided Care nurses, based at primary care practices, extend services to the home and all the other settings where their patients receive care. Findings and Conclusions Guided Care nurses take responsibility for 50—60 multimorbid patients. For each patient, the nurse performs a home assessment and creates an evidence-based plan of care. In partnership with the primary physician, the Guided Care nurse then monitors and coaches the patient monthly, coordinates the patients transitions between providers and sites of care, educates and supports family caregivers, and facilitates access to community resources. Implications for Case Management Practice As a next stage in the evolution of case management, Guided Care may be supported by Medicare and, therefore, adopted widely throughout the American healthcare.