Associate Degree Concept-Based Nursing Curriculum

Do you need this or any other assignment done for you from scratch?

We assure you a quality paper that is 100% free from plagiarism and AI.

You can choose either format of your choice ( Apa, Mla, Havard, Chicago, or any other)

NB: We do not resell your papers. Upon ordering, we do an original paper exclusively for you.

NB: All your data is kept safe from the public.

Associate Degree Concept-Based Nursing Curriculum

The traditional approach to the nursing curriculum design in the healthcare field seems no longer able to enclose all the knowledge the students need to become professionals. In addition, the ever-changing pace of the modern healthcare environment, technological advances, and recent research results require profound skills in generalizing and critical thinking. Consequently, the traditional curricula should be replaced with more flexible and innovative curriculum designs, in particular, concept-based nursing curriculum design provides a viable alternative.

Today, nursing in the U.S. can be described by four levels of prelicensure nursing degree: diploma, associate degree, baccalaureate, and masters. This research paper will concern the associate degree level. Graduates with this degree level are the most prevalent among contemporary nursing workforce (Sitzman et al., 2020). Associate degree nursing (ADN) is cheaper and more accessible than, for example, baccalaureate degree, which makes it a convenient choice for numerous students. ADN program typically consists of four semesters, providing a general and basic knowledge about nursing profession.

Consequently, the main stakeholders for a new innovative ADN program, apart from the interested students, will be the ADN faculties and colleges. The implementation of a new curriculum is dependant on various internal and external factors. For the former, the factors such as amount of effort or competence can influence the curriculum (Parson et al., 2018). Sufficient time and effort are required to adequately master the new teaching methods, and, unfortunately, not every faculty is able to undergo such a change. As for external factors, it is essential to adhere to the ongoing healthcare reform, which implies the use of technological advances in the nursing practise (Sitzman et al., 2020). Therefore, physical learning environment and infrastructure require consideration.

The nursing program curriculum development demands an understanding of the essential curriculum design features that should be relevant and competency-based. Overall, a curriculum that addresses the needs of industry, practitioners, and administrators can allow faculty to increase competency in its domain of healthcare education (Neville-Norton & Cantwell, 2019). In this regard, Neville-Norton and Cantwell (2019) introduce a strategy of curriculum mapping as an evidence-based approach to the design, promoting quality assurance and faculty collaboration. In this process, faculty members can improve curriculum transparency and identify its spot weak spots and gaps.

The curriculum mapping implies faculty members to consider following steps and curriculum parameters. Firstly, they identify what national guidelines and nursing accreditation standards the developed curriculum should meet. Secondly, the faculty staff discusses the curriculum framework, teaching methodology and lesson plans, setting an initial curriculum roadmap. Thirdly, they check for gaps in curriculum content such as lessons, simulations, skills labs, and clinical learning experiences. As two last steps, faculty members align program outcomes with course outcomes and the pedagogy of incorporating the chosen teaching and learning methods with the expected end-of-program learning outcomes.

In terms of the curriculum framework, an innovative concept-based curriculum (CBC) was chosen for the purposes of this paper. Traditionally, the structure of the nursing curriculum is based on the framework of medical diagnoses and patient populations. However, CBC focuses on teaching core concepts and ideas throughout a curriculum, encouraging more profound learning and critical thinking (Repsha et al., 2020). Concepts are not explicitly present in every course but are balanced throughout the program to promote comprehension and an ability to apply the knowledge, which minimizes unnecessary omission and repetition (Repsha et al., 2020). In doing so, faculty create options for students to develop their understanding of a concept in various populations, settings, and experiences.

A necessary component of a CBC is the incorporation of active teaching and learning. According to Harrison (2018), a CBC consolidates knowledge by focusing on critical exemplars, such as simulations, case studies, problem-based learning, and concept maps. An active teaching-learning strategy allows students to connect the information with experience, leading to learning comprehension, developing critical thinking, and seeing analogies (Harrison, 2018). For example, a teacher can create a case study about oxygenation when discussing the concept of pneumonia. This concept (and oxygenation in particular) can later be reinforced by another nurse educator, who can assign students to a simulated patient with a diagnosis of respiratory failure. Both tasks require the knowledge of oxygenation and, thus, analogical nursing care.

The CBCs program mission statement is to close the gap between the skills of novice nurses and the skills required by modern nursing workforce. Its main belief is that a strategy of active teaching and learning allows students to easier familiarize with the provided information, develop critical thinking, and be more prepared to face new experience in fast-changing environments. In other words, CBC supports a more interactive learning environment. With concept-based teaching, class discussions, small group activities, and peer learning are easier to implement (Repsha et al., 2020). CBC implies that instructors stick to a student-centered teaching approach more frequently. Furthermore, students of CBC undergo a more thorough integration between theory and clinical learning (Harrison, 2018). In this regard, participation in CBC might develop an increased predisposition to community-based nursing among them (Parson, 2018). In the meantime, a CBC implementation provides benefits to the nursing schools as well. For example, the CBC organization identifies specific curricular challenges for undergraduate students (Repsha, 2020). Finally, streamlining course content allows for a simplified transition from AD programs to BS programs.

Overall, the CBC framework provides a solid base for associate degree program development. Continuous implementation of the obtained theoretical knowledge, general emphasis on praxis, case studies, and skill labs allow students to comprehend the analogy behind vast amounts of knowledge without explicitly studying every concept. The boost of decision-making skills and critical thinking makes students more prepared for the actual working environment, ultimately closing the gap between the graduate and professional nurse.

References

Harrison, C. V. (2018). Predicting success for associate degree nursing students in a concept-based curriculum. Teaching and Learning in Nursing, 13(3), 135-140. Web.

Neville-Norton, M., & Cantwell, S. (2019). Curriculum mapping in nursing education: a case study for collaborative curriculum design and program quality assurance. Teaching and Learning in Nursing, 14(2), 88-93. Web.

Parson, L., Childs, B., & Elzie, P. (2018). Using competency-based curriculum design to create a health professions education certificate program the meets the needs of students, administrators, faculty, and patients. Health Professions Education, 4(3), 207-217. Web.

Repsha, C. L., Quinn, B. L., & Peters, A. B. (2020). Implementing a concept-based nursing curriculum: A review of the literature. Teaching and Learning in Nursing, 15(1), 66-71. Web.

Sitzman, K., Carpenter, T., & Cherry, K. (2020). Student perceptions related to immediate workplace usefulness of RN-to-BSN program content. Nurse Educator, 45(5), 265-268.

Click Here To Order Now!