Incorporating the AACN Essentials 'spheres of care' into nursing curricula.

In 2021 the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) published new education standards for nursing programs offering degrees at the baccalaureate-level and higher. The new standards, The Essentials: Core Competencies for Professional Nursing Education (AACN, 2021), represent an educational shift and an opportunity to transform the nursing profession through a better-prepared workforce. One important new standard that must be incorporated for entry-level (Level 1) programs is preparation for practice within four spheres of care. This article will provide clarity and context to the concept of "spheres of care" with suggestions regarding ways to incorporate this educational expectation within the curriculum.

Re-envisioning clinical education for nurse practitioner programs: themes from a national leaders' dialogue.

As the need for primary care providers increases, nursing education programs face significant challenges to meet future workforce needs. A more resource-efficient approach for the clinical education of nurse practitioner students is needed. A think tank involving 20 thought leaders representing multiple disciplines was convened to discuss this issue. This article presents seven themes that emerged from this national leaders' dialog: academic practice co-design, standardized preclinical preparation, standardized student assessment, entrustable professional activities, immersive clinical experiences, interprofessional education for team-based care, and innovative education practices.

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.

Using a virtual community to enhance cultural awareness.

PURPOSE: Cultural competence is an expectation of professional practice, yet effectively teaching this concept to nursing students is challenging. The purpose of this study was to assess the use of a virtual community as a teaching application to foster cultural awareness among nursing students. METHOD: This correlational study involved the collection of two surveys from 342 first-semester students from five baccalaureate nursing programs that used The Neighborhood virtual community during one semester. Descriptive and comparative analyses were performed. FINDINGS: Results suggest that use of the virtual community may have contributed to cultural awareness among student participants. There was a significant correlation between frequency of use and cultural awareness. Virtual communities may represent a useful teaching application for cultural competence in nursing education. Further research is needed to specifically test cultural competence education strategies using a virtual community platform.

Emotional connection and integration: dominant themes among undergraduate nursing students using a virtual community.

The use of virtual communities is an emerging pedagogical application that enhances student learning in nursing education. This study involved a sample of 40 undergraduate students enrolled in a baccalaureate nursing program using The Neighborhood as a teaching application across the curriculum. The students were followed over three successive semesters. Using the qualitative method of content analysis, student responses generated by open-ended questions were grouped and analyzed to identify major themes. Analysis of the data revealed two primary themes: (1) an emotional connection to specific characters or families, and (2) integration of characters and events into learning activities. Student feedback indicated that virtual communities provide a viable strategy for teaching nursing concepts and their application.

Collaborating across the pond: the diffusion of virtual communities for nursing education.

Over the past decade, there have been significant changes in nursing education, particularly in teaching practice. This change has fueled interest in developing new and innovative approaches to teaching and curriculum. This article describes the shared experiences of two nurse educators on opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean who have spent the last 4 years immersed in the process of developing and diffusing virtual communities for nursing education. Diffusion of innovations theory is used as a framework for this narrative. Nurse educators should have an awareness of the phases, steps, and challenges that can be expected during the process of innovation diffusion, including implications for education practice.

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.

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.

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.

Analyzing graduate student trends in written paper evaluation.

Writing is valued as an essential skill in nursing education. However, the evaluation of written scholarly work is challenging. Limited nursing literature addressing issues or strategies associated with evaluation exists. The purpose of this study was to describe and evaluate differences that exist in the evaluation of a standardized written paper. The study included a sample of 47 graduate nursing students enrolled in a nursing education course. Participants were asked to grade a mock paper as part of a course assignment; their work was retained for data analysis. Wide variability in scoring and comments on the paper were noted; significantly lower scores were assigned by participants who had experience teaching in academic settings. The majority of written comments made by participants were related to grammar and American Psychological Association formatting or citation problems. Further research is needed to better understand paper evaluation practices of nursing faculty.

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 prob-lems. 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.