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You are the academic Dean of a nursing program at a local university. The University is scheduled for accreditation renewal of the pre-licensure Baccalaureate in the Science of Nursing (BSN) Program
You are the academic Dean of a nursing program at a local university
This signature assignment represents scaffolded learning over this course.
Pre-licensure Thematic Curriculum Plan
You are the academic Dean of a nursing program at a local university. The University is scheduled for accreditation renewal of the pre-licensure Baccalaureate in the Science of Nursing (BSN) Program. As the nursing leader, develop a thematic plan for developing, implementing, and evaluating your program and courses to meet and/or exceed accreditation standards. You may choose between the NLN or CCNE Accreditation Standards. The implementation and evaluation goals are included in the standards to help guide your plan development.
Your plan should demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and attitudes acquired to meet and/or exceed the course learning objectives.
After identifying the accrediting organization:
- State the mission for the university.
- Include the vision for the university.
Align the curriculum plan with the accrediting body standards and include the following in your curriculum plan:
- Identify the implementation and evaluation goals.
- Outline staff qualifications and professional development.
- Include fiscal resources.
- Identify physical and learning resources.
- Include Program Outcomes.
- Include Student Learning Outcomes.
- Outline Program Evaluations.
M8 Assignment UMBO – 2, 4, 5
M8 Assignment PLG – 2, 3, 6, 10
M8 Assignment CLO – 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
More information about this assignment:
- Length: 2500 – 3000 words; answers must thoroughly address the questions clearly and concisely.
- Structure: Include a title page and reference page in APA style. These do not count towards the minimum word count for this assignment. Consider using the elements of the plan as the headings of your essay.
- References: Use the appropriate APA style in-text citations and references for all resources utilized to answer the questions. Include at least three (3) scholarly sources to support your claims.
- Format: Save your assignment as a Microsoft Word document (.doc or .docx).
- File Name: Name your saved file according to your first initial, last name, and the assignment number (for example, “RHall Assignment 1.docx”)
- Keating, S. B., & DeBoor, S. S. (2018). Curriculum Development and Evaluation in Nursing Education (4th ed.). Springer Publishing Company. Read Chapters 14 & 15
Expert Answer and Explanation
Pre-licensure Thematic Curriculum Plan
The nursing profession is at the phase where various social, educational, and technological accountability changes are affecting every aspect of operations. Similarly, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) has different recommendations regarding the need for an increase in the number of BSN-prepared nurses. The main reason for the recommendation is based on the notion that the US population is constantly diversifying, the aging of the baby boomers, and the broadening income gap (Hunker et al., 2018).
All of these aspects affect the nature of education that needs to be provided in school to prepare the nurse students for the field upon graduation. Nursing teaching institutions rely on the expansive plan of evaluation to offer information and guide the revision of the prelicensure nursing education curriculum (Keating & DeBoor, 2018). Understanding the mission, and vision, of the institution and the election of an effective accrediting body, can help with the proper prelicensure nursing curriculum renewal.
Accrediting Organization
The mission of the university is to show commitment toward the provision of quality graduate and undergraduate nursing education programs that are in line with promoting academic success while at the same time integrating the values of service, virtue, and truth. Through the implementation of the mission, the university is able to be a center of success and excellence in offering ethical and morally justifiable nursing education. On the other hand, the objectives of the university are categorized into various subsets, with each focusing on different but interconnected aspects of the university.
The main vision of the university is to provide the best quality nursing programs that can help the students acquire the best nursing education with up to data models of teaching. Subsequently, the other vision that the university has is to prepare the graduate nursing students who are able to offer culturally sensitive, age-appropriate, and competency-based care that is in line with the framework of professionalism and scientific accountability. The vision focuses on the need to create a nursing profession that is able to function in teams and independently within different healthcare environments.
Similarly, the other subset of the vision statement is based on the need to prepare nurses who have the fundamental foundation for furthering education and specialization based on their selected career paths. Finally, the vision also focuses on the ability of the institution to reach a point where it offers the students with innovative education that prepares the students on their ability to meet the complexities of the changing patient population. Both the mission and vision statements are the basic foundation of the university and help with the selection of the accreditation body that would be used in the renewal of the pre-licensure Baccalaureate in the Science of Nursing (BSN) Program.
The identified accreditation body who’s standard and accreditation processes match the university’s mission and vision statements are the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE). The accreditation body has various standards for accreditation of baccalaureate and graduates nursing programs that are recent and able to ensure that the curriculum is recent and focused on excellence (CCNE, 2018). Overall, the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education is an accrediting body whose main goal is to offer meaningful contributions to the benefit of public health.
The CCNE is a specialized body that aims at promoting the integrity and quality of graduate and baccalaureate nursing programs. It is an ideal accrediting body due to its specialization in the baccalaureate programs. Some of the areas of specialization that CCNE focuses on includes the accreditation of master’s degree, baccalaureate degree nursing programs, nursing doctorates (those that have the title Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) and are practice-focused), and post-graduate certificate programs that prepare Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs) (CCNE, 2018).
CCNE, as an accreditation organization, maintains its service based on the public interest through the identification and assessment of programs that can engage multiple and effective academic practices. The organizations support constant quality improvement within the nursing education sector and within the nurse residency programs. CCNE is also essential for the different standards of accreditation by implementing different standards for each program.
The initiatives and accreditation processes done by CCNE are legal since the US government recognizes the organization through the US Department of Education (CCNE, 2018). The body is recognized as one of the different bodies that can facilitate the accreditation of certificate, master’s, doctoral, and baccalaureate programs in the US and its territories. In this regard, making use of the CCNE as the accrediting body for the university sets the grounds fir good educational practice within the nursing field.
Curriculum Plan in Accordance with Accrediting Body
The curriculum plan is based on the standards for accreditation by CCNE, amended in 2018. The standards are specific for baccalaureate and graduate nursing programs which are similar to what the university seeks to renew. The curriculum plan will focus on seven key aspects that would help with the proper administration of the baccalaureate program. Each of the seven elements is focused on ensuring that the program is centered on the improvement of public health.
Implementation and Evaluation Goals
The success of the curriculum will be based on both the implementation and evaluation strategies put in place. To begin with, the implementation process will be based on the inclusivity of all stakeholders through participation and collaboration. A collaborative model of curriculum implementation is important in a diverse institution since it ensures that all the needs of the different parties are met with ease (Rittle et al., 2019). The facility has the capacity also to measure the nature in which inclusivity can help improve the outcome of the curriculum among the students and instructors. The instructors, who are the main stakeholders, can engage with the students to identify the best implementation strategy to use.
However, as a nursing program, the main strategy to be used would be practical in nature. Practical implementation is essential in the dissemination of proper and effective attributes that can be sued to increase awareness, measure the readiness of the nurses, and ensure that they are introduced to the issues that happen in the field (CCNE, 2018). Practicality also ensures proper integration of other disciplines and technological advancements. Nurses will be required to work with other professionals from different fields and professions, which makes the need for practicality essential.
The implementation strategy is in line with the CCNE standards, which require that the implementation of a curriculum be based on inclusivity and openness to the diverse nature of the institution. The standards further require that the implementation be open to different opinions and individual issues that can affect the implementation process.
The evaluation process, on the other hand, will be based on a number of goals and procedures. The key goal that the evaluation process will adhere to is the need to rely on oversight and review by peers that have the interest of the community at heart. Making changes based on the reviews and oversight can help ensure the curriculum meets the changes occurring in the nursing unit (CCNE, 2018). The evaluation process is also key in ensuring that there is the maintenance of integrity, honesty, and fairness. The nurses will work in diverse institutions and have power and control over the patients. The curriculum has to be evaluated to help teach the virtues of honesty, fairness, and consistency.
A curriculum that upholds these attributes has the capacity to inspire the nurse graduates to provide quality and effective care once they are licensed to practice. These attributes are in line with the standards of accreditation for the baccalaureate program, which focus on the need for the facilitation of self-assessment and maintenance of increased levels of accountability (CCNE, 2018). Self-assessment and accountability are correlated with the virtues of honesty and fairness, which are important for embracing an effective nursing program. The curriculum will be evaluated based on its ability to provide nurses with practical knowledge and ethical consideration, and accountability for their actions. These attributes are important since they set the precedence for quality care.
Staff Qualifications and Professional Development
In order for a curriculum to be effective, the faculty or staff members need to be qualified to offer the needed intervention. There are different qualifications required in order to merit as part of the faculty. To begin with, the university needs first to ensure that it has a sufficient number of staff members to help with accomplishing the goals, missions, and programs of the curriculum (Wittenberg et al., 2021). A sufficient number of faculty members is key since it allows for the segregation of resources and can be used to improve the quality of life while at the same time increasing the efficiency of the program.
The first staff qualification is that they need to be academically prepared in the specific areas that they teach. Academic qualification is a key consideration as the faculty needs to have an integral part in disseminating information that they are conversant with. The nursing profession is critical and deals with human lives. In this regard, the instructors need to be competent and able to adapt to different situations or scenarios (Wittenberg et al., 2021). Secondly, there is a need for the facility to be experimentally prepared within the areas that they teach.
Nursing programs require hands-on performance, and the nurse students have to be taught the different ways to interact with patients physically. For instance, with issues such as the recent COVID-19 pandemic, the experiential teacher needs to offer information on the need for nurses to make use of personal protective kits when interacting with patients to prevent or limit the spread of the disease.
The instructors also need to demonstrate constant professional development in various ways. For instance, the teachers can equally advance in their education by increasing their experiential knowledge (Wittenberg et al., 2021). Professional development focuses on the diversification of knowledge and expertise that the faculty needs to have. The facility can play a role in professional development by creating programs that allow the staff to engage in activities, seminars, and other short-term programs to improve their experiences and knowledge in their respective fields (CCNE, 2018). These strategies are critical in improving the quality of education and ensuring that the teaching or learning process is in line with the standards of teaching required by the accreditation body.
Fiscal Resources
For better teaching and learning, the curriculum needs to be implemented based on the availability of certain resources. University education needs to adhere to certain standards whose attainment can be associated with the availability of resources (Perfetto, 2019). There are different resources needed to help offer the needed standards for the accreditation renewal of the pre-licensure Baccalaureate in the Science of Nursing (BSN) Program. Other than the curriculum, some of the resources needed for an effective BSN program include skilled personnel, equipped facilities, funding, and technological equipment.
Skilled personnel, which is also referred to as human capital or human resource, is an important attribute towards the successful implementation of the curriculum. The skilled personnel include administrators, managers, teachers, and other staff who ensure the efficient operations of the school (Webb et al., 2022). The success of the school would be based upon the ability of the skilled personnel to implement their role with ease. The administration needs to liaise with accrediting bodies to create the needed policies, while the teachers need to make use of the curriculum plan to offer quality learning to the students. These processes are important for improving the efficiency of nursing education and meeting the standards of nursing education.
Equipped facilities and funding address the preparedness of the facility to meet the different educational requirements of the students (CCNE, 2018). As a BSN-prepared nurse, one needs to have astute comprehension of different practical needs, technological familiarity, and other key aspects that are increasingly being adopted in the healthcare world. BSN nurses need to be informed of the different technological innovations in the healthcare field and also be able to use the facilities within the institutions.
The university needs to have the different facilities, tools, and equipment to help teach the students about the different issues that might affect their everyday life while in practice (CCNE, 2018). These fiscal resources are important as they help with the teaching and learning process to offer an effective experience while at the facility and familiarity with tools that will be found in practice.
Physical And Learning Resources
Physical resources that BSN students can use include the facilities within the university and other requirements that they need to have as students. These resources are tangible and need to be available for efficient learning processes. For instance, the availability of labs and equipment is an example of physical resources that the students can use towards the attainment of success in the nursing career. Students have the capacity to learn through interaction with physical resources provided by the university properly. On the other hand, there are other learning resources that the students need to have to help them with ease of learning (Perfetto, 2019).
In the technological era, many learning resources can be found online, such as the numerous journal databases that are specific to the nursing profession. Nurses can access the databases such as CINAHL to access nursing-specific journals and articles that can be used for the attainment of success in the academic world. Other resources on the internet can help with different nursing academic problems, such as studying for NCLEX RN tests, comprehension of nursing mnemonics, and other key issues that are needed to understand the nursing profession better.
Program Outcomes
The BSN nursing program is more advanced and requires the nurses to have the capacity to grasp diverse content and have the capacity to meet the different requirements needed during the actual practice. The main outcome of this program is to ensure that the BSN-prepared nurses are accountable, skilled, and have the ability to make use of knowledge and apply it in practice. By fulfilling the mission of the university, the program will have achieved the desired outcomes and supposed to the standards put forth by the CCNE organization (CCNE, 2018).
The expected outcomes are spread across the faculty, students, and the program itself. The program has to be focused on all issues that a BSN student might face in the future, while the faculty needs to be experienced to offer quality and professional teaching. The students have to make use of the available resources to excel in their academics. The program outcomes are important as they help the facility in planning and evaluating the overall curriculum (Barrett & Jacob, 2021). The program is the fundamental goal of the institution, and its success can be measured based on the identified outcomes and whether they were met with ease.
Student Learning Outcomes
BSN-prepared students must demonstrate certain characteristics that distinguish them from other nurses with lower academic progression (CCNE, 2018). The curriculum aims to provide the students with various skills that would be part of the student outcomes after the coition of the course. Some of the student outcomes include the attainment of results that reflect on nursing knowledge, competencies, skills, and values attained through direct participation in the activities within the program.
These outcomes are important as they can also be used as a means to evaluate the effectiveness of the program and the overall success of the curriculum. Students’ outcomes are also essential as they define the nature in which the curriculum is shaped and its effectiveness in the program (Barrett & Jacob, 2021). These learning outcomes are a reflection of the efforts of the entire university ranging from the management, the faculty, and the available resources provided to the students.
Program Evaluation
The evaluation process is essential for the attainment of the goals of the program. There are various ways that the program can be evaluated. The evaluation process can be categorized based on the different stakeholders associated with its implementation. For instance, the evaluation process can be based on the analysis of the student outcomes, faculty outcomes, and actual outcomes and correlated with the expected outcomes (CCNE, 2018). Evaluation of the student outcomes can be analyzed based on the number of students that have passed the exams and excelled in their careers.
An effective curriculum needs to produce academically excellent students and can replicate the knowledge in the field. Evaluation of the faculty outcomes is based on the academic and experimental skills that the person has and how they are able to apply the knowledge in teaching the students. The evaluation of the actual outcomes focuses on the administration, the facilities, and other aspects that are directly associated with the program (CCNE, 2018). The success of these outcomes will be determined when they are compared with the expected outcomes for each category and an average mark put in place.
Conclusion
Understanding the mission, and vision, of the institution and the election of an effective accrediting body, can help with the proper prelicensure nursing curriculum renewal. In this regard, there is a need for constant and frequent updates and revisions of the baccalaureate nursing curriculum. The curriculum is focused on BSN student programs and makes reference to the CCNE standards of accreditation. The correlation makes the plan effective within the university and can be used to ensure academic excellence among the students.
References
Barrett, T., & Jacob, S. R. (2021). A multifaceted comprehensive student success plan for accelerated BSN students in a concept-based curriculum. Teaching and Learning in Nursing, 16(2), 169-174.
CCNE. (2018). Standards For Accreditation of Baccalaureate and Graduate Nursing Programs. Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education. 1-28.
Hunker, D. F., Robb, M., Spadaro, K. C., & Wasco, J. J. (2018). Developing executive nurse leaders: exemplar for using information technology to bolster professional role development of BSN-DNP students. Journal of Doctoral Nursing Practice, 11(2), 160-164.
Keating, S. B., & DeBoor, S. S. (2018). Curriculum Development and Evaluation in Nursing Education (4th ed.). Springer Publishing Company. Read Chapters 14 & 15
Perfetto, L. M. (2019). Preparing the nurse of the future: emergent themes in online RN-BSN education. Nursing education perspectives, 40(1), 18-24.
Rittle, C., Santa, H., Falk, A., & Nowalk, A. (2019). Screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment: implementation into an RN-BSN curriculum. Workplace Health & Safety, 67(11), 537-542.
Webb, M. D., Quillen, T. L., & Hauldren, K. B. (2022). Bridge Repair: LPN to BSN Curriculum Redesign. Tennessee Nurse, 85(1), 19-20.
Wittenberg, E., Goldsmith, J. V., Prince-Paul, M., & Beltran, E. (2021). Communication and Competencies Across Undergraduate BSN Programs and Curricula. Journal of Nursing Education, 60(11), 618-624.
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