NURS FPX 6107 Assessment 1 Curriculum Overview, Framework, and Analysis

Curriculum Overview, Framework, and Analysis

In this assessment, we will evaluate the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) curriculum offered by the School of Nursing, University of Michigan. This paper presents the organization’s and the curriculum’s context, mission, and course description. Next, we will discuss the professional guidelines on which this curriculum is based and the connection of these standards with student learning outcomes. The last section of the paper will discuss how the curriculum is grounded in theoretical frameworks and how the body of knowledge supporting the curriculum can be updated. 

Organization and Program Context, Learner Population, and the Need

The University of Michigan School of Nursing, established in 1893, is a notorious institution that provides excellent education, research, and nursing practice. The school is committed to preparing future nursing leaders to progress in the healthcare industry and improve patients’ well-being. The school aims to train students and create a highly skill nursing workforce that can deliver care in complex situations and flourish in all clinical settings. The BSN program is built upon 1000+ clinical hours and the theoretical concepts of global health issues.

Internationally renowned researchers and nursing practitioners develop and teach the curriculum courses to facilitate student connections with other like-minded learners and mount their career options (University of Michigan School of Nursing, n.d.). Two segregated programs are offered under the BSN curriculum – first-year applicants and sophomore transfers. This paper focuses on the program offered for first-year applicants. The learner population for this subcategory is diverse students from various cultural backgrounds, demonstrating a genuine interest in contributing to advancing the healthcare sector.

NURS FPX 6107 Assessment 1 Curriculum Overview, Framework, and Analysis

The students must have a solid academic background, and it is endorsed that candidates have completed four years of math and science coursework in high school, with a focus on chemistry and biology. For extracurriculars, students with experience in the healthcare setting, such as volunteering for blood drives and health camps, are encouraged (University of Michigan School of Nursing, n.d.). The BSN program is needed for several reasons. One of which is the increasing demand for nurses in healthcare practices. Such a need requires standard educational requirements for entry into nursing practice through well-known and credible institutions.

Secondly, the BSN program at the University of Michigan equips students with the necessary clinical skills. It emphasizes critical thinking, leadership, and communication skills essential for success in the rapidly evolving healthcare landscape. Finally, the program must align with the organization’s mission to establish a competent workforce and prepare future leaders. 

Mission Statement, Course Descriptions, and Content Critique

The University of Michigan School of Nursing’s mission is to enhance community healthcare by establishing future leaders in nursing and other professions. They aim to fulfill this mission by providing excellent education to nursing students. This education will help them create and utilize their knowledge to deliver effective care to individuals, groups, and communities. The university has a vision of becoming one of the world’s leading institutions for high-quality research and education that will produce an efficient workforce to address existing and potential healthcare challenges (University of Michigan School of Nursing, n.d.). 

The program is divided into four years, with various digital, face-to-face, and hybrid courses. The description of these courses is presented in appendices, table 1. A student must acquire at least 128 credits to graduate, and 12 elective credits are required to complete the program successfully. A critical analysis of the program’s content reveals that it successfully amalgamates theoretical concepts with clinical experience, enabling students to develop the clinical competencies to handle complex situations and difficulties during their nursing practice (Ama et al. Enyan, 2022).

The main goals of the curriculum are to strengthen communication, leadership skills, and critical thinking abilities among the students. The program’s emphasis on cultural competence and conformity to changing healthcare standards helps to create a compassionate and well-trained nursing workforce. However, some students have articulated concerns about the program’s higher costs and expenses that lead to reduced accessibility and affordability, limiting diversity within the student body. The university must consider this aspect to make the educational experience more inclusive and adaptable for a broader range of aspiring healthcare professionals.

Professional Standards, Guidelines, and Competencies

The University of Michigan BSN program has been accredited by the State of Michigan’s Board of Nursing, the Michigan Bureau of Health Professionals, and the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE). These recognitions exemplify the university’s credibility for delivering quality education in the nursing domain (University of Michigan School of Nursing, n.d.). Similarly, the BSN program offered by the University of Michigan, SON, is aligned with the professional competencies set by the Institute of Medicine in the form of QSEN competencies, which define the proficiencies of undergraduate and graduate nurses. These competencies equip nurses with essential knowledge and skills to address quality and safety issues in healthcare settings (Ferro & Yoder, 2023).

The core nursing competencies include patient-centered care, evidence-based practices, data informatics, quality and safety, and teamwork and collaboration. The course descriptions (appendix- table 1) present the integration of these competencies in the University of Michigan’s BSN courses, such as the Therapeutic Nursing Care courses enabling students to provide patient-centered care, the Applied Statistics course infusing informatics skills among the students, and the course of Evaluating Data Sources and Evidence for Nursing Practice engaging students to learn and incorporate the concepts of research and evidence-based practices into nursing care.

Simultaneously, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) professional standards for baccalaureate education are incorporated into the BSN curriculum at the University of Michigan, SON. These professional standards recommend that the curriculum develop the theoretical and clinical abilities of nurses to integrate the concepts of leadership and evidence-based practices for health promotion (AACN, 2021). Several courses in the BSN program at U-M SON are designed for both theory and clinical practices, such as Reproductive Health, Behavioral Health, Therapeutic Nursing Care, and Population Health courses. Moreover, some courses cover leadership concepts and evidence-based practices, as presented in the course descriptions (University of Michigan School of Nursing, n.d.). 

Student Learning Outcomes and Integration of Professional Standards

Several program outcomes are established by the University of Michigan, SON, for undergraduate students to practice nursing care effectively (University of Michigan School of Nursing, 2023). These are as follows: students will be able to: 

1. Care for diverse patients and communities compassionately while respecting their physical, psychosocial, cultural, and religious beliefs. The goal is based on the QSEN competency of patient-centered care, where patients’ needs, values, and opinions are prioritized (Ferro & Yoder, 2023).
2. Deliver safe and quality care to patients in acute and chronic care situations. The goal is to prepare nurses to promote health and continuity of care to diverse patients throughout their lifespan in all healthcare settings. This outcome follows the AACN (2021) principle of health promotion and QSEN competency of maintaining quality and safety during nursing care (Ferro & Yoder, 2023).
3. The learning outcome focusing on QSEN competency and professional standard of evidence-based practice (Ferro & Yoder, 2023) is preparing students to effectively utilize technology, data, and science, improving patient health outcomes.  
4. Show leadership qualities in healthcare organizations while caring for patients and populations. Students demonstrating leadership abilities by becoming team leads and managers are evidence of AACN professional standards, which endorse the integration of leadership in nursing education (AACN, 2021). 
5. Demonstrate collaboration while working with interprofessional teams to deliver safe care and expand health outcomes using effective communication skills. This particular outcome is interlinked with QSEN’s competency of teamwork and collaboration, which is essential for nursing to produce quality nursing practice (Ferro & Yoder, 2023).

Summary of the Process to Update Healthcare Knowledge and Justification

Various methods exist to update healthcare knowledge in the nursing curriculum, including a systematic curriculum revision cycle. This method requires interprofessional collaboration among nursing faculty, healthcare professionals, and organizational stakeholders to assess and identify the program’s alignment with the current evidence-based practices, healthcare trends in clinical settings, and evolving professional standards (Oermann, 2019). The curriculum development or revision process has a six-step process: Initially, a needs assessment is performed according to the changing clinical environment, evidence-based research, and progressing professional standards and nursing competencies.

Then, the content is defined based on faculty involvement and students’ feedback, and specific goals and objectives are established. The next step is to select educational strategies and the mode of content delivery, followed by implementation and evaluation of the curriculum to recognize positive outcomes and identify further areas of improvement (Schneiderhan et al., 2019). This process can be justified by its ability to ensure relevant content is added to the curriculum as a response to the advancing healthcare environment and principles. Moreover, this iterative approach fosters a culture of continuous improvement in nursing education.

Explanation of the Organizing Design and Theoretical Framework

The BSN curriculum offered by the University of Michigan SON follows the modular competency-based curriculum design with Benner’s Novice to Expert Model theory. Modular competence-based design structures the curriculum into minor components based on specific competencies required for the students (Dejene, 2019). As evident in U-M SON’s BSN curriculum, each nursing care theoretical concept, clinical skills, and competencies are segregated using semester systems to ensure that by the end of the program, students receive a holistic understanding of healthcare concepts and nursing care.

On the other hand, Benner’s model focuses on advancing nursing students from novice to expert professionals  (Graf et al., 2020). The curriculum is structured around Benner’s stages of proficiency, ensuring that students move from basic nursing skills to advanced clinical reasoning and decision-making. For instance, in the initial semesters, the curriculum covers fundamental concepts that connect with advanced nursing care and practices. Such courses include Context of Care I and II, Therapeutic Nursing Care I, II, and III, and Introduction of Psychology and Introduction to Developmental Psychology.

Historical Overview of Organizing Design and Theoretical Framework

The modular curriculum design dates back to the 1960s. It was established in response to the increasing demand for flexible and competence-based learning experiences. Since the approach breaks down the curriculum into smaller components, it provides the students with an explicit understanding of the essential concepts. One of the first supporters of modular curriculum design was Robert Gagné. In the 1960s, Gagné proposed that learning becomes more effective when the concepts are divided into smaller components (Berger-Estilita & Greif, 2020).

This approach correlates with the modular design, which is evident in U-M SON’s BSN curriculum. Moreover, the program provides flexibility through different educational delivery methods such as hybrid, face-to-face, and digital. On the other hand, Benner’s Novice to Expert Model was developed by Patricia Benner, a nursing theorist, who introduced this model in 1982. The model aims to provide experiential learning to the nurses while they progress from beginner to expert professionals (Ozdemir, 2019). The BSN curriculum ensures students progress from basic to advanced nursing concepts to develop the necessary skills and knowledge throughout their educational journey.

Significant Components of Organizing Design and the Model

The critical components of modular design include different modules, clear learning objectives, different delivery methods and activities, and formative and summative assessments. This approach is related to U-M SON’s BSN curriculum as the program plan outlines several segregated modules based on the learning objectives and program outcomes, such as evidence-based practices, patient-centered care, and effective leadership. Similarly, the program plan illustrates different teaching delivery methods (digital, hybrid, and face-to-face learning). Clinical practicums and electives are examples of various assessments (University of Michigan School of Nursing, n.d.).

On the other hand, Benner’s Novice to Expert model includes five stages of development: novice, advanced beginner, competent, proficient, and expert. This model is integrated into our BSN program as the nursing students joining the program have no experience and knowledge about nursing care. Once they start learning foundational courses, they become advanced beginners with more experience and knowledge compared to the initial stage.

They begin to develop a broader understanding of nursing practice at this stage. Next, through clinical experiences during the academic journey, the students can connect the concepts in the real world, developing their competencies to make sound clinical judgments. Proficient students can handle complex situations and are ready to enter the professional world. Lastly, these students become experts after working in clinical areas and can make spontaneous decisions based on their clinical experience and theoretical knowledge.

References

AACN. (2021). The essentials: Competencies for professional nursing education. https://www.aacnnursing.org/Portals/0/PDFs/Publications/Essentials-2021.pdf 

Ama Amoo, S., & Innocentia Ebu Enyan, N. (2022). Clinical learning experiences of nursing and midwifery students; a descriptive cross-sectional study. International Journal of Africa Nursing Sciences, 17, 100457. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijans.2022.100457

Berger-Estilita, J., & Greif, R. (2020). Using Gagné’s “Instructional Design” to teach clinically applicable knowledge in small groups. Trends in Anaesthesia and Critical Care, 35, 11–15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tacc.2020.08.002 

Dejene, W. (2019). The practice of modularized curriculum in higher education institution: Active learning and continuous assessment in focus. Cogent Education, 6(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2019.1611052 

Ferro, A. L., & Yoder, L. H. (2023). A scoping review of graduate nurses’ education and use of QSEN competencies. Military Medicine, 189, 45–50. https://doi.org/10.1093/milmed/usad097

NURS FPX 6107 Assessment 1 Curriculum Overview, Framework, and Analysis

Graf, A. C., Jacob, E., Twigg, D., & Nattabi, B. (2020). Contemporary nursing graduates’ transition to practice: A critical review of transition models. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 29(15–16), 3097–3107. https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.15234

Oermann, M. H. (2019). Curriculum revision: Making informed decisions. Nurse Educator, 44(1), 1. https://doi.org/10.1097/NNE.0000000000000630

Ozdemir, N. G. (2019). The development of nurses’ individualized care perceptions and practices: Benner’s novice to expert model perspective. International Journal of Caring Sciences, 12(2), 1279-1285. https://internationaljournalofcaringsciences.org/docs/81_ozdemir_special_12_2.pdf 

Schneiderhan, J., Guetterman, T. C., & Dobson, M. L. (2019). Curriculum development: A how to primer. Family Medicine and Community Health, 7(2), e000046. https://doi.org/10.1136/fmch-2018-000046

University of Michigan School of Nursing. (n.d.). Bachelor of Science in Nursing. https://nursing.umich.edu/academics/BSN 

University of Michigan School of Nursing. (n.d.). U-M School of Nursing BSN program—First-year. https://nursing.umich.edu/admissions-aid/application-information/requirements/bsn-program-freshmen-students

University of Michigan School of Nursing. (n.d.). Mission and vision. https://nursing.umich.edu/about/mission-and-vision

University of Michigan School of Nursing. (n.d.). Accreditations & disclosures. https://nursing.umich.edu/academics/accreditations-disclosures 

University of Michigan School of Nursing. (n.d.). Program Plan. https://nursing.umich.edu/program_plans/plan.php?id=36&year=2023

University of Michigan School of Nursing. (2023). Undergraduate Handbook of Academic Policies and Procedures 2023-2024. https://nursing.umich.edu/information-for/current-students/handbooks-policies

NURS FPX 6107 Assessment 1 Curriculum Overview, Framework, and Analysis

Appendix 

Table 1

Course Descriptions