A Systematic Review: A Collaborative Partnership on Evaluating Graduate Nursing Education in Chronic Symptomatic Disease

Abstract

The Institute of Medicine, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid are engaged in initiatives to address the escalating population of patients who are living with chronic symptomatic disease. These federal initiatives, escalating costs of care, and the increasing prevalence of chronic disease has prompted an evaluation and analysis of the academic preparation for graduate nurses who will provide care and services to this growing patient population. Graduate nurses represent nursing leadership as clinicians, educators, and researchers. These professionals require the knowledge and skills to meet the burgeoning health care demands of the largest segment of the adult American population. The objective of this systematic review was to identify and summarize the existing evidence that demonstrates the inclusion of chronic disease and its associated management in graduate nursing curriculum. A collaboration of 9 doctoral faculty members representing 5 universities preformed a comprehensive review of the literature over 5 months through the use of multiple databases and several formats of search and MeSH terms. A predefined protocol was developed to reduce bias and included the objectives, inclusion criteria, and exclusion criteria used to guide the review. Findings revealed limitations in current curriculum regarding chronic disease education specifically related to symptom and self-management.