The Anatomical Society's core anatomy syllabus for undergraduate nursing.

S A Connolly,A F Wood,M Meskell,C F Smith,G M Finn,T H Gillingwater,J Greig,M T Ross,A W Grant,C Chandler

doi:10.1111/joa.12782

Abstract

The Anatomical Society has developed a series of learning outcomes in consultation with nursing educators delivering anatomical content to undergraduate (preregistration) nursing students. A Delphi panel methodology was adopted to select experts within the field that would recommend core anatomical content in undergraduate nursing programmes throughout the UK. Using the Anatomical Society's Core Gross Anatomy Syllabus for Medical Students as a foundation, a modified Delphi technique was used to develop discipline‐specific outcomes to nursing graduates. The Delphi panel consisted of 48 individuals (n = 48) with a minimum of 3 years' experience teaching anatomy to nursing students, representing a broad spectrum of UK Higher Education Institutions. The output from this study was 64 nursing specific learning outcomes in anatomy that are applicable to all undergraduate (preregistration) programmes in the UK. The new core anatomy syllabus for Undergraduate Nursing offers a basic anatomical framework upon which nurse educators, clinical mentors and nursing students can underpin their clinical practice and knowledge. The learning outcomes presented may be used to develop anatomy teaching within an integrated nursing curriculum.

Highlights

The World Health Organization defines nursing as: ‘encompassing autonomous and collaborative care of individuals of all ages, families, groups and communities, sick or well and in all settings
The Anatomical Society has developed a series of learning outcomes in consultation with nursing educators delivering anatomical content to undergraduate nursing students
The Delphi panel consisted of 48 individuals (n = 48) with a minimum of 3 years’ experience teaching anatomy to nursing students, representing a broad spectrum of UK Higher Education Institutions

Summary

Introduction

The World Health Organization defines nursing as: ‘encompassing autonomous and collaborative care of individuals of all ages, families, groups and communities, sick or well and in all settings. The existing body of evidence is largely based on data gathered across only one or two sites per study, compromising generalisability and maximising the likely impact of local influencing factors (Andrew et al 2015) This has led to the conclusion that student’s’ difficulty in learning and assimilating biosciences is due, at least in part, to a lack of explicit guidelines from the NMC, thereby creating widespread geographical variability in curricular content and delivery (McVicar et al 2015; Taylor et al 2015). It serves to aid mapping of learning outcomes and assessment throughout the preregistration nursing curriculum

Method

Define and demonstrate the terms used to describe movement

13. Identify the major divisions of the brain