Undergraduate Nursing Curriculum Research Articles

Measuring attitude change in nursing students after completion of a First Nations peoples’ health unit: Embedding a validated tool in learning and assessment practices

The health inequities experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, rooted in the historical and ongoing negative impacts of colonisation and disrupted traditional lifestyles, sees higher rates of illness and hospitalisations, increased morbidity and higher premature death rates than other Australians. Nurses represent the majority of Australia’s health workforce and nursing students must have knowledge to provide culturally safe care to Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. An Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ Health and Wellbeing unit was developed and introduced into an undergraduate nursing curriculum. This project aimed to determine the effectiveness of the unit content in changing the attitude of nursing students towards care of First Nations peoples. A quasi-experimental design was used and included all undergraduate nursing students commencing this unit in 2020 at one university in Western Australia. Students completed a validated questionnaire prior to engaging with unit learning materials and again at completion of the unit. Complete paired data was available for 339 participants. Results demonstrated statistically significant change in attitude following completion of the unit. Embedding targeted education concerning Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ health and wellbeing positively influences attitudes in caring for this population of patients.

Qualitative Analysis of an Integrated Curricular Strategy to Develop Health Policy Advocacy.

Baccalaureate nursing programs have primarily taught policy advocacy using knowledge related to social and health policy and political systems. Creative curricular strategies have not been widely implemented to prepare nursing students to address health policy advocacy. A qualitative study explored the impact of an innovative intervention to integrate leadership competencies with population health policy advocacy in an undergraduate nursing curriculum. The intervention consisted of a 5-part, unfolding assignment across leadership and population health courses. A phenomenological theoretical approach was used to understand and describe students' perceptions about the intervention and impact on student readiness to engage in health policy advocacy through narrative survey responses. Student understanding of policy processes improved postintervention. Students recognized that systems level thinking and developing policy solutions for population health issues were important attainable activities for nurses. This study demonstrates the significance of providing integrated curricula to develop student engagement in policy advocacy. Nurse educators should explore innovative policy advocacy curricula to prepare baccalaureate graduates to address health equity.

Bridging the Education Gap: Developing Clinical Judgement through an Unfolding Case Study

Background: Nursing education programs continue to face an immense amount of change over a short period of time. The introduction of the NCSBN clinical judgement model (NCJMM), the NGN NCLEX-RN, and the Essentials (2021) from the AACN have nursing programs quickly adjusted curriculum to meet national nursing education agency’s recommendations for future nurses. Methods: This paper provides reflection and interventions for nursing educators and leaders to consider as they navigate the post-pandemic healthcare demands of new graduate nurses. Implementing activities encouraging critical thinking to build clinical judgement is paramount for undergraduate nursing curriculum. Conclusion: Curriculum must match the required knowledge and skills of their discipline. With the growing acuity of illness and diversity of those seeking healthcare, nursing knowledge does not merely represent textbook content, but a mindset which can analyze the full clinical picture and plan of care accordingly.

An interprofessional approach to teaching genetics in an undergraduate nursing curriculum

BackgroundPrecision health is rapidly becoming a means to individualized approaches to managing health and thus necessitating a nursing workforce with an understanding of genomics and genetics. However, today's nurse in has limited knowledge in precision health, impacting the ability to educate patients and families. MethodTo address this gap, an interprofessional PhD-prepared faculty team comprised of a nurse educator and a molecular biologist developed an undergraduate genetics course. The multiple teaching strategies include active learning modules, problem-based learning and a final debate. ResultsThe teaching methods were augmented multiple times based on student feedback. The debate activity replaced a poster assignment and student feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. ConclusionMultiple strategies were used to deliver genomics and genetics content to nursing students that culminate in application-based activities such as case studies and the debate activity have potential to broaden student perspectives. Prospective course changes include increasing the credits for the course, adding time during the debate for rebuttal development and inviting speakers.

Scoping communication training in undergraduate children’s nursing programmes: A mixed method study examining delivery methods and content

AimThe aim of this study was to scope communication curriculum reported as currently being delivered within undergraduate children’s nursing programmes across the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom. BackgroundCommunication between a children’s nurse and a child/young person influences a child/young person’s healthcare experience. Despite an identified need for a comprehensive and effective communication curriculum within undergraduate nursing, there is a notable gap of understanding of the delivery and content of communication training within children’s nursing curricula. DesignA mixed method, online anonymous self-report survey design was adopted. MethodsProgramme Leads of undergraduate children’s nursing programmes in the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom were asked to report on how communication training is delivered to students on undergraduate children's nursing programmes. The Checklist for Reporting of Survey Studies (CROSS) was used for the reporting of this study. ResultsThirty-two programme leads completed the survey (51 % response rate). Findings show variability in the delivery and content of communication training across Higher Educational Institutions. Core communication modules featured across all nursing programmes, however, only two programme leads reported delivering standalone child-centred communication modules. Communication training was not always delivered by an educator with professional experience of children and young people in healthcare. Curriculum capacity had an impact on the delivery of communication training, with clinical practice being relied on to supplement child specific communication training. Programme leads highlighted the need for greater inclusion of child voice in shaping and delivering undergraduate children’s nurse education. ConclusionsThis study shows that while communication is covered as a core part of the undergraduate nursing curriculum across the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom, it generally lacks a focus on children and young people and is not always supported by educators with professional experience of children and young people in healthcare. More work needs to focus on equipping undergraduate children’s nurses with the unique skills needed to communicate effectively with children and young people and incorporate learnings into nursing pedagogy.

Aligning peripheral intravenous catheter quality with nursing culture-A mixed method study.

To explore barriers and facilitators that influence adherence to evidence-based guidelines for peripheral intravenous catheter care in different hospital wards. Sequential explanatory mixedmethod study design, with qualitative data used to elaborate on quantitative findings. Data were collected between March 2021 and March 2022 using the previously validated Peripheral Intravenous Catheter mini questionnaire (PIVC-miniQ) on each ward in a tertiary hospital in Norway. Survey completion was followed by individual interviews with nurses from selected wards. The Pillar Integration Process was used to integrate and analyse the quantitative and qualitative findings. The PIVC-miniQ screening assessed 566 peripheral intravenous catheters in 448 patients in 41 wards, and we found variation between wards in the quality of care. Based on the quantitative variation, we interviewed 24 nurses on wards with either excellent or not as good quality. The integration of the quantitative and qualitative findings in the study enabled an understanding of factors that influence nurses' adherence to the care of peripheral venous catheters. One main theme and four subthemes emerged. The main finding was that ward culture affects education practice, and this was evident from four subthemes: (1) Deviation from best practice, (2) Gaps in education and clinical training, (3) Quality variation between wards and (4) The importance of supportive leadership. This mixed method study is the first study to explore reasons for variability in peripheral intravenous catheter quality across hospital wards. We found that ward culture was central to catheter quality, with evidence of deviations from best practice correlating with observed catheter complications. Ward culture also impacted nursing education, with the main responsibility for learning peripheral intravenous catheter management left to students' clinical training placements. Addressing this educational gap and fostering supportive leadership, including champions, will likely improve peripheral intravenous catheter care and patient safety. Nurses learn good peripheral intravenous catheter care in wards with supportive leaders and champions. This implies that the quality of nursing practice and patient outcomes are situational. Nurses need a strengthened emphasis on peripheral catheter quality in the undergraduate curriculum, and nurse leaders must emphasize the quality of catheter care in their wards. The study findings impact nurse leaders who must commit to quality and safety outcomes by appointing and supporting local ward champions for promoting peripheral intravenous catheter care. This also impacts nursing education providers, as the emphasis on catheter care must be strengthened in the undergraduate nursing curriculum and continually reinforced in the hospital environment, particularly when guidelines are updated. The study adhered to the Good Reporting of A Mixed Method Study (GRAMM). A patient representative has been involved in planning this study.

An overview of an education innovation embedding drama-based workshops into undergraduate adult nursing to embody “care”

BackgroundThis paper provides an overview of an innovation using drama-based workshops which have been embedded into undergraduate nursing curriculum in a Higher Education Institute in the United Kingdom (UK). Drama techniques are gaining increasing recognition in nursing education particularly around the way in which they can support the learning of communication and interpersonal skills in a multi-sensory approach. InnovationThe drama-based workshops have become embedded in the nursing curriculum alongside nursing clinical simulations. The workshops use techniques from physical theatre with an emphasis on “care” that are aligned to the specific learning outcomes of the clinical simulation. ImplicationsThe workshops were developed across all years of the curriculum in response to student feedback which demonstrated how drama can enable students to develop self-awareness, empathy, communication skills and self-care. ConclusionThe Drama based workshops have enabled students the opportunity to explore and reflect on their own interpersonal communication as well as the embodiment of care to their patients, colleagues and themselves.

Dare to Ask! A Model for Teaching Nursing Students about Identifying and Responding to Violence against Women and Domestic Violence.

The role of nurses in identifying and responding to family violence and violence against women has long been established. However, nurses' readiness to fully assume this role remains low due to various barriers and the sensitive nature of the subject. As part of capacity building to address this problem, an additional national qualitative learning target, i.e., to "show knowledge about men's violence against women and violence in close relationships", was introduced into the Swedish Higher Education Ordinance for nursing and seven other educational programs between 2017 and 2018. The aim of this paper is to describe how the national qualitative learning target is incorporated into the undergraduate nursing curriculum at the Swedish Red Cross University College. An overview of relevant teaching and learning activities and how they are organized is first presented, followed by the presentation of a proposed didactic model: Dare to Ask and Act! The model details a step-by-step progression from facts and figures, including the role of gender norms, to recognizing signs of abuse in complex clinical situations, as well as developing skills that enhance the courage to ask and act. Due to the sensitive nature of violence victimization, the proposed model reflects the importance of making the subject a reoccurring theme in undergraduate nursing education in order to boost nursing students' interests and confidence to "Dare to Ask and Act!". The model also shows that making the subject a recurring theme can be achieved with minimal disruptions to and without overcrowding an existing curriculum.

Comparative study of the undergraduate community-based nursing curriculum in Shahid Beheshti university of medical sciences, school of nursing and linfield school of nursing.

Revising UCBNC using successful education systems in the world to guarantee the quality of the curriculum is necessary. This study aimed to compare the undergraduate community-based nursing curriculum at Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, School of Nursing, and Linfield School of Nursing. The present comparative descriptive study was conducted using Beredy's four-step approach (description, interpretation, juxtaposition, and comparison) in 2022 and searched the required data using keywords. The fundamental elements of the community-based nursing curriculum were collected and analyzed from the website and internal and external databases. The findings of this study showed that there are main differences in the curriculum of the two schools. All dimensions of the Linfield School of Nursing curriculum are designed based on the community-based nursing education model focusing on communication, community, cultural diversity, health, social justice, stakeholder engagement, evidence-based practice, and responding to community needs. Still, the attention and emphasis on the mentioned items in Iran's curriculum are fragile. The nursing curriculum in Iran should be revised based on the community-based nursing education model, and according to the local conditions, background, and community needs so that can be achieved to the maximum productivity and efficiency of nurses using meet the community needs.

A comparative study of Iran's Undergraduate Nursing Education System with the School of Maryland, USA 2023

Introduction: Educational institutions as implementers of the educational system must react to the changes in their surrounding environment to be able to interact with the environment; and provide quality education based on the needs of society. This study was conducted to compare the undergraduate nursing program in Iran and the nursing school of the University of Maryland, USA.
 Methods: The present study is a descriptive-comparative study that was conducted in the 2023 year by searching the Persian and English keywords: Curriculum, Nursing, Nursing Education, and Educational Plan in databases. We used curriculums which were downloaded from the website of the Iranian Ministry of Health, Treatment, and Medical Education and the website of the University of Maryland, USA. To compare the approach of George F. Brady was carried out in four stages: Description, Interpretation, Juxtaposition, and Comparison.
 Results: The bachelor of nursing program in Iran and the university of Maryland in the United States deferred in the way of admission to the field, perspective, research-based approach, and variety of values. Also, they were similar in terms of the lack of specialized interview in entering the field, early presence in the clinical environment, diversity in teaching strategies, and the use of various basic science courses.
 Conclusion: this comparison is an opportunity to identify and eliminate the weakness of Iran's nursing curriculum and empowerment of its strengths. It is a necessit to pay more attention to research activities in the undergraduate nursing curriculum in Iran.

A12Development of a summative assessment method for interprofessional simulation and other interprofessional education (IPE) activities

Collaborative learning is recognized as essential in ensuring the delivery of safe and effective healthcare. It is fundamental to creating the healthcare teams of the future [1,3]. Central to this, is the early exposure of healthcare students to multiple, healthcare professions to begin the process of thinking and practising in a more interprofessional way. Importantly, how the interprofessional experience is assessed is crucial to the success of collaborative learning. This was the background to the development of an interprofessional module within the School of Nursing & Midwifery at Queens’ University Belfast. (1) To collaborate on the development of additional IPE workshops to supplement an established interprofessional simulation model. (2) To develop an assessment component for the interprofessional activities, including interprofessional simulation. (3) To evaluate the process. Drawing upon the expertise associated with the implementation of a highly successful interprofessional simulation programme, an interprofessional education (IPE) group was established with representation across the Faculty. From the outset, there was a need to have a shared understanding of the module and its complexities, and to work together to collectively support the pedagogy, shaping student learning and assessment, and providing the best educational experience [2]. The team collaborated on sourcing and establishing IPE workshops, developing reflective questions, as well as working on designing and integrating an online video within a digital platform, and streaming all students to one interprofessional workshop. An evaluation questionnaire was created using Microsoft Forms. The 17-item questionnaire incorporated three Likert scales, plus two either/or answers and two questions on digital device/browser. The questionnaire had 10 qualitative ‘free response’ questions to allow candidates to elaborate, expand, clarify or illustrate their answers. The collaboration with staff across the Faculty of Medicine Health & Life Sciences resulted in the establishment of four additional IPE workshops to complement an established six. Total number of IPE workshops, Interprofessional opportunities that utilize a reflective video-based assessment contribute positively to the student experience and are a welcome addition to the undergraduate nursing curriculum. Authors confirm that all relevant ethical standards for research conduct and dissemination have been met. The submitting author confirms that relevant ethical approval was granted, if applicable.

Development of Interprofessional workstreams to support interprofessional learning

Collaborative learning is increasingly recogmised as essential in ensuring the delivery of safe and effective healthcare and fundamental to creating the healthcare teams of the future. Central to this, is the early exposure of healthcare students to multiple healthcare professions to begin the process of thinking and practicing in a more interprofessional way. Thus, after reviewing the literature, an interprofessional module was developed and implemented within an undergraduate nursing curriculum in one university in the UK, consisting of ten interprofessional workstreams to support students' exposure to other professions. This paper describes the implementation process, the assessment component, and addresses the evaluation of the process from both the student and teacher perspective . It aims to provide guidance for other educationalists who may wish to implement a similar programme and to encourage further discussion about the possibilities for the development of a model for interprofessional education and practice.

The contribution of interprofessional education in developing competent undergraduate nursing students: integrative literature review

BackgroundEffective interprofessional team collaboration is one of the necessary domains for successful interprofessional collaborative practices in healthcare (IPCP), which is crucial for the delivery of safe and quality healthcare services. Therefore, understanding the contribution of interprofessional education in nursing students is vital to improving collaboration practices in nursing students, in preparation for the dynamics that await after registration in practice amongst the interprofessional team. Thus, the aim of the study was to summarise the contribution of interprofessional education in nursing education in developing competent undergraduate nursing students.DesignThe integrative literature review design as described by Whittemore and Knafl was adopted for the review. The review consists of five steps, namely, problem identification, literature search, data analysis, data interpretation, and the last step was data presentation. Three databases were searched for the articles, namely CINHAL, Scopus, and Science Direct. Articles were retrieved using Search terms such as “Competence,” “Contribution,”, “Development,” “Interprofessional education” and “Undergraduate nursing students” retrieved Articles published between 2018 and 2022 were selected.ResultsThree themes emerged from the review, namely the promotion of patient safety in nursing practice, the socialisation of nursing students in interprofessional collaboration, and the promotion of the development of professional identity.ConclusionThis study is the first step in determining the contributions of early interprofessional education to nursing education. It could set the stage for further studies that examine strategies the undergraduate nursing curriculum can adopt and develop sound interprofessional competencies that promote patient safety and quality healthcare by nursing students.ImpactThe developers of the nursing curriculum and nursing educators can use the results in developing a curriculum that includes interprofessional education with the aim of improving the quality of teaching and learning that advances competent and safe nursing students.

Senior nursing student’s confidence in learnt competencies and perceptions of patient safety competency: a multisite cross-sectional study

ObjectiveNursing students’ attainment of patient safety (PS) competency has always been a global concern among health and educational organisations. Therefore, this study was conducted to determine senior nursing students’ confidence...

Explaining of existing challenges of community-based undergraduate nursing education in Iran: a qualitative study

BackgroundThe education of nursing students should be such that the health needs of the community are met, but in Iran, due to some problems, students do not receive such education. Therefore, the present study was conducted to explain the existing challenges of community-based undergraduate nursing education in Iran.MethodsTen individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with the faculty members and nursing specialists in this qualitative study. Eight focus group interviews were conducted to the nurses and nursing students using a purpose-based sampling method in 2022. The interviews were recorded and transcribed and then content analysis was done by the Lundman and Granheim method.ResultsFive themes were obtained from the analysis of participants' responses, which include "weakness in community-based nursing education and curriculum", "treatment-oriented health system and education", "defect in the infrastructure and basic structures of community-based nursing education", "weakness in the implementation of community-based nursing education" and "weakness in the stakeholder engagement and cooperation of interested organizations".ConclusionInterviews with the participants provided a vision of the challenges of community-based nursing education so that the reviewers of the undergraduate nursing curriculum in the ministry and nursing schools, educators, policymakers and nursing managers can use the results of the present study to improve the quality of education and the effective use of nursing students in responding to the community’s needs and provide a proper context for improving students' learning.

Childhood and Adolescent Sleep Awareness in Caregivers and Health Care Providers: A Community- and Hospital-Based Survey

BackgroundSleep disorders are common in childhood and adolescence with mental and physical consequences needing appropriate intervention by caregivers and health care providers (HCPs). The objective of the study, conducted at a tertiary teaching hospital and public school in north India, was to develop validated questionnaires to evaluate childhood and adolescent sleep awareness in caregivers and HCPs. MethodsThe study participants (caregivers represented by parents of 2-18 year olds attending a public school and of those attending outpatient services at the study hospital and HCPs represented by medical interns and nursing graduates within 1 year of graduation) were enrolled after appropriate screening. ResultsTwo separate questionnaires in English for caregivers (also translated in Hindi) and HCPs were applied on 313 caregivers and 175 HCPs (110 medical interns and 65 nursing graduates) and developed and validated with a Cronbach α of 0.73 and 0.74, respectively. The questionnaires covered three domains: sleep hygiene, sleep related health problems, and miscellaneous. Both group of respondents had >50% correct responses in sleep hygiene. The ĸ agreement between knowledge and practice of sleep hygiene in caregivers was 0.2. Poor response (<50% correct responses) was seen in sleep-related health problems in both groups of respondents implying knowledge deficit in various sleep disorders. The HCPs performed poorly on basic theoretical questions in miscellaneous domain. For consultation of sleep problems, most caregivers (48%) chose pediatricians. ConclusionThere is a need to strengthen undergraduate medical and nursing curriculum in sleep. Caregivers should be made aware of implications of unhealthy sleep.

Care, lead, and inspire: Infusing innovation into nursing research and evidence-based practice course.

Today's nursing workforce is expected to know how to identify and understand research methods and procedures and apply the most current evidence into daily practice. However, teaching evidence-based practice (EBP) in an undergraduate nursing curriculum poses unique challenges in overcoming students' perception of content relevancy to their educational experience, but also offers opportunities for innovation to facilitate critical thinking and clinical application. The aim of this article is to report on how teaching and learning innovation was infused into a research and evidence-based practice course and the effect on students' perceptions of course values and effectiveness. We used a Plan-Do-Study-Act approach to introduce innovation in an undergraduate course within a university setting. Final student course evaluations were used to measure outcomes on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = low and 5 = high) on the following dimensions: (1) value of overall educational experience, (2) relevancy of course content, (3) improvement in critical thinking, and (4) level of student-instructor interaction. Overall course evaluation scores improved greatly from 2.69 to 3.90 between Spring 2020 and Fall 2021. This finding remained relatively consistent across subsequent semesters (3.79 [Spring 2022], 3.84 [Fall 2022]). Students also reported appreciation and increased engagement and interest with the material after transitioning from examinations to a project-based assignment that allowed them to walk through the steps of EBP in class. We identified and implemented several innovative strategies to improve student outcomes and increase the relevance of the course content. These innovations can be easily incorporated at other universities to enhance delivery and student engagement in this content that is essential to advancing quality care in nursing and developing future nurse scientists and practice leaders who care, lead, and inspire.

Experiential Learning of Childhood Growth and Development Through a Pediatric Play Project.

The adoption of a new undergraduate nursing curriculum granted the opportunity to develop a new method for teaching growth and development. The Pediatric Play Project was designed as part of clinical experience where students explored principles of growth and development by designing a toy or play activity for a hospitalized pediatric patient. Students exhibited immense creativity while meeting learning outcomes, and the project received positive feedback from students and faculty. With minor refinement of the project, students will continue to gain understanding of the nurse's role in promoting growth and development for the hospitalized child.

Nursing Students’ Attitudes About Complementary and Alternative Medicine Methods: A Cross Sectional Study

Objective: In this study, it was aimed to determine nursing students’ attitudes towards complementary and alternative treatment methods Material and methods: A descriptive and cross-sectional study was carried out in the health sciences faculty of a university between February-March 2018. The sample consisted of first and fourth year students of nursing (n:197). The “Descriptive Information Form” and Holistic Complementary and Alternative Medicine Questionnaire (HCAMQ) were used to collect the data. Results: In data analysis, descriptive statistics, student's t test and chi-square test were used. The mean scores the first and fourth year nursing students obtained from the overall HCAMQ were 32.69 ± 5.42 and 30.82 ± 5.84 respectively. There was a statistically significant difference between the first and fourth year nursing students in terms of the mean scores they obtained from the HCAMQ (p&amp;lt; 0.05). There was no statistically significant difference between the first and fourth year students in terms of their mean scores for the CAM and HBB sub-dimensions (p&amp;gt;0.05). Conclusions: The results of the study demonstrated that the participating nursing students displayed positive attitudes towards the methods of complementary and alternative medicine at a moderate level. Their being knowledgeable about CAM methods is important. In order for nurses to be primarily responsible for patient care and to provide care holistically, their being knowledgeable about CAM methods, and informing their patients about the CAM. Therefore, we recommended that the undergraduate nursing curriculum should also include information about CAM, and students should be provided with educational opportunities about different methods.

Effect of Online Instruction on the Level of Knowledge About Clostridium difficile Infection Among Undergraduate Nursing Students in a Developing Country

Abstract Background Clostridium difficile infection is a life-threatening hospital-acquired infection worldwide. Nursing students need to be able to identify patients who have a high chance of contracting C. difficile infection. The study objective is to determine the level of knowledge on C. difficile infection before and after online instruction in undergraduate nursing students. Methods A group pretest-posttest design was implemented to measure the effectiveness of an online instructional program, in which 170 nursing students participated in this study. The level of knowledge was assessed by the percentage of correct answers in the following subsections: (a) basic knowledge; (b) risk factors; (c) modes of transmission; and (d) infection control measures, by using a questionnaire that contained 20 true/false statements. Results Overall, the nurses in this study had a low level of knowledge about C. difficile pre–online instruction and a significant increase in knowledge regarding C. difficile infection in all sections after online instruction. Conclusions Online instruction should be integrated into the undergraduate nursing curriculum in developing countries. Self-directed instruction is an effective approach for nursing students to teach them infectious diseases in developing countries.