Intellectual disability health content within nursing curriculum: An audit of what our future nurses are taught

BackgroundIndividuals with intellectual disability experience chronic and complex health issues, but face considerable barriers to healthcare. One such barrier is inadequate education of healthcare professionals.ObjectiveTo establish the quantity and nature of intellectual disability content offered within Australian nursing degree curricula.DesignA two-phase national audit of nursing curriculum content was conducted using an interview and online survey.SettingAustralian nursing schools offering pre-registration courses.ParticipantsPre-registration course coordinators from 31 universities completed the Phase 1 interview on course structure. Unit coordinators and teaching staff from 15 universities in which intellectual disability content was identified completed the Phase 2 online survey.MethodsQuantity of compulsory and elective intellectual disability content offered (units and teaching time) and the nature of the content (broad categories, specific topics, and inclusive teaching) were audited using an online survey.ResultsOver half (52%) of the schools offered no intellectual disability content. For units of study that contained some auditable intellectual disability content, the area was taught on average for 3.6 h per unit of study. Units were evenly distributed across the three years of study. Just three participating schools offered 50% of all units audited. Clinical assessment skills, and ethics and legal issues were most frequently taught, while human rights issues and preventative health were poorly represented. Only one nursing school involved a person with intellectual disability in content development or delivery.ConclusionDespite significant unmet health needs of people with intellectual disability, there is considerable variability in the teaching of key intellectual disability content, with many gaps evident. Equipping nursing students with skills in this area is vital to building workforce capacity.     

Baccalaureate Education: The Foundation for Healthcare Board Participation

The governance of healthcare organizations is becoming more complex and is prompting changes in board structure and membership. The presence and contributions of nurses on governance structures will favorably influence the future of health care. The essentials of baccalaureate nursing education, along with the general education curriculum, provide learning opportunities that result in nursing students developing the leadership skills needed to serve on hospital and healthcare boards. The purpose of this article is to present the perspective that graduates of baccalaureate nursing programs possess the foundation to participate as members of hospital and healthcare boards. This perspective is supported by the results of a survey of nursing faculty, many who have served or currently serve on healthcare boards and who provided overwhelming agreement that the foundational skills required for board participation are provided by the nursing curriculum.     

The views and experiences of midwifery academics regarding LGBTQ+ health education in pre-registration programmes in the United Kingdom and Ireland: Qualitative findings from a mixed-methods study

AimThe purpose of this study was to identify the current LGBTQ+ health content within midwifery pre-registration programmes and identity education best practice and innovation.BackgroundThere have been significant developments in some countries in protecting the rights of LGBTQ+ people. LGBTQ+ people are and do become parents and require access to maternity services. Yet some report heteronormative assumptions, negative and discriminatory attitudes from midwives that results in barriers to service access and feelings of exclusion.DesignThis mixed-methods study involved a quantitative and qualitative design. The qualitative findings are reported here.MethodsAll 135 Schools of Nursing and Midwifery across the United Kingdom and Ireland were invited to participate in an online survey and qualitative interview. Thematic analysis of the qualitative data from 29 survey responses and seven midwifery follow-up interviews were conducted.ResultsThree themes identified following data analysis: (i) preparing midwifery students for practice; (ii) the diverse family unit; and (iii) safety, privacy and respect.ConclusionsThe findings provide insights into the challenges of meeting the education needs of midwifery students, with an opportunity to develop and implement a curriculum that is reflective of the needs and concerns of LGBTQ+ people within pre-registration midwifery programmes.     

Preparing nurses to intervene in the tobacco epidemic: Developing a model for faculty development and curriculum redesign

As the largest group of health professionals, nurses have a tremendous potential to help curb the tobacco epidemic. However, studies conducted across a range of global settings continue to indicate that both practicing nurses and nursing student have limited knowledge, skills and confidence needed to implement evidence-based tobacco cessation interventions. A contributing factor is the limited inclusion of tobacco control content in nursing curricula. Additionally, there is limited understanding of nurse educators' knowledge and perceptions about teaching tobacco dependence content. This paper presents the Loma Linda University School of Nursing's concurrent experience with both faculty development and curriculum redesign in the area of tobacco dependence prevention and treatment. An internal survey was administered at baseline and at 2-year follow-up to assess faculty's knowledge, perceptions and practices related to teaching tobacco dependence content and skills (n = 42). Faculty and curriculum development strategies and resources utilized, evaluation findings and subsequent lessons learned are described. The findings have implications for nursing programs seeking to enhance their curricula and commitment to ensuring that their graduates are prepared to provide evidence-based tobacco cessation interventions with each patient they encounter.     

Pain in the physical therapy (pt) curriculum: a faculty survey

Pain is a leading cause of distress and disability and is central to clinical practice, but may not be central to the education of physical therapists. The purpose of this study was to determine the current status of pain topics taught in PT curricula. A questionnaire was mailed to 169 accredited PT programs in North America. Information was obtained on PT faculty's perception of the adequacy with which pain and pain related topics were taught within PT curricula, and the competency of their graduates to assess and manage pain. A response rate of 63.3 percent was obtained. Key results were as follows. The modal amount of time spent on pain was four hours. The majority of faculty thought that pain was adequately covered in their curriculum although their perceptions of graduates' competency to assess and treat individuals with pain were higher for acute than chronic pain. Unidimensional pain assessment scales were perceived as adequately covered in more programs (81.7%) than multidimensional scales (61.5%). Pain management techniques were thought to be adequately covered in over 80 percent of the programs. However, pain in the elderly and in children were not thought to be adequately covered in 57.3 percent and 76.2 percent of the programs, respectively. Only 33 percent of the respondents thought that cognitive-behavioural approaches to pain management were adequately covered. Although a large proportion of faculty perceived that the time spent on pain topics, in general, was inadequate, most perceived that an adequate time was spent when asked about specific pain topics in the curriculum. It is difficult to reconcile the discrepancy between the scant number of hours spent on the topic of pain with faculty's perceptions that, for most topics, adequate time is devoted to the area.     

Gerontological nursing content in baccalaureate nursing programs: findings from a national survey.

Given the prevalence of elderly people in the health care system, it behooves the nursing community to assure that every nurse graduating from a baccalaureate nursing program has a defined level of competency in care of the elderly. To accomplish this, it is necessary to establish a baseline of the current status of geriatric content in the baccalaureate curriculum. This article provides such baseline data using the findings of a national study of geriatrics in baccalaureate nursing programs. The study, conducted in 1997, was distributed to the universe of baccalaureate nursing programs (n = 598). The findings are based on a respondent pool of 480 programs (80.3 per cent response rate). The survey covered a range of educational topics, including curriculum, content, faculty preparation, and how programs define their needs for further curriculum and faculty development. The data analysis included the identification of baccalaureate nursing programs with exemplary offerings in geriatric care. Finally, in the discussion section, recommendations are advanced for the full integration of geriatric content into baccalaureate nursing programs.     

Perceptions of nursing faculty regarding ethical issues in nursing research

A major premise of any research activity is that ethical conduct will be identified and observed during the research process. Yet a comprehensive review of the nursing literature failed to find any research assessing nurses' perceptions of ethical issues related to authorship, publication, reporting results, or funding. This study assessed nursing faculty members' perceptions of ethical scenarios related to the areas of authorship, publication, reporting results, and funding. A 34-item questionnaire, consisting of ethical issues related to research, was mailed to a national random sample of nursing faculty who were teaching at graduate degree-granting institutions. A three-wave mailing was used to maximize response rate. A total of 388 nurses responded to the survey (77.6% response rate). Less than half of the respondents reported that content included in their curriculum was related to the issues under study. Respondents' perceptions of the ethical scenarios varied. A majority of the respondents considered six of the scenarios ethical, eight unethical, one questionable, and one not an ethical issue. Five of the scenarios received widely varied responses. Faculty members who had chaired student dissertations found three questionnaire items significantly (p < .05) more unethical than faculty members who had not chaired dissertations. Faculty teaching in programs in which the highest degree offered was a doctorate found two items unethical significantly more often than faculty teaching at programs in which the highest degree offered was a master's degree. Results of this study demonstrate the potential that students are not being taught necessary issues related to ethical authorship and publication practices. Faculty members themselves may not have had the education needed to educate their own students in the area of research ethics.     

Violence-related content in the nursing curriculum: a follow-up national survey

Appropriate educational preparation about violence prevention, assessment, and treatment provides critical knowledge and skills that enable nurses to provide competent care to violence survivors. This follow-up national survey examined changes in the extent, placement, and faculty responsible for violence-related content in baccalaureate nursing curricula since the original 1995 survey was conducted. This national study used a 31-item mailed questionnaire that requested demographic information; data related to course content, clinical experiences, curriculum and faculty development, and curriculum evaluation; and recommendations. Usable questionnaires were returned from 395 (61%) of 648 programs surveyed. Findings indicated content related to women, children, and suicide and self-destructive behavior was taught primarily in 2 to 4 hours; 46% of schools presented sexual and elder abuse content in 1 hour or in readings only; and related clinical experiences were primarily coincidental. The majority of schools (63%) reported no violence-related faculty development activities during the past 4 years despite previous indication of need. More than two thirds of programs (68%) did not systematically evaluate violence content, and 75% had not developed violence-focused student competencies. Although small gains were found in hours of presentation in some content, little has changed in the nursing curriculum overall. The significance of this study is related to the relevance of nursing education to preparing students and faculty to address the social and health problems of increasing violence and abuse.     

An alcoholism training program: its effect on trainees and faculty.

Evaluation of the effect of a three-year specialized training program in alcoholism on opinions and attitudes of trainees and faculty members at the University of Washington School of Nursing showed that the program influenced both trainees and faculty in a positive direction. Trainees were found to be more accepting of alcoholism as a disease and an increasing number of faculty believed alcoholism-related courses should be a part of the curriculum.     

Curriculum evaluation. Who, when, why, how?

The faculty of a large, Midwestern, public university implemented a community-based baccalaureate curriculum to prepare students for the changing health care environment. Evaluation was planned as the curriculum was developed. The constituents of the School of Nursing were determined to be the students, alumni, employers, clinical agencies, and faculty. Surveys, focus groups, questionnaires, and meetings with agency representatives were some of the methods used to gather data from the constituents. Information gathered during a three-year period resulted in further curriculum revision, increased community partnerships, and more positive feedback from students.     

Faculty identification of competencies addressing quality and safety education in Alabama Associate Degree Nursing Education Programs

This study described the extent to which Alabama associate degree nursing faculty, implementing a standardized curriculum, implement the Quality and Safety Education in Nursing (QSEN) selected competencies of safety and teamwork and collaboration. Full-time nursing faculty with a minimum of three years teaching in the Alabama Community College System associate degree schools of nursing participated in a Web survey. The survey instrument was created to incorporate the two selected QSEN competencies' knowledge, skills, and attitude statements.The participants were predominantly female, holding a master's degree in nursing with teaching responsibilities in both the classroom and clinical setting, and had 10 years of teaching experience on average. Faculty were asked to identify the hours of direct classroom and clinical instruction dedicated to each knowledge and skill statement and rate the attitude statements in relation to importance of inclusion in the curriculum.The data reflected inconsistencies between hours of instruction and the importance rating for each attitude statement. The findings of this study did not indicate that QSEN knowledge, skills, or attitudes had current widespread inclusion in the Alabama associate degree nursing curriculum.This was the first study to explore evidence of the QSEN knowledge, skill, and attitude statements within the Alabama standardized curriculum. Implications from this study suggest that the concepts of quality and safety, although familiar to faculty, are not identifiable nor taught at the complexity level, which relates to (a) safety and (b) teamwork and collaboration. A review of the statewide curriculum may be warranted.     

Measuring learning, student engagement, and program effectiveness: a strategic process

What if there was an effective way to address the age-old question from students, "Why do we have to do this assignment?" And from faculty, "How do we know our students are really learning?" And from administrators, "How will we demonstrate to our peers, our accrediting agencies, and other program stakeholders that our programs are educationally effective?" As it undertook a curriculum redesign, faculty in a baccalaureate school of nursing developed a 9-step process for curriculum implementation. The authors discuss how they applied the 9 steps strategically, positioning the program for 2 successful accreditation self-studies and concurrently addressing, with greater confidence, some of these age-old questions.     

Emergency Medicine Interest Group Curriculum: Faculty and Preclinical Student Opinions Differ in a Formal Needs Assessment

Background: Medical students and Emergency medicine (EM) faculty may have differing opinions on the ideal curriculum during the preclinical years. Objectives: To assess the perceived needs of preclinical medical students exploring EM and compare them with those of EM faculty regarding appropriate educational interventions. Methods: A survey instrument listing 15 workshops related to EM was administered to preclinical medical students in our Emergency Medicine Interest Group (EMIG), and to EM faculty. Respondents graded the perceived utility of each workshop offered at our medical school and those identified via a web search for EMIG. No recommendations for EMIG curriculum were identified through PubMed. Fisher's exact tests were computed using SPSS (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL) with α = 0.05. Results: There were 48 medical students and 15 faculty members who completed the survey. Students strongly desired workshops in suturing (48/48; 100%), splinting (47/48; 97.9%), and basic electrocardiogram (ECG) interpretation (47/48; 97.9%). Least desired topics were history of EM (16/48; 33.3%), getting involved in EM organizations (20/48; 41.7%), and wellness (21/48; 43.8%). Women chose the domestic violence workshop more than men (p = 0.036). Faculty strongly supported workshops in conducting focused history and physical examination (14/15; 93.3%), the specialty of EM (14/15; 93.3%), and basic ECG interpretation (12/15; 80.0%). The lowest rated faculty preferences were ultrasound (5/15; 33.3%), history of EM (7/15; 46.7%), and emergency radiology (7/15; 46.7%). Conclusions: Preclinical students and faculty opinions of important educational workshops differed. Faculty favored the approach to the undifferentiated patient and an introduction to the specialty, whereas students preferred hands-on workshops. Both groups agreed that basic ECG interpretation was useful. These data may be useful for designing an educational program that is interesting to preclinical students while still meeting the needs as perceived by medical student educators.     

Practice management skills for the nurse practitioner.

The faculties of three schools of nursing involved in a collaborative family nurse practitioner (FNP) program designed a study to address issues involved in preparing the nurse practitioner for the challenges of practice management in the clinical environment. The purposes of the study were to (1) identify business concepts necessary to successfully manage a primary care practice; (2) determine which of these concepts should be incorporated into an FNP curriculum; and (3) clarify information to be taught regarding each identified concept. Fifty-four business concepts related to primary care were identified from a literature review. A survey was then developed to assess the extent to which the identified concepts were necessary for an FNP to effectively manage a practice. Seven experts and five FNP faculty responded to the survey. The Content Validity Index (CVI) defined by Lynn (1986) was applied and 20 concepts necessary for an FNP to effectively manage a practice were identified. A focus group that included nurse practitioners (both faculty and nonfaculty) from the three collaborative sites connected by interactive telecommunications determined that all 20 of the identified concepts should be included in an FNP curriculum. Additionally, the focus group clarified relevant information to be taught regarding each identified concept.     

Service learning: preparing a healthcare workforce for the next century

Service learning coupled with community-based education is an effective way for educators to prepare nurses for their roles in healthcare for the 21st century. Structuring the curriculum to provide learning experiences that prepare nurses to meet the healthcare needs of aggregates and populations is the responsibility of nursing faculty today. Students need opportunities to work both with and within communities as partners, as well as experiences with interdisciplinary collaboration, to achieve this goal. The authors describe how two disciplines within the university and a community in rural eastern North Carolina partnered to accomplish this task.     

Integrating practice issues in managed care into the curriculum: a Delphi survey

PURPOSE: This project evolved from a partnership between an advanced practice nurse (APN) graduate program and a care management insurer. The purpose of this Delphi survey was to identify (a) role components germane to the practice of APNs in managed care and (b) topics reflecting these components in the curriculum. DATA SOURCES: Data were gathered from two expert panels, clinician preceptors and faculty members. Each panel had 11 members: 11.3% and 100%, respectively, of the target populations of clinicians and faculty in the partnering agencies. CONCLUSIONS: There was considerable congruence between the panels on the survey. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: Case vignettes could be used as a vehicle for discussion of the broader issues of population approaches to specific problems. Faculty could partner with clinicians to develop cases for discussion of evidence-based practice. Faculty and clinicians could create preceptorships focused on business management, postgraduate fellowships within managed care systems, and regular opportunities to dialogue about curriculum and essential attributes of APN graduates.     

Discovery of Methods to Enhance the Care of the LGBTQ+ Community

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer/questioning (LGBTQ+) patients have a greater risk of suicide, depression, anxiety, and sexually transmitted infections. Provider interactions with different cultures related to sexual orientation and gender identification often lack LGBTQ+-specific competence. Marginalized patients may gain greater access to health care with telehealth. A convenience sample of embedded participants, nurse practitioner faculty, and nurse practitioner students participated in the study. Participants were randomly assigned to the simulated patient visit via a telehealth robot (telerobot) or an in-person provider. Differences were noted between an in-person provider and a telerobot. Social presence favored the telerobot provider (P = .006). Telerobot and telehealth visits may mitigate health care barriers.