Curriculum Framework
Nursing curriculum is informed by theoretical principles, concepts, and models. These concepts, beliefs, and philosophies are described in an organization’s curriculum organizing framework (Remillard, 2013). This paper will describe the philosophy, concepts rationale, and proposed uses of a curriculum framework designed for a nursing program.
Philosophical Foundation
The inherent beliefs about the four metaparadigms of nursing that are person, nursing, environment, and health will constitute the philosophical underpinnings of the framework. It is essential for the framework to have a philosophical underbelly because the attitudes, values, behaviors, choices, knowledge, and ethics which underpin nursing practice are informed by philosophical thought. The major concepts of the curriculum framework to be described are intimately linked to the four metaparadigms of nursing.
Person
The person is the receiver of nursing care and can be an individual, family, or community. The health of the person is influenced by interactions with the external and internal environments. Each person is unique, holistic, has intrinsic worth, and potential for growth, learning, and wellness (Basford & Slevin, 2003, p. 158).
Environment
The environment is the cluster of external and internal variables that influence the well-being of the individual, family, and community. It encompasses the biological, physical, familial, social, and cultural systems that affect human development. The patterns of human responses and interactions with the environment provide the model for the determination of nursing interventions (Basford & Slevin, 2003, p. 158).
Health
Health is a dynamic state of wellness and optimal functioning in the following integrated aspects physiological, psychological, spiritual, and sociocultural functioning. It is influenced by heredity, environmental, and lifestyle factors. These factors determine an individual’s position on the health continuum. The goal of nursing is to assist clients achieve the highest level of holistic health, optimal well-being, and self-actualization possible (Basford & Slevin, 2003, p. 158).
Nursing
“Nursing is the art and science of caring and health care management and is the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and abilities, prevention of illness and injury, alleviation of suffering through the diagnosis and treatment of human responses, and advocacy in the care of individuals, families, communities, and populations” (ANA Social Policy Statement, 2010, p. 6). Nursing is accomplished through interprofessional collaboration and through partnerships with the holistic person across the developmental and health continuums.
Nursing Practice
Nursing practice is dynamic, multidimensional, and it is constantly evolving to meet the diverse needs of patients. It is evidence-based and hence it is changed, reformed, and shaped by scientific research and new technologies. Nurse practitioners are providers of care, managers of care, and members of the nursing profession. In providing care, nurses demonstrate autonomy, accountability, and competent performance through ethical and legal practice. The essential components of nursing practice are caring, critical thinking, clinical reasoning, clinical judgment, communication, professionalism, leadership, relationship-based care, and teaching/learning process.
Nursing Process
The nursing process is the systematic framework that guides the actions of nurses when helping patients/clients adapt to actual or potential health problems. It consists of 5 interrelated steps assessment, nursing diagnosis, planning, implementation, and evaluation.
Health Continuum
The health continuum refers to the array of human health responses. Nurses provide care across a variety of practice environments. The nursing behaviors integral to provision of care to persons across the health continuum include preventive, therapeutic, rehabilitative, restorative, reproductive, and palliative behaviors. To achieve optimal wellness across the health continuum, nurses work within the vision of health prevention, health promotion, health restoration, and rehabilitation.
Developmental continuum
The developmental continuum refers to the stages and phases an individual goes through across the lifespan. Development is characterized by quantitative and qualitative changes in the physiological, socio-cultural, psychological, and spiritual attributes of a person. Nursing education equips nurses with the knowledge and skills to provide care that meets the psychosocial, physical, and spiritual needs of patients across the various developmental stages and phases of the lifespan.
Rationale for the Framework
The art and science of nursing entails the utilization of knowledge, skills, and experience. Therefore, the concepts included in a curriculum framework are essential since they influence the selection of the content, concepts, teaching and instructional strategies, and education settings of a curriculum. The concepts included in this framework were carefully selected to reflect the nature of knowledge, future practice settings, and level of experience and skills required of registered nurses. For instance, from the definitions of the four metaparadigms of nursing, it emerges that the nursing program will have to include general and nursing specific courses. The metaparadigms have also identified the phenomena of interest to nursing and delineated the boundaries of nursing practice (Kikuchi, 1999).
Uses of the Framework
The concepts described above will be used to guide the development of the content and structure of the curriculum of a nursing program. It will also be used as a decision making tool for faculty and a resource for clarifying and directing student learning. In addition, it will be used to inform the selection of the instructional processes and strategies to be used to teach students (Remillard, 2013).
Conclusion
In summary, this paper has described the philosophical foundation and concepts of a curriculum framework for a nursing program. Further, it has described the rationale that informed inclusion of the various concepts. Lastly, it has detailed how the framework can be used as a faculty decision making and educational resource.
References
American Nurses Association (ANA) (2010). Nursing’s social policy statement: The essence of the profession. Silver Spring, MD: Nursesbooks.org.
Basford, L. & Slevin, O. (2003). Theory and practice of Nursing: An integrated approach to caring practice. London: Campion Press Ltd.
Kikuchi, J. F. (1999). Clarifying the nature of conceptualizations about nursing. Canadian Journal of Nursing Research, 30(4), 115-118.
Remillard, A. (2013). Developing a nurse residency program curricular framework. Journal for Nurses in Professional Development, 29(2), 79-83.
