Nursing Curriculum Revised to Meet Changes in the Profession

The D’Youville College School of Nursing has completed its update of its curriculum to meet new standards set by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN), a national accrediting agency for nursing education.The new guidelines cover the essentials of baccalaureate education for professional nursing practice, and expectations for clinical experiences within a baccalaureate program. Colleges and universities nationwide are currently implementing the new standards.The reason for the update was due to the dramatic changes in the healthcare delivery system since the last standards were endorsed by the AACN in 1998.

Judith H. Lewis, Ed. D., dean of the School of Nursing believes the new standards are good for the nursing profession and will help meet the demands of the 21st century. "There were extensive changes and we had to bring our curriculum in line with these revisions,” she said. "It did enhance our undergraduate education curriculum and one of the main improvements is the increase in the number of clinical hours for our students, which students want.”

One of the areas the AACN continues to focus on is the area of liberal education for the nursing practice. "Liberal education is needed for the development of intellectual and innovative capacities for current and emergent generalist nursing practice,” the AACN said. The new guidelines stress the integration of liberal education and nursing education that will provide graduates with knowledge of human cultures, including spiritual beliefs, and the physical and natural worlds that will support an inclusive approach to practice.They will prepare graduates to work within complex healthcare systems as both nurses and designers/managers and coordinators of care, the Association stated.

Another key area addressed is information management and patient care technology that is critical in the delivery of quality patient care."Genomics, genetics and geriatrics are current areas nurses have to be aware of. Our nursing faculty looked at the current curriculum and made adjustments to reflect the new standards while they were developing the revised curriculum,” Dr. Lewis said. "Patient focused education and care is paramount.”

Other areas addressed included policy, finance, regulatory environments, interprofessional communication and collaboration for improving patient health outcomes, patient safety, informatics, cultural sensitivity, practice across the lifespan and end-of-life care. Dr. Lewis stated the changes are good, both for today’s student and for patients. "Healthcare and knowledge combined with technology are changing rapidly and today’s nurses need to be well educated to use all that is new in our profession. With the implementation of the new standards, D’Youville nursing students will continue to be well prepared.”