There are several changes happening in the field of nursing education, including a need for more innovation in the education system. This article discusses the changes in nursing education and the options available to students looking to get a BSN. In addition, it discusses how to complete a BSN degree. Regardless of your personal situation, nursing education has the potential to positively impact your life. However, it’s important to remember that pursuing a nursing education may not be as easy as it seems. While there are many options, completing an accredited degree program can help you achieve your goals.
Curriculum design in nursing
In recent years, nursing curriculum design has become a more sophisticated process. Various theories and models are used to guide nursing curriculum design, such as Dorothea Orem’s “critical practitioner” theory. Nurse educators are bombarded with material about the various theories and models of nursing and would benefit from becoming familiar with the main theories. This article discusses some of the theories and models used in nursing curriculum design and suggests their implications.
Research on nursing education is mostly limited to educational settings, involving a sample of 50 to 99 participants and more than half of them were questionnaires. Research on nursing education is not well funded, and the number of publications has stabilized at 120 per year. Developing research programs and lobbying efforts are necessary to improve the quality of nursing education. Here are some important aspects of curriculum design for nursing education.
The goals of nursing education research are:
Changes in nursing education
From the mid-1960s through the 1970s, a rift developed between the incremental and goal-oriented approaches to nursing education. The first group included nurses who would be directly involved in patient care, while the second group focused on diploma educators. These changes altered student learning by defining practice roles. In addition, nursing education no longer had a disciplinary hierarchy, with graduates holding the same license requirements as those in other fields.
In the 1950s, the number of colleges and universities offering baccalaureate programs doubled, from about 1,290 to nearly 2,472 students. The curriculums in these schools focused on the basic concepts of nursing, while functional specializations were phased out. As a result, the baccalaureate curricula shifted toward the practice of nursing itself, clarifying and enriching curricula and freeing doctoral programs to focus on knowledge development.
Need for innovation in nursing education
Nurses are experts in identifying opportunities for improvement in health care, but there are many hurdles to overcome when it comes to introducing new innovations in the curriculum. To overcome these hurdles, nurse educators must reframe the term “innovation” for faculty members. Many nurses think of innovation as involving technology and gadgets, but the reality is that innovation also includes identifying what nursing faculty members need. A successful innovation process begins with identifying needs and defining what innovation means in practice.
Innovative ideas offer solutions to old problems and transform the patient experience. Innovation isn’t about working harder but about working smarter. Nursing students can tap into their creativity as they work through problems in patient care. These nurses can use technology like Google Glass and unlock their creativity and bring them to the practice setting. Innovative nurses are the key to improving health outcomes for entire populations of patients. While it may seem difficult, this approach can make a major impact in improving the quality of patient care.
Options for completing a BSN
There are several options for completing a BSN in nursing. One option is to enter the program as an RN before earning licensure. This option is ideal for working RNs who wish to pursue a higher level of education. An accelerated BSN program is ideal for aspiring nurses with a non-nursing bachelor’s degree. In this program, a prospective nurse can incorporate his or her non-nursing degree and work experience into his or her nursing education. This method allows prospective nurses to complete a second degree quickly and earn their BSN in as little as fifteen months.
Another option is a master’s degree program in nursing. The MSN program at Goodwin focuses on population health and nursing leadership. Students will learn more about the various aspects of nursing, including research and health policy. The program is flexible, offering online or full-time study options. The program can take 20 months for full-time study or as little as eighteen months part-time. The program can also lead to a doctorate in nursing.