Purpose: The purpose of this project is to describe the use of a spiral curricular design model in the transition of a nurse anesthesia program from a master’s degree to a practice doctorate degree and the key features of situation leadership used to guide the curriculum development process.
Methods: Following an extensive program assessment, faculty were guided through the process of curriculum development, which included review of guiding curricular documents, formation of end-of program objectives, choosing a curricular design model, developing a curricular map, course objectives and an implementation plan. Frequent team debriefing assessment uncovered knowledge and process barriers. Tools were developed to identify curriculum redundancy and gaps. Situational leadership competencies were applied and adjusted to meet the needs of the team through the curriculum development process. The project is in its final stages of development. Faculty from the nurse anesthesia program and other advanced practice program faculty have been assigned a topic and will assess the presence of key features of the spiral curriculum model.
Project Outcomes and Measures:
Short-term outcomes: The development of a complete nurse anesthesia curriculum that applies the spiral curriculum concepts.
Long-term outcomes: First time test scores greater than 90 percent on the National Certification Exam.