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Learning Objective 1: Describe nursing education as STEM education.
Learning Objective 2: Explore approaches to nursing education grounded in STEM education.
Purpose: To promote professional nursing preparation and practice as STEM, in light of the IOM recommendations for nursing education and QSEN practice recommendations.
Problem: The relation of nursing education and STEM is not found in the literature. Despite years of leading the annual Gallup Poll as “most trusted profession,” the public retains dated notions of nursing. Aspiring students to the profession are unsure of nursing’s scope of practice, range of accountability, and educational preparation. When applicants from diverse educational and ethnic backgrounds discover the nature of pre- and concurrent degree requirements, they question the need for the number of science and math courses required for the nursing major. While applicants are able to identify technological and engineering advancements in general for health, they have difficulty articulating nursing’s specific relation to technology and engineering in the provision of safe, quality care.
Methods: Undergraduate nursing students from two pathways—nursing workforce diversity generic pathway and accelerated second degree pathway—were advised of curricula requirements for admission and retention in the nursing programs. Number and nature of interactions/inquiries were examined for patterns of concern prior to and throughout matriculation in the nursing programs.
Findings to date indicate similarity in preconceived notions of nursing education requirements across student demographics. Meaning, limitations, and suggestions for action will be discussed.
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