Putting It All Together: Integrating Multiple Evidence-Based Core Competencies from across the Spectrum to Redevelop Community Health Online RN-BSN Courses

 Three (3) Measurable Objectives

1. Describe how the American Association of Colleges of Nurses (AACN), Recommended Baccalaureate Competencies and Curricular Guidelines for Public Health Nursing (2013) can be integrated into an online Community Health (CH) course for RN-BSN students.

2. Examine the process of incorporating Master Instruction, Quality Matters, and the Nurse of the Future into an online RN-BSN CH course.

3. Demonstrate the use of concept mapping of the CH course outcomes with BSN Essentials and core competencies.

  Purpose, Aims, Background, Problem

Public health nursing is evolving due to a paradigm shift emphasizing population health, health promotion, and disease prevention (American Public Health Association, 2013). Numerous leading health agencies have responded to this need by creating new core competencies and pedagogical frameworks. Nurse educators face the challenge of integrating the AACN baccalaureate nursing essentials with these new public health core competencies.  Emerging instructional frameworks can enhance the foundation of RN-BSN CH courses.  Concept mapping is an effective tool to ensure that key concepts from across disciplines are integrated into online courses. Nursing faculty play a key role synthesizing this information to optimize student learning of foundational CH concepts. 

  Methods, Results, Implications, Discussion, Conclusions

The recently developed AACN Competencies for Public Health Nursing (2013) integrate population-focused content into baccalaureate level community health curriculum. In addition, several educational frameworks including Master Instruction, Quality Matters, and the Nurse of the Future have been demonstrated to improve student learning. Answering this call for transformation, the CH nursing courses at Chamberlain College of Nursing have been redeveloped and redesigned to incorporate these essential concepts and frameworks. This presentation will describe the process of concept mapping and course redevelopment incorporating the AACN public health nursing, Master Instruction, Quality Matters, and the Nursing of the Future into our online CH nursing courses.

References

American Association of Colleges of Nursing. (2013). Public health: Recommended baccalaureate competencies and curricular guidelines for public health nursing. Author. Retrieved from http://www.aacn.nche.edu/education-resources/BSN-Curriculum-Guide.pdf

American Nurses Association. (2007). Public health nursing: Scope and standards of practice. Silver Spring, MD: Author.

American Public Health Association, Public Health Nursing Section. (2013). The definition and practice of public health nursing: A statement of the public health nurse section. Washington, DC: Author. Retrieved from http://www.apha.org/~/media/files/pdf/membergroups/nursingdefinition.ashx

Association of Community Health Nurse Educators. (2009). Essentials of baccalaureate nursing education for entry level community/ public health nursing. Wheat Ridge, CO: Author.

Bain, K. (2004). What the best college teachers do. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Council on Linkages Between Academia and Public Health Practice. (2014). Core competencies for public health professionals. Washington, DC: Public Health Foundation. Retrieved from http://www.phf.org/resourcestools/pages/core_public_health_competencies.aspx

Institute of Medicine. (2011). The future of nursing: Leading change advancing health. Washington, DC: National Academy Press. Retrieved from http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12956

Massachusetts Department of Higher Education. (2010). Nurse of the future core competencies. Retrieved from http://www.mass.edu/currentinit/documents/NursingCoreCompetencies.pdf

Quality Matters. (2014). Quality Matters higher education rubric workbook: Design standards for online and blended courses (5^th ed.). Annapolis, MD: Author.