Narrative Summary

Assignment 2: Evaluation of Curriculum through Application of National Guidelines

NURS-602-11243-Curriculum and Instructional Design

SUNY Delhi

Ilana Rabinowitz

September 22, 2019

Question 7.

Student Learning Outcome #3

3. Analyze elements of leadership, collaboration, and communication as part of

membership in the interdisciplinary health careteam.

This learning outcome requires the student to understand what it takes to be a part of the
interdisciplinary team in regards to leadership, collaboration and communication. I felt this
student learning outcome aligned with a few of the program outcomes since it encompasses a
range of topics. It aligns with program outcome #1 because students can use their knowledge
from their liberal arts and science classes for things such as communication. These classes start
teaching students how to critically think which is necessary to be an effective member of the
healthcare team. Program outcome #3 directly aligns with this student learning outcome.
Students should be able to communicate and collaborate with the team and then put their plan
into action. Program outome #5 involves leadership as well. I felt program outome #6 also
aligned with this SLO since nurses need to have strong collaboration and communication skills
in order to make smart clinical decisions. I think this student learning outcome could be reached
through strategically selected clinical experiences. Students should also sit in on interdisciplinary
rounds in order to see first hand how nurses communicate and collaborate ideas with other team
members. Spending time with a nurse manager could also help students gain some insight into
what it takes to be a part of nursing leadership. I remember doing an assignment about different
nursing roles during my BSN particularly nurse manager. I learned a lot through my research
about what it is like to be a nurse manager including their lack of adequate training and various
responsibilites. Students can possibly do an assignment that has them look at the role a nursing
leadership when it comes to trying to make change regarding healthcare policies.

The ACEN standards 4.4, 4.5, 4.6 and 4.9 all align with this outcome in someway. The student’s
general education courses will help lay the foundation that is necessary to become an effective
leader and member of the healthcare team. Students must obtain knowledge that is culturally,
ethnically and socially diverse in order to treat any type of patient or work alongside people from
different backgrounds. Students will use theoretical information they learn and research practices
in order to collaborate with others and provide care based on the current standards. Through their
clinical experiences they will be providing care to various different groups and work alongside
different members of the healthcare team.

I feel that several of the QSEN competencies are related to this SLO. Teamwork and
collaboration is directly related since that is the basis of this SLO. The healthcare team
collaborates together in order to provide patient-centered care that stems from evidence based
practice. Nursing leaders are always interested in quality improvement and safety as well. I feel
that all of these competencies are intertwined when it comes to this SLO. The healthcare team
may collaborate in order to develop a quality improvement project that revolves around patient
safety. This SLO will help students be aware of what it is really like working alongside the
different disciplines and how to take their opinions and suggestions into consideration to do what
is best for their patients.

Student Learning Outcome #4

4. Explore professional nursing practice roles and responsibilities in the delivery of health care.

I think the program outcome #1 aligns with most of the SLOs. The general education courses
really provide students with a foundation for further nursing classes and practices. Program
outcome #4 expects students to develop interventions for healthcare, safety, education and
counseling of diverse groups. I felt these outcomes aligned because it shows the different roles
nurses can play. It is not always just about direct patient care. Nurses need to be able to educate
and counsel their patients in a sympathetic yet sometimes assertive way as well. Program
outcome #6 includes ethics and morals when making clinical decisions. I felt this aligned with
this SLO because a nurses role is not always so cut and dry. There are many situations where the
“right” thing to do is not the “ethical” thing to do. I remember writing a paper about an “ethical
dilemma” when I was obtaining my BSN. I think an assignment like this helps students look at
other aspects of patient care that is not necessarily medical. They must learn how to deal with
their own values and ethics when caring for their patients as well. An assignment that looks at
different roles of a nurse can help students with this SLO. Students can explore different roles
such as nurse manager, educator, case management, and administration. Again, I think clinical
experiences play an important role in fulfilling this outcome as well. Students will work
alongside nurses and see what their responsibilities really entail. I always felt that it takes time to
feel comfortable with patients in the beginning and clinical can really help with that.

The ACEN standards that I think align with this SLO is 4.4, 4.5., 4.6, and 4.9. As previously
stated, I think the general education courses will help build the foundations necessary to become
a responsible nurse. Cultural and ethical diversity is necessary to provide care for all type of
groups of patients. Theories, research, evidence based practice all come together when it comes
to everyday nursing care and practice.

I feel that all of the QSEN competencies are related to this SLO in some way. All of these
competencies make up the roles and responsibilities of being a nurse. Patient-centered care is the
focus of nursing and it is all based on evidence based practice. Nursese also do not act alone;
they need the help of their team in order to provide safe care. Nurses collaborate with their team
in order to work on quality improvement. Nowadays informatics is such a big part of healthcare
and nursing.

Student Learning Outcome #5

 Apply critical thinking, clinical reasoning and judgment, and evidence-based
practice while considering nursing models and theories.

I felt that this SLO aligns with all of the program outcomes. Clinical thinking, reasoning and
judgement all starts from general education classes and progresses through research, theory and
clinical experiences. Student nurses learn how to communicate and collaborate with the
interdisciplinary team through their clinical experiences. They encounter diverse patient
populations and learn how to provide culturally competent care. They will encounter members of
leadership and possibly witness ethical dilemmas and see how they are handled. I think case
studies are great activities to help students use their critical thinking and judgment skills. An
assignment that requires the students to use a nursing model as their foundation for a research
paper based on evidence based practice can be beneficial.

I felt that the same ACEN standards that applied for the previous SLO apply to this one as well.
These standards align perfectly with the program outcomes as well. General education courses
are the building blocks of a students critical thinking and reasoning skills. As I’ve previously
said, research and theory are used as the basis of evidence based nursing practice.

This SLO is related to several of the QSEN competencies especially patient-centered care,
evidence based practice, quality improvement and safety. Students will learn how to provide
patient centered care based on the theories and nursing models they learned about. They will use
evidence based practice and apply their critical thinking skills. The goal is always patient safety.
Students may have to learn to be creative and use their critical thinking to come up with different
ways to individually provide care to their patients.

Question 8.

The first cause of students not passing an assignment I would consider is the wording and
instructions of the assignment. It is possible that many students misunderstood what was
expected of them and were unable to get a passing grade. I would then consider the possibility
that the students did not put the proper amount of time and effort into the assignment. Depending
on the assignment, it is possible that not enough education was provided in class on the topic of
the assignment. If for example, the assignment had to do withresearch and nursing roles and
nursing theories, the ACEN standard 4.6 would be in danger of not being met. The students may
not be able to properly research or apply nursing theories to every day practice. Research is a
skill that is necessary throughout a students education and possibly in their career as a nurse as
well. Not having this skill may hinder a students progress in subsequent classes. If a student does
not understand basic nursing theories it may also hinder their progression through the program
and in their career.
The QSEN competencies of evidence based practice and teamwork and collaboration might not
be met. If students are unable to efficiently complete an assignment that requires research and the
application of nursing theory, it will be difficult for them to put evidence based practice into
daily use. If they are unable to understand the different nursing roles, they may have difficulty
when it comes to working together with the healthcare team.

I would first suggest for the educators to ensure that the students understood the assignment and
what was expected of them. I would then offer an alternative assignment that would touch upon
the same key points and allow the students to try again. I would not want a student to fail a
course due to one failed assignment or miss out on meeting the expected learning outcomes. If
the students were having difficulty with a particular aspect of the assignment, I’d offer the proper
resource to assist them. If it was the actual act of researching that is troubling the students, I
would suggest they contact the schools librarian for assistance.