Model for Nursing Education A New Model for Nursing Education
The Essentials for nursing education represent a transformative shift, guided by the AACN’s Vision for Academic Nursing (AACN, 2019), which introduces a new framework for preparing professional nurses. This innovative model emphasizes a transition to competency-based education, providing a consistent structure across educational programs while allowing for adaptation to future developments within the nursing profession.
Multiple Pathways in Nursing Education
Currently, the nursing profession offers a wide array of educational programs and degree pathways that prepare individuals for similar roles. For instance, multiple types of programs enable students to become registered nurses (RNs), while various pathways and certifications are available to nurse practitioners (NPs). These numerous options often lead to confusion both among external stakeholders and within the nursing field itself, as academic degrees are sometimes mistakenly equated with specific nursing roles.
The new model aims to address this confusion by departing from previous versions of the Essentials, which were traditionally aligned with academic degrees. By focusing on competencies instead of degree titles, the Essentials seek to clarify the distinction between an academic degree and a nursing role. This approach ensures that graduate outcomes are more consistent, regardless of the specific educational pathway a nurse pursues.
By emphasizing the attainment of competencies rather than focusing solely on degree completion, the model ensures that employers have a clearer understanding of the knowledge, skills, and competencies that nursing graduates possess. This shift also ensures that the robustness of learning experiences across nursing programs is prioritized, ensuring that graduates are prepared to meet the challenges of the healthcare environment.
Competency Levels: Entry and Advanced Education
The Essentials outline two levels of sub-competencies that correspond to different stages of a nurse’s educational journey. These sub-competencies form the foundation for professional practice and advanced education in nursing.
- Level 1 Sub-Competencies:
These entry-level competencies are foundational for nurses as they enter professional practice. They are used in the curricula of pre-licensure nursing programs as well as in degree-completion programs for nurses with an associate degree or diploma. While the specific learning experiences may differ from one program to another, the aim is to ensure that learners have opportunities to demonstrate their competencies over time in diverse and authentic contexts, avoiding a simplistic “checklist” approach. - Level 2 Sub-Competencies:
These competencies build upon entry-level knowledge and skills and are designed for nurses pursuing advanced education. The second-level competencies expand the depth and complexity of nursing practice, allowing nurses to specialize in advanced roles. For example, nurses may focus on areas such as advanced nursing practice or specific specialties within nursing practice.
Advanced nursing education broadens the scope of experiences available to students, allowing them to explore more complex healthcare contexts. The Level 2 sub-competencies form the basis for all advanced education in nursing and are applicable across a variety of advanced nursing practice roles and specialties. These include areas such as informatics, nursing administration, public health, and health policy, as well as advanced practice roles like certified nurse practitioners (CNPs), certified nurse midwives (CNMs), certified clinical nurse specialists (CNSs), and certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs).
Nursing’s Unique Perspective
Referencing Thorne’s “nursing’s angle of vision”, the model underscores the importance of nurses utilizing the unique knowledge and insight of their profession to inform their practice, regardless of their specific roles. Nurses are positioned to impact healthcare by leveraging their distinct perspectives and professional expertise to address healthcare challenges and improve patient outcomes.
Integrating Specialty Competencies
In this new model, the Essentials competencies are integrated with competencies related to advanced practice specialties. Whether in the areas of public health, informatics, or nurse administration, these specialty competencies complement the core competencies outlined in the Essentials. This integration ensures that the professional preparation of nurses at advanced levels is holistic, blending general nursing competencies with the expertise required for specialized practice areas.
By incorporating specialty competencies, the model allows for greater flexibility and adaptability within nursing education. Schools of nursing can tailor their programs to meet the evolving demands of the healthcare industry while ensuring that core competencies remain consistent across all programs. This also allows institutions to align their degree paths with their unique missions and objectives, further enhancing their educational offerings.
Adapting to Future Changes
One of the significant strengths of this model is its adaptability. Nursing education exists within a complex and evolving landscape, influenced by factors such as higher education trends, healthcare system demands, nursing regulatory standards, and economic forces. These factors will inevitably drive changes in nursing education in the future.
The new Essentials model is designed to respond to such changes, ensuring that nursing programs remain relevant in an ever-evolving healthcare environment. As the needs of the healthcare system shift, nursing education must also adapt to prepare nurses for emerging roles, challenges, and technologies. This adaptability extends to the types of degrees offered, areas of emphasis at the advanced education level, and alignment with specialty competencies or certification standards.
Application in Doctoral Programs
Although the Essentials are primarily focused on undergraduate and advanced nursing practice roles, they also offer value to doctoral nursing programs. Specifically, the Level 2 sub-competencies can be utilized by PhD programs to guide the core courses offered to doctoral nursing students, particularly in programs that transition students from a baccalaureate to a PhD degree.
In nursing programs that offer both Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) and PhD degrees, or pathways from DNP to PhD and vice versa, the Level 2 sub-competencies provide a shared foundation for core courses between these programs. This not only increases program efficiency but also creates more seamless pathways for students transitioning from one degree to another.
Future Outlook for Nursing Education
The Essentials provide a clear framework for the future of nursing education, marked by increased clarity regarding the expectations of graduates and a more disciplined approach to educational pathways. By establishing competencies as the central expectation for nursing programs, the model sets a common standard that is applicable across various institutions and degree levels.
In addition, by offering flexibility in how nursing schools incorporate these competencies into their degree plans, the model encourages innovation and differentiation. Schools can maintain their unique missions while still adhering to the essential competencies that ensure nursing graduates are prepared to meet healthcare challenges.
In the years to come, changes in nursing education will likely be driven by the evolving needs of the healthcare system, advances in technology, and changes in societal expectations. The Essentials model, with its emphasis on competencies and adaptability, is well-positioned to guide nursing education through these changes, ensuring that the profession continues to produce highly skilled, adaptable, and effective nurses.
Conclusion
The new model for nursing education represents a significant departure from traditional, degree-based approaches. By focusing on competencies rather than academic degrees, the model brings clarity and consistency to the preparation of professional nurses. The integration of entry-level and advanced sub-competencies ensures that nursing education is both comprehensive and adaptable to the evolving demands of the healthcare system.
With its flexible structure, the Essentials model provides nursing programs with the tools to remain relevant and responsive to future changes. This framework supports the development of nurses who are prepared to meet the challenges of modern healthcare, regardless of the specific role or specialty they pursue.