NURS-FPX6107 Assessment 2 Course Development and Influencing Factors

Course Development and Influencing Factors

Courses require extensive review to ensure they are feasible to the existing curriculum, add to knowledge and skills, and meet the regulatory agencies’ requirements. The primary goal of a new course is to equip students with the right skills and knowledge for their roles. The process also requires stakeholders’ perspectives, including financiers, institution leaders, researchers, educators, students, and regulatory agencies. A curriculum design is the deliberate and purposeful systematic organization of a curriculum. This essay reviews the process of course development and inclusion in the curriculum and its influencing factors.

NURS-FPX6107 Assessment 2 Course Development and Influencing Factors

An Appropriate Course to Include in a Selected Curriculum.

The chosen course is trauma and emergency and perinatal emergency care. NUR 660 and NUR 670 courses equip nurses to care for these diverse patients but ignore emergencies. The course will be a comprehensive course encompassing trauma, emergency, and perinatal emergencies. The course will equip the FNP with knowledge and skills to manage emergencies and trauma patients and provide care to women perinatally, including abortion care.

As noted in many healthcare settings, women’s reproductive health, from family planning to childbirth and health, is vital and constitutes a considerable percentage of hospitals’ workload and resource allocation (Mehta et al., 2018). Much attention and emphasis should be placed on them, especially in advanced nursing roles.

Every nurse has basic midwifery training, and equipping them with emergency management skills will prepare them to care for all populations adequately. According to Mehta et al. (2018), no woman should die during childbirth, hence the need for more professionals prepared to handle perinatal emergencies. FNPs are APRNs who should be equipped with skills to save lives in emergencies and provide adequate obstetric care in obstetric emergencies.

The rationale for Selecting the Course

New courses in curriculums add to existing knowledge suitable for the specific role. Adding courses to a curriculum requires in-depth considerations of time, appropriateness, desired outcomes, and professional roles (Feller, 2018). The course added must also be relevant to the FNP’s practice. FNP roles and responsibilities include responding to patients in primary care, prescribing medications for all conditions, and referring patients with critical care needs.

Trauma and emergencies in various situations occur in many settings, including primary care. These include poisoning, precipitate labor, accidents, hypoglycemia, and convulsions, raising the need for quick individual resuscitation and the delivery of emergency care (Fawcetts et al., 2019). In these cases, life depends on the nurse’s swift action, and death and morbidities such as cerebral palsy in children may arise without proper care. FNPs work in many settings, such as independent practice and remote areas, where there are no physicians, clinical nurse midwives, or emergency and trauma care nurses.

Fathala (2020) shows that about 20 million women experience unsafe abortions, while 5 million women are hospitalized yearly due to abortion-related complications; over 90% of these women result from poor access to skilled labor, and 4-13% of maternal deaths result from unsafe abortion. In addition, about 300,000 women (about 800 women each day) die from pregnancy complications each year (Helps et al., 2020).

Registered obstetricians/midwives can refer to various other conditions such as tuberculosis, hyperemesis, and malaria can be referred to licensed obstetricians/ midwives. Still, emergencies cannot be referred to safely, hence the need to equip them with skills to manage these emergencies. There are professionals, clinical nurse midwives, responsible for them, but they are unavailable in many settings, hence the need to train more advanced practice nurses. In addition, the FNPs are available in various settings, such as community settings, whereas it is difficult to find other specialists, such as trauma and emergency nurses, in community settings.

Suggested Topical Outline for a Course

The chosen course will entail various topics to enhance skills and knowledge of the selected curriculum. The topics to include in the course will include the Management of common emergency conditions such as hypoglycemia, heart failure, respiratory collapse, convulsions, and internal hemorrhage. Management of trauma injuries such as ballistic injuries, chest and abdomen injuries, head and spinal injuries, and burns.

The last topic is the Management of common obstetric emergencies such as spontaneous and induced abortion and abortion complications, antepartum and postpartum hemorrhages, shoulder dystocia, cord prolapse, baby asphyxia, and non-reassuring fetal status, eclampsia, and amniotic fluid emboli. The complications in trauma and emergency and the perinatal period are not limited to these conditions.

The three topics and subtopics will equip Family Nurse to provide care to these special populations, saving lives. The subtopic topics may also be varied to include the specific populations most common conditions. These may include topics such as malaria. According to Bauserman et al. (2019), malaria affects over 125 million pregnancies each year, leading to preventable deaths and morbidity in infants and mothers. The topics can thus be considered to ensure they address all populations adequately.

Stakeholders and Collaboration Methods with the Stakeholders

The new course will require vast considerations to be included in the curriculum. Other considerations include the availability of resources and stakeholders. The stakeholder is the school leadership, regulatory agencies, other institutions, educators, various involved departments (community and reproductive health nursing and medical-surgical departments), and students. Leaders control how finances are used in an organization and also avail them.

Curriculums require much funding during development, evaluation, and implementation hence the need for collaborating with them. The best method is a written proposal and a professional presentation to the leaders regarding changes (course) to the funds and support required. A different professional presentation and copy of the proposal would be delivered to the regulatory agencies for approval.

According to Fowler et al. (2021), professional presentations help deliver the main points to an audience within a short time and services to convince them to gain buy-in to the idea presented. Professional meetings with all the involved stakeholders help gain perspectives (Jacobsen et al., 2018). These meetings are vital in exchanging these perspectives, brainstorming ideas, and increasing social interactions. They also improve social interactions, further improving collaboration when discussing the new course.

Priestley and Philippou (2018) show that creating a social platform such as a private social media group can help with quick consultations and discussions even after work hours on the curriculum. These platforms also allow members to communicate fast and to all members, hence swift action. Alternatively, a physical board such as the hospital notice board may help circulate information to all involved professionals, increasing collaboration.

The Impact of Internal Factors such as organizational processes, curriculum committees, and internal review bodies on curriculum design

Organizations have existing traditions that affect curriculum design. For example, Goodwin University takes its nursing students to clinical areas far from the school. A significant requirement is advancing students to be ready to travel great distances for clinical experiences. Many institutions offer online learning, while others use blended learning- classroom and online, and others offer strictly classroom learning.

These organizational processes greatly influence how learners and educators interact. These traditions also include acceptable teaching methods and practices (such as giving students notes versus telling them to read from coursebooks). The selected methods must thus align with these instructions, significantly affecting how a curriculum design is prepared and implemented.

Curriculum committees are integral in discussing curriculum designs. Besides discussing the curriculum content, they discuss the time, appropriateness, available materials, and meeting requirements of regulatory agencies. The curriculum committee and internal review bodies generally review and recommend improving the curriculum to ensure it is feasible with the students and learning methods.

External Factors Such As Funding, Stakeholders, And Regulatory And Accrediting Agencies Effects on the Curriculum Design

Curriculum design influences how educators educate, train, and deliver formal learning experiences. Funding is an essential aspect of curriculum design. Curriculum development involves professionals and many processes to develop and implement. Accrediting agencies require various fees for approval of the course. Curriculum course materials vary greatly: lectures, books, and nursing simulations (such as shadow health and sentinel city). These simulations and other resources require money, and the availability of funds determines the methods of teaching and learning inculcated (Carrillo, 2020)

Regulatory and accrediting agencies are essential influencers of curriculum design. They dictate the acceptable teaching and learning methods and the practices that must be involved. They determine the appropriate learning environments (clinical and physical/online classes) for the specific courses. They also determine the additional requirements for a complete mastery of content (Carrillo, 2020). For example, for the NUR 680 FNP IIII, regulatory agencies require at least 240 hours of direct clinical practice (Goodwin University, n.d.). The regulatory agencies thus influence how the timing and setting are essential in curriculum design.

Internal and external stakeholders are vital individuals in curriculum design. The educators, students, researchers, the institution’s leadership, and internal stakeholders collectively determine the most appropriate teaching and learning methods (Carillo, 2020). They also ensure the curriculum design aligns with the mission and vision of the institution and introduces new knowledge and skills set to the institution.

External stakeholders, such as external professionals and the government, present information (perspectives) from external that influence the chosen methods. They also present information from research, such as best practices in teaching and learning. Internal and external stakeholders are thus important factors in curriculum design. Failure to involve these stakeholders leads to failure of the process and misuse of scarce resources.

Mission, Philosophy, And Framework of The Program And Parent Institution’s Impact On Curriculum Design

Institutions develop all courses to align with their missions and philosophy. They ensure that the courses in the curriculum help achieve their mission and philosophy. The mission of Goodwin University is to educate a diverse student population in a dynamic environment that aligns education, commerce, and community. The mission and philosophy require the institution to develop curriculums that incorporate all students and meet educational, commerce, and community needs.

The education philosophy, Universal Design for Learning (UDL), ensures the university utilizes best practices universally applicable and acceptable (Goodwin University, n.d.). The methods chosen must be compatible with diverse student populations. Students vary in age, and these populations all require methods that auger with them.

The framework of the program significantly determines the curriculum design. The course objectives and strategies to achieve these objectives determine how these courses are taught and evaluated and, subsequently, the curriculum design (Carillo, 2020). Thus, the program’s mission, philosophy, framework, and parent institutions greatly influence the curriculum design.

Collaboration Between External and Internal Stakeholders Throughout The Curriculum Development

Additive and compensatory types of collaboration are best for collaboration between internal and external stakeholders throughout the process of curriculum development in this case. Ahn (2019) explains that compensatory collaboration is where parties discuss the problem under review and exchange ideas and perspectives, which are collectively used to improve a process or achieve results.

The curriculum development process will include various changes and incorporate various perspectives from the different stakeholders. It will require all professionals from the beginning and will thus utilize compensatory collaboration. Tsakitzidis (2018) explains that in additive collaboration, different parties play different roles which build on each other to produce results. For example, in this curriculum development process, the internal stakeholders will prepare the proposed course proposal while external stakeholders, such as donors, will provide funding for the processes.

The government and regulatory bodies will review the curriculum to ensure it meets the required standards and is relevant to the nursing role. The group is also responsible for approving or rejecting the proposal. Thus, the curriculum development process will utilize more than one type of collaboration. The collaboration will be for a quality, feasible, resource-sensitive, holistic, and successful curriculum development process.

Conclusion

The FNP program at Goodwin University could benefit from the addition of a course on trauma and emergency care and perinatal emergencies. The course will equip the students with skills and knowledge to handle these emergencies when they arise in settings without the respective clinical nurse specialists. When developing and implementing the curriculum, there are various considerations, such as internal and external stakeholders, collaboration strategies, and regulatory agencies. Curriculum developers should also ensure they understand and fulfill all the basic requirements from the institution for the successful addition of the course to the selected curriculum.

NURS-FPX6107 Assessment 2 Course Development and Influencing Factors References

Appendix

Goodwin University

Faculty of Nursing

COURSE OUTLINE FOR NUR 699: Trauma and Emergency and perinatal emergencies

TIME ALLOCATED: 35 hours+ 35 hours of clinical experience

COURSE COORDINATOR:

Course Purpose

The course will equip students with the knowledge and skills to deliver and coordinate care for emergencies and trauma care.

Expected learning outcomes of the course

By the end of this course, the leader should be able to:

  1. Incorporate principles of trauma and emergency care into primary care
  2. Explain the various traumas and their management
  3. Explain the various emergencies and their management
  4. Explain the various perinatal emergencies and their management
  5. Identify the resources available for the management of trauma and emergencies
  6. Participate in the management of trauma and emergencies

Module Units

  1. Trauma
  2. Emergency conditions
  3. Perinatal emergencies
  4. Clinical practice

Course Content

Trauma: Fractures, Ballistic injuries, chest and abdomen injuries, head and spinal injuries,

Emergency Care: Hypoglycemia, hyperglycemia, heart failure, respiratory collapse, torrential hemorrhage, unconscious patient, choking, poisoning.

Perinatal emergencies: Preeclampsia and eclampsia, convulsion, placental abruption, antepartum and postpartum hemorrhages, cord prolapse and cord presentation, fetal distress, birth asphyxia, preterm birth, and maternal exhaustion,

Lesson 1. Fractures

Lesson 2.  Ballistic injuries

Lesson 3: Chest and abdomen injuries

Lesson 4: Head and spinal injuries

CATS

Lesson 5: Hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia

Lesson 6: Heart failure and heart attack

Lesson7: Respiratory collapse

Lesson 8: torrential hemorrhage, unconscious patient, choking, poisoning.

CATS

Lesson 9: Preeclmpsia and eclampsia, convulsion

Lesson 10: Placental abruption, antepartum and postpartum hemorrhages

Lesson 11: Cord prolapse and cord presentation

Lesson 12: Fetal distress, birth asphyxia, preterm birth

Lesson 13: Maternal exhaustion and ruptured uterus

Lesson 14, 15, 16: Clinical practice in the emergency and trauma department

MAIN EXAMS

Learning and Teaching Methods

Lectures: blended learning

Group discussions

Group presentations

Discovery learning through individual reading assignments

Instructional Materials

Computer, LCD, Projector

Whiteboard

Course Assessment

All students must attend all classes and take cats and examinations at the appointed time without fail. Failure to do a CAT or an exam will be awarded zero total marks.

Assessment

Continuous Assessment Tests:              30%

Examinations                                         70%

Grading

75% and above                                       A

65-74%                                                   B

64-50%                                                   C

49% and below                                    E

Core Reading Material for the course

Richhariya, D. (2018). Textbook of Emergency & Trauma Care. () JP Medical Ltd.

Jacob, A. (2018). A comprehensive textbook of midwifery & gynecological nursing (2nd Ed.). Jaypee Brothers Medical Publishers.

Also Read: NURS-FPX6107 Assessment 1 Curriculum Overview, Framework, and Analysis