Pushing back against competencies in nursing curriculum design

Pushing back against competencies in nursing curriculum design

Introduction and Background:
The purpose of this paper is to explore the current position of nursing education within the Australian academic setting. This research explores the current climate of nursing curriculum and seeks to find ways to resist the shift to discipline competency within the university setting.

Methods:
This research includes a systematic review of existing literature exploring the historical and contemporary aspects of nursing curriculum, work readiness indicators and university goals and aspirations for graduates.

Results:
The knowledge gained through this review will be synthesised into a model of curriculum design which can assist Schools of nursing to meet the competency expectations whilst enabling personal, emotional and social intelligence development of students.

Discussion:
The bachelor of nursing curriculum in Australia is now a highly biomedical, skills based program, designed to make work ready graduates who can 'hit the ground running' (Caballero & Walker, 2010; Walker & Campbell, 2013). For many nursing curricula this has meant delivering a degree program which is focused on competency standards and requirements of regulatory boards. Yet, it is clear that there is more to being an effective nurse and having a long nursing career than obtaining a set of discipline specific competencies.

Caballero et. als (2011) work readiness factors indicate a need to include more than these generic practice standards and ensure that nursing students develop social and personal intelligence (Walker & Campbell, 2013). However, modern students and their lecturers are increasingly focused on 'jumping through the hoops' of competency and on the job training. Are we punishing the nursing workforce and the people in their care through a lack of professional direction in regards to our undergraduate nursing curriculum? Competency based education has been considered revolutionary in reforming curriculum, however Mrocke, Dornan and Eika (2013) reviewed the role competency based training for medical students finding that to reduce health care education to objectives and competencies is to deny the significance of human relationships within the profession.

References:
Cabellero, C. L., & Walker, A. (2010). Work readiness in graduate recruitment and selection: A review of current assessment methods. Journal of teaching and learning for graduate employability, 1(1), 13-25.

Caballero, C., Walker, A., & Fuller-Tyszkiewicz, M. (2011). The Work Readiness Scale (WRS): Developing a measure to assess work readiness in college graduates. Journal of Teaching and Learning

Oral presentation.