Revised accreditation standards allowed reduced credits and costs for nursing education students. Using case studies in an active learning environment, students work in groups to create learning materials that can contribute to nursing’s body of knowledge and help others learn. Let’s talk about the next 25 years of nursing education.
The amended 2018 Standards for Accreditation of Baccalaureate and Graduate Nursing Programs published by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) provided clarification regarding content related to advanced pathophysiology, advanced physical and health assessment, and advanced pharmacology. The standards note that nurse educator programs should incorporate graduate level content for these topics but does not require three distinct courses. Based on this clarification, the graduate nursing programs at SUNY Empire State College were revised yielding a reduction in credits from 42 to 36, less expense to students, and quicker completion time. In a time of shortage of nurse educators, the benefits were impressive. In order to move from three separate courses to one course, the faculty developed an integrated three “P” course using an interdisciplinary case study approach. Case-based learning is prevalent in the nursing literature and evidence supports that this learning method effectively promotes critical thinking and clinical reasoning. Students learn the three “P” content by analyzing complex case studies developed by the faculty and made available as open educational resources (OER). Additionally, students work collaboratively to design their own case studies. These are evaluated by faculty, and students may be given an opportunity to publish their work as OER.
This discovery session will review the course development process used at SUNY Empire State College’s School of Nursing Allied Health program, which is dependent on a highly collaborative relationship between faculty and the instructional designer. A sampling of the collaborative learning assignments which allow students to work in communities of inquiry as they consider learning styles and create materials to address the three “P” content will be provided, as well as an overview of the reasons for, and evidence supporting the choices made in creating these activities. Finally, a discussion about the use and benefits of OER, issues around student consent and collaboration with the senior library strategist in the process of course development will allow exchange of ideas. We look forward to participants’ perspectives about choosing student work for potential OER publication.