NURS FPX 6111 Assessment 1 Course Definition and Alignment Table
NURS FPX 6111 Assessment 1 Course Definition and Alignment Table
Student Name
Capella University
NURS-FPX 6111 Assessment and Evaluation in Nursing Education
Prof. Name
Date
Part One – Course Definition and Alignment Table
Course Title
Clinical Healthcare Ethics for Pediatric Nurses.
Course Description
The course aims for nurses in pediatric intensive care units (PICU) in Miami Valley Hospital. The course gives them an overview of fundamental ethical principles and their clinical integration. Nursing is an ethically bound profession; thus, this course will assist nurses in reflecting on the ethical dilemmas they face in their practices, improving their problem-solving skills in particular circumstances, and making decisions based on standardized ethical principles (Haddad & Geiger, 2022).
Vision
The vision behind the development of this course is to enhance nurses’ knowledge and practical skills to address ethical issues in nursing practices. Thus, following ethical standards of practices, improving patient experiences, and overall healthcare quality.
Rationale
Nursing practices are deeply rooted in ethical and moral considerations. Pediatric nurses frequently encounter moral dilemmas related to life-and-death scenarios and routine matters (Haahr et al., 2020). Therefore, educating nurses about ethical standards in healthcare and augmenting their decision-making abilities through educational curricula is significant.
Learning Objectives
The learning objectives of the course “Clinical Healthcare Ethics for Nurses” are:
- Learners will be able to describe the principles and theories of healthcare ethics and apply critical thinking abilities to resolve ethical issues in their clinical practices.
- Express their understanding of legal and regulatory frameworks around ethical nursing care practices.
- Understand the ethical implications in medical research, end-of-life care, and transplantation.
- Develop communication skills to discuss sensitive ethical issues with patients, their families, and other healthcare providers.
- Reflect on personal and professional values and their impact on decision-making in nursing practice.
NURS FPX 6109 Assessment 4 Vila Health: Implementing New Educational Technology
Program Description
This course is part of a Continuing Professional Education (CPE) program. CPE is designed to enhance healthcare professionals’ knowledge and skills related to their practices in patient care settings. The program is designed and delivered by field specialists. It offers various e-modules, simulation activities, workshops, and in-service sessions, where providers upskill themselves on several topics related to healthcare practices and clinical settings. The Clinical Healthcare Ethics for Pediatrics Nurses course tends to assist nurses in applying ethical principles, improving their communication skills, and adhering to the legal/regulatory frameworks revolving around ethical dilemmas in practice.
Program Outcomes
The outcomes of Continuing Professional Education (CPE) program include:
- Enhancing professional knowledge and skills in specific areas of healthcare practices.
- Improving professionals’ clinical competency and abilities to make effective decisions in patient care areas.
- Maintain patient safety and improve healthcare quality by integrating professional/legal/regulatory standards.
- Integrate evidence-based best practices and theoretical knowledge in clinical areas.
- Develop effective communication and interpersonal skills and foster a lifelong learning environment for healthcare providers.
This description assumes that nurses, the frontline staff, are responsible for providing comprehensive care by simultaneously upholding the dignity and entirety of each individual and following their healthcare duties. Therefore, learning about ethics in healthcare is essential to provide care that is beneficial for the patients and adheres to the code of ethics in nursing.
Alignment Table
Assessment/Evaluation Strategies | Learning Objectives | Program Outcomes | Professional Standards |
| Ethical Case Studies: One of the strategies that to assess/evaluate learning is using case studies. These problem-solving cases help students to go beyond the course content and apply their knowledge to practical situations (Grimes, 2019). In our course, ethical case studies will assist nurses in analyzing, discussing, and proposing solutions according to ethical principles. |
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| The International Code of Ethics for Nurses developed by the International Council for Nurses (ICN) aligns with the learning objectives and program outcomes, emphasizing the importance of professional knowledge about nursing ethics and critical thinking abilities to integrate into nursing practice (Toumová et al., 2021). |
| Role-playing/Simulation: Patient simulation and role-playing show improved knowledge and self-efficiency. Furthermore, it enhances communication skills to deal with similar situations in clinical areas (Cortés-Rodríguez et al., 2021). Similarly, role-playing exercises about challenging ethical situations allow nurses to practice communication and decision-making skills in a controlled and experimental environment before encountering them in clinical areas. |
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| NURS FPX 6111 Assessment 1 Course Definition and Alignment TableThe need for the development of effective communication skills in the nursing profession is highlighted by the ANA’s Nursing Professional Development (NPD): Scope and Standards of Practice, which explains that healthcare NPDs should effectively communicate in the clinical environment with patients and other healthcare providers (Brunt & Russell, 2022). |
| Comprehensive Certification Exam: A comprehensive exam covering key concepts, principles, and practical applications of clinical healthcare ethics will help in evaluating nurses’ overall understanding of the course material, which will also help in the provision of e-certificates on successful completion. |
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| The ANA’s Nursing Professional Development (NPD): Scope and Standards of Practice underscore the vitality of continuing professional development amongst nurses through education, which enhances clinical competencies (Brunt & Russell, 2022). |
NURS FPX 6109 Assessment 4 Vila Health: Implementing New Educational Technology
Criteria to Evaluate Alignment
The criteria to evaluate the alignment of professional standards with learning objectives and the program is based on relevance, clarity, and coherence, whereby relevance ensures that the course content should address essential ethical competencies in nursing practice. Clarity focuses on the language used to articulate the content, which is straightforward. Moreover, the concepts are unambiguous following standards of practice. Furthermore, the objectives should align coherently with the professional standards and regulations to create a harmonious integration of theory into practice.
Part Two – Memo to the Supervisor
To Whom It May Concern,
I propose an educational course for pediatric nurses as part of the continuing professional education (CPE) program. It specifically targets the nurses working in Pediatric Intensive Care Units in the Miami Valley hospital. The course is titled: “Clinical Healthcare Ethics for Pediatric Nurses.” The course aims to give nurses an overview of fundamental ethical principles and their application in clinical settings.
Pediatric nurses encounter unique ethical challenges, such as balancing parental and patient autonomy, making decisions for non-verbal patients, and addressing end-of-life care. Poor knowledge about ethical principles has led to situations of ineffective decision-making (Schulz et al., 2023). Thus, this course holds importance as a comprehensive understanding of moral principles and frameworks will enable pediatric nurses to provide empathetic and patient-centered care while safeguarding the rights and well-being of vulnerable patients. This course supports the program offering as it will assist nurses in enhancing their professional knowledge about specific areas of practice, applying the equipped knowledge in clinical areas to improve healthcare quality and maintain patient safety, improve communication skills, and, most importantly, adhere to the professional standards of practices primarily related to healthcare ethics.
NURS FPX 6111 Assessment 1 Course Definition and Alignment Table
The evaluation design strategy involves ethical case studies, role-playing/simulation, and a comprehensive certification exam. A study by Grimes (2019) claims the importance of case studies in helping learners solve the problem by using their critical thinking abilities thus, prepares them for real-life situations. Similarly, role-playing/simulation is vital in improving communication and interpersonal skills so that nurses can practice in controlled environments (Cortés-Rodríguez et al., 2021). Finally, a comprehensive exam will evaluate the learning and provide e-certifications according to the expertise. Although the evaluation strategies are well-supported by scholarly resources, there is uncertainty about the nurses’ resistance to changing their practices. Further information related to the mentioned aspect could have improved the choice of strategies.
The recommended next steps are; 1) the development of course outline and curriculum based on international standards of nursing education, 2) approval of the educational board of nursing, 3) integration of the course with the technology for e-modules, 4) training clinical educators in PICU, and 5) planning the timelines for the course completion. Lastly, I recommend that further modifications be implemented within the course according to the feedback from learners and course effectiveness. I recommend generalizing the course’s implementation for all nurses working in different clinical settings to ensure ethical practices are effectively utilized and remain sustainable within the organization.
References
Brunt, B. A., & Russell, J. (2022). Nursing professional development standards. In StatPearls. StatPearls Publishing. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK534784/
Cortés-Rodríguez, A. E., Roman, P., López-Rodríguez, M. M., Fernández-Medina, I. M., Fernández-Sola, C., & Hernández-Padilla, J. M. (2021). Role-play versus standardized patient simulation for teaching interprofessional communication in care of the elderly for nursing students. Healthcare, 10(1), 46. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare10010046
Grimes, M. W. (2019). The continuous case study: Designing a unique assessment of student learning. International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 31(1), 139–146. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1206970.pdf
Haahr, A., Norlyk, A., Martinsen, B., & Dreyer, P. (2020). Nurses experiences of ethical dilemmas: A review. Nursing Ethics, 27(1), 258–272. https://doi.org/10.1177/0969733019832941
NURS FPX 6109 Assessment 4 Vila Health: Implementing New Educational Technology
Haddad, L. M., & Geiger, R. A. (2022). Nursing ethical considerations. In StatPearls. StatPearls Publishing. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK526054/
Schulz, I., O’Neill, J., Gillam, P., & Gillam, L. (2023). The scope of ethical dilemmas in paediatric nursing: A survey of nurses from a tertiary paediatric centre in Australia. Nursing Ethics, 9697330231153916. https://doi.org/10.1177/09697330231153916
Toumová, K., Havierniková, L., Kimmerová, J., Hellerová, V., Tóthová, V., & Chloubová, I. (2021). The importance of ethical codes in nursing care. Kontakt, 23(2), 83–89. https://doi.org/10.32725/kont.2021.021
