The masters in advanced practice nursing program is developed to address the needs of a multi-cultural population with chronic and lifestyles diseases. This curriculum is geared at attracting qualified baccalaureate nurses who can provide leadership, innovative, client centered evidenced based nursing care to a multi-cultural population and can best alleviate the existing health issues.
This curriculum will be beneficial to the varied stakeholders such as the government, patients, community, families, health institutions, insurance providers and the practitioners.
Studies have shown that advanced practice nurses have the key role in the delivery of quality care; their findings affirmed improved patient outcomes, increased patient and family satisfaction (Bourbonniere et al 2009 as cited in Keating, 2015). There is therefore a positive correlation between advanced practice nurses and improved health care outcome.
Learning Theory
The adult learning theory is one that aligns with the rural setting within Arkansas who are is desperate need for Advanced Nurse Practitioners due to lack of access to primary care physicians. This theory would assist in the curriculum development at UAMS because the target audience would be adult learners seeking a graduate education in a Masters Degree program. During the development of this curriculum, it would be essential to consider that adults have a different motivation to learn than that of a younger population of students. These individuals have a maturity and experiences that provide them with different insights and they are able to see relationships patterns within material (Billings, 2016). One would want to foster a relaxed, trusting and respectful environment for these learners. When developing the curriculum for rural areas of Arkansas, educators would want to combine course materials with learning experiences and the use of learning activities. These activities could include reflective journaling, critical incidents and creating portfolio (Billings, 2016). Educators would include activities that allow the adult learner to introduce their experiences from their past and current situations to the learning events taking place within the curriculum (Billings, 2016).
Kolcabas Theory of comfort is a nursing theory developed within the 1990s by Katherine Kolcaba who desired to place comfort in the forefront of health care (CurrentNursing.com, 2011). This theory describes comfort within 3 forms; which are relief, ease and transcendence. The patient in need of comfort would be an individual, family, institution or community (CurrentNursing.com, 2011). Within the development of the advanced degree curriculum at UAMS, the rural community would be the patient in need. By allowing access to more providers who have completed the developed program, the comfort of the community would be increasingly enhanced. It would replace the community back to optimal functioning, which is described by Kolcaba in the theory as the principle of health (CurrentNursing, 2011). The community would be strengthened and in comfort which aligns with the theory.
Organizational Framework
The need to create or change an existing nursing program requires the instructor to be adaptable to the educational atmosphere, development, and result (Boland, 2012). An organizational framework approach to developing curriculum to correspond with the current mission, vision and philosophy begin with the teachers assessing programs, planning curriculum and safeguarding that all accreditations are in place, and curriculum meet principles of such credentialing agencies. The educators and faculty leaders have congruent values that fit the school curricula. The philosophy supports the values of the school and aligns with the 2016 American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) mission and values, which enables accountability, professionalism, critical thinking, knowledge, and skills. Currently, advanced degree nursing programs maintain Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) accreditation; with research continuing regarding curriculum it will support the new course proposed (AACN, 2016; CCNE, 2009; UAMS, 2016).
University of Arkansas Medical S
