At UMSON, curricular work to align academic programs at all levels — baccalaureate, master’s, and doctoral — is well under way.
In April 2021, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing’s new The Essentials: Core Competencies for Professional Nursing Education was approved by all member schools, paving the way for academic nursing to move toward a new model and framework for nursing education using a competency-based approach.
The new Essentials provide a blueprint for how to prepare nurses to thrive in a continually evolving and complex health care environment. The document outlines competency expectations in 10 domains that are central to nursing practice, including:
- Knowledge for Nursing Practice
- Person‐Centered Care
- Population Health
- Scholarship for Nursing Practice
- Quality and Safety
- Interprofessional Partnerships
- Systems‐Based Practice
- Information and Healthcare Technologies
- Professionalism
- Personal, Professional, and Leadership Development
Preparing nurses with a consistent set of identifiable competencies will help employers and the public understand what to expect from new nurses as well as how to distinguish nurses with baccalaureate and graduate preparation from other providers. Throughout the development of the new Essentials, AACN was intentional about involving practice leaders in the work to infuse innovation into nursing education.
The Essentials outline two levels of subcompetencies:
- Level 1: entry to professional nursing practice
- Level 2: advanced-level nursing practice.
In addition, eight featured concepts associated with professional nursing practice are integrated within the Essentials:
- Clinical Judgment
- Communication
- Compassionate Care
- Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
- Ethics
- Evidence-Based Practice
- Health Policy
- Social Determinants of Health
At UMSON, curricular work to align academic programs at all levels — baccalaureate, master’s, and doctoral — is already well under way. Faculty and staff have formed a taskforce to meet the requirements of the new Essentials, under the leadership of chair Dawn Mueller-Burke, PhD, CRNP, NNP-BC, assistant professor, and co-chair Bim Akintade, PhD, MBA, MHA, ACNP-BC, NEA-BC, FAANP, associate professor and associate dean for the MSN program.
The taskforce is composed of subgroups, whose leaders are listed below:
Entry into Professional Nursing Practice:
- Level 1 Core BSN: Maeve Howett
- RN-to-BSN: Celeste Seger
- BSN: Jana Goodwin
- Master’s as Entry to Practice: Bim Akintade
Advanced-Level Nursing Practice:
- Level 2 Core: Renee Franquiz
- MSN Specialty Director/Certificates: Lead Bim Akintade, Co-Lead Allison Davis
- DNP Specialty Role Director/Certificates: Lead Jan Wilson, Co-Lead Ronnie Quattrini
For Programs at All Levels:
- Faculty Development: Susan Bindon
- Simulation: Amy Daniels
- Student Services: Lori Harris
- Communication/Marketing: Giordana Segneri
Resource: Beth Galik
Ad Hoc:
- Diversity, Equity, Inclusion: Jeff Ash
- Information/Learning Technology: Matt Rietschel
UMSON anticipates a projected initiation of implementation of the new Essentials for Level 1 (BSN only) in fall 2022 and for Level 2 (graduate) in fall 2024.
Questions? Contact Mueller-Burke or Akintade.