NBNA SPECIAL ISSUE ON THE FUTURE OF NURSING

18 — NBNA.org
The Patient Protection and the Affordable Care
Act: Transforming the Nursing Curriculum
Eric J. Williams, DNP, RN, CNE
FloreNce NiGHtiNGAle, founder of modern day nursing,
was committed to health promotion and disease prevention
with emphasis on nursing in the public’s domain. However,
over the years, nursing has lost focus on health promotion and
disease prevention due to a focal point on acute care. on march
23, 2010, President Barack obama signed into law a federal
statue, the Patient Protection and Affordable care Act (PPAcA
or AcA) legislation. President obama demonstrated his commitment
to health care along with many nurses who have advocated
for health promotion and disease prevention in their individual
practice for decades.
currently, an additional 32 million Americans will have access
to health care services in the United states with the passage of
the PPAcA. the PPAcA is a timely dream that has come true
for those uninsured, underinsured, and underrepresented. the
legislation ensures access to a wide array of health care services
which will facilitate optimal health care for consumers. Nurses’
work with consumers daily and are often first line responders who
witness a lack of health care resources in our communities, hospitals
and families. Also, nurse educators have a significant role
in meeting the needs of a global society by transforming nursing
curriculums.
PPAcA and transforming the nursing curriculum. As nurse educators
prepare graduates to meet the needs of a global society
through transforming curriculums, these changes are viewed as
contemporary and reflect the needs of an ever changing environment.
the implications for nursing education is to transform nursing
curriculums across the nation which will require collaboration,
partnership linkages, advocacy, and research to ensure a better
educated health care consumer. curriculum transformation will
focus attention on critical information produced by the institute
of medicine, and professional nursing organization’s statements
which will assist in redesigning nursing education based upon
competencies. the impetus for quality care decisions will involve
redesigning nursing education based upon competencies, clinical
training, use of technology, and evidenced based data (Hassmiller,
2010).
the institute of medicine/robert Wood Johnson foundation
report on “the future of Nursing” encourages schools of nursing
to transform the nursing profession by assessing current needs of
patients across the life span. this concept should result in a “call
to Action”. A “call to Action” for discussions by nursing faculty,
state boards of nursing, accrediting and professional organizations
and many other stakeholders to actively engage in increasing
our efforts to promote health and wellness by maximizing the
utilization of the PPAcA. Aspects of the PPAcA can be integrated
throughout the nursing curriculum based upon recommendations
from stakeholders. Being actively engaged as stakeholders
regarding the PPAcA will enable nurses to promote better access
nBnA nurse LeAdershIp
to care, reduce errors, and promote favorable health outcomes
(Hassmiller, 2010).
from licensed practical/vocational to doctoral nursing programs,
nursing faculty will be compelled to strengthen their efforts
to facilitate health promotion and disease prevention with
outcome data that reveals a decrease in morbidity and mortality.
As a result of the PPAcA, millions Americans will be insured
and have access to health and wellness coverage. Nursing
schools must have curriculums that focus on outpatient education,
health promotion and disease prevention. such outpatient
programs will include vaccinations, cancer screening, annual
physicals, public health education, rehabilitation services (physical
and mental) and preventive medicine. the health promotion
and disease prevention curriculum content can be interwoven
in all nursing courses by:
n Discussion of public policy issues which address concerns
such as income, food, employment, and work conditions.
n Utilizing community partners which can expand clinical experiences
and service learning with a focus on health promotion
and disease prevention models (health fairs, workshops and
seminars).
n identifying best practices to incorporate into nursing students
patient families’ plans of care that emphasizes health promotion
and disease prevention with self-reflection.
n course and program objectives that measures deliverables
on health promotion and disease prevention.
An evaluation of the effectiveness of the integration of health
promotion and disease prevention into the nursing curriculum
can be examined by several methods. some are:
n student and faculty feedback through surveys can serve as
a mechanism to gather data and facilitate future directions for
transforming nursing curriculums.
n obtain feedback from practice industry leaders (nursing administrators
in all settings) that employ new graduates (hospitals,
clinics, etc), and governmental organizations to measure
outcome deliverables.
the faculty, student, and practice industry leader entities can
all be brought together by using an advisory committee. the advisory
committee will begin to strengthen the concept of health
promotion and disease prevention as an integral concept in nursing
curriculums. these entities could review PPAcA programs
and recommend curriculum changes to incorporate health
promotion and disease prevention elements to better ensure the
delivery of quality health care services. Nursing schools need to
maximize our collective efforts to promote health and prevent
diseases through transforming nursing curriculums across the
nation. the nursing profession is experiencing exciting times with
the implementation of the PPAcA.
coNtiNUeD