Introduction
Advanced nursing education makes it easier for caregivers to offer competent care to different patients. A master’s degree in nursing education equips individuals with appropriate skills. Such skills encourage them to provide effective health care. AACN monitors the development and evolution of these roles in order to achieve the best health outcomes. According to Black (2013, p. 38), “a nurse who has completed the master’s level can complete various functions as a clinician”. The master’s program “focuses on the clinical roles of a nurse” (Black, 2013, p. 38.
Master’s Nursing Education: Aspects of the Course
The AACN identifies three unique components of the master’s curriculum. These concepts include:
- Graduate Nursing Core: This curriculum is essential for every student planning to undertake a master’s degree in nursing (Black, 2013).
- Advanced Practice Nursing Core: The course provides appropriate content in order to offer advanced patient support and care.
- Specialty Curriculum Content: Different specialty nursing institutions identify unique didactic and clinical learning ideas and experiences.
A master’s program can also empower different students to offer advanced nursing care.
Curriculum Development and Competencies
Faculty in Master’s Education
Faculty in education programs should present the best practical and theoretical bases. Every faculty should embrace several disciplines such as chemistry and health science. Educators should combine various disciplines in order to offer the best medical knowledge to the learners. The learning process should focus on different practices in order to produce the best outcomes.
Core Curriculum Content
The “core curriculum content” identifies the best materials and concepts that form the required foundation of nursing education. To begin with, a graduate of the master’s program should have proper decision-making and critical thinking skills. The graduate should be able to plan, intervene, and evaluate various health practices (The Essentials of Master’s Education for Advanced Practice Nursing, 2014). These skills will ensure every graduate provides quality patient care.
Graduates should be able to communicate in a professional manner. They should be able “to utilise, analyse, and synthesise knowledge” (Jackson, Napier, Newman, & Spector, 2012, p. 7). These skills are developed through seminars, practical, clinical experiences, and independent studies.
Research Work and its Importance
The master’s level is incomplete without a research project. This research project makes sure the clinician can become a proficient scholar. The individual should be able to apply different findings into various clinical practices. The findings also encourage more caregivers to make effective decisions. Such researches make it easier for medical students to communicate with one another effectively (Jackson et al., 2012). Graduates can use their new skills to improve their nursing interventions.
Ethics in Nursing
The master’s level program equips learners with new competencies and ethical ideas. The program “also encourages every advanced role practitioner (ARP) to provide appropriate support and counseling to different patients” (Ulrich, Krozek, & Early, 2010, p. 371). Medical practitioners should also engage in ethical decision-making practices. These practices will promote the best clinical strategies and outcomes. The course “equips learners with the best personal values, principles, and beliefs in order to promote the best nursing practice” (Ulrich et al., 2010, p. 372). The program encourages “more learners to assume responsibility for their nursing practices” (Jackson et al., 2012, p. 9).
Professional Role Development
The program makes it easier for “clinical leaders to integrate their new ideas and competencies into different medical situations” (Edwards & O’Connor, 2011, p. 13). The program provides a platform for transition into a new position of an advanced practitioner (AP). The classroom content introduces new activities and functions thus making the targeted graduate a professional caregiver. The coursework equips learners with appropriate competencies in order to communicate with other caregivers. The course makes it easier for many learners to support the best change in different Health Care Systems (HCSs). The practice makes it easier for them to become change agents in medical care. They also acquire new skills in order to support different nursing professions.
Presenting Theoretical Foundations in Nursing
The master’s program encourages learners to apply different nursing theories and models in their practices. The course explains “why nursing should focus on the whole person and his or her illness experiences” (Edwards & O’Connor, 2011, p. 15). The course work equips learners with new skills and competencies. Learners can use such skills to evaluate various theories and nursing models. The learning experience identifies the aspects of different healthcare delivery systems. Nurses and students acquire new concepts in order to provide effective care to their patients.
Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
A master’s degree in nursing education focuses on the best health outcomes in every community. The program identifies effective practices and strategies that will promote the health conditions of many people in every targeted community. The course promotes “various concepts such as holism, risk reduction, healthy lifestyle, self-care, and improving the quality of life” (Edwards & O’Connor, 2011, p. 17). A master’s degree expands the concepts of disease prevention and health promotion.
Expansion of the above nursing knowledge will produce more Advanced Practice Nurses (APNs). That being the case, APNs should use various theories and research models in order to generate the best health practices. Their findings can also influence different public policies and legislations. The practice will eventually produce health communities.
Clinical Experiences for Advanced Practice Nurses
The master’s degree program makes it easier for different caregivers to become advanced practice caregivers. These individuals must acquire new clinical experiences during the learning period. Such clinical experiences will ensure they provide competent support and services to their patients (The Essentials of Master’s Education for Advanced Practice Nursing, 2014).
According to the AACN guidelines, APN learners should engage in different clinical exercises. They should interact with their clients, make the best diagnoses, and make accurate medical decisions. They should “undertake at least 500 hours of clinical practice in order to become competent Advanced Practice Nurses” (Jackson et al., 2012, p. 8). Nursing should “therefore become a a life-long learning” (Jackson et al., 2012, p. 8).
Conclusion
The AACN presents the best essential elements in order to govern the curriculum for a master’s nursing education program. Educators and curriculum developers should focus on such elements in order to support their learners. However, new clinical experiences can empower a large number of APNs. This knowledge is relevant “because every health care system will continue to evolve” (Black, 2013, p. 65). Students should consider these elements in order become competent caregivers.
Reference List
Black, B. (2013). Professional Nursing: Concepts & Challenges. New York, NY: Elsevier Health Sciences.
Edwards, J., & O’Connor, P. (2011). Improving Technological Competency in Nursing Students: The Passport Project. The Journal of Educators Online, 8(2), 1-20.
Jackson, B., Napier, D., Newman, B., & Spector, N. (2012). Nursing Faculty Qualifications and Roles. NCSBN, 1(1), 1-11.
The Essentials of Master’s Education for Advanced Practice Nursing. (2014). Web.
Ulrich, B., Krozek, C., & Early, S. (2010). Improving Retention, Confidence, and Competence of New Graduate Nurses: Results from a 10-Year Longitudinal Database. Nursing Economics, 28(6), 363-375.