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 to educate nurses working in pediatric intensive care units (PICUs) at Miami Valley Hospital about fundamental ethical principles and their application in clinical settings. Nursing is inherently an ethical profession, and this course intends to help nurses reflect on ethical dilemmas encountered in their practice, enhance problem-solving skills in specific situations, and make 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 effectively address ethical issues in nursing practice. By adhering to ethical standards, the course seeks to improve patient experiences and overall healthcare quality.

Rationale Nursing practice is deeply intertwined with ethical and moral considerations, with pediatric nurses frequently facing moral dilemmas ranging from life-and-death scenarios to routine matters (Haahr et al., 2020). Therefore, educating nurses on healthcare ethics and enhancing their decision-making abilities through educational curricula is crucial.

Learning Objectives The learning objectives of the course “Clinical Healthcare Ethics for Nurses” are as follows:

1. Describe the principles and theories of healthcare ethics and apply critical thinking abilities to resolve ethical issues in clinical practices.
2. Express understanding of legal and regulatory frameworks surrounding ethical nursing care practices.
3. Understand the ethical implications in medical research, end-of-life care, and transplantation.
4. Develop communication skills to discuss sensitive ethical issues with patients, their families, and other healthcare providers.
5. Reflect on personal and professional values and their impact on decision-making in nursing practice.

Program Description This course forms part of a Continuing Professional Education (CPE) program designed to enhance healthcare professionals’ knowledge and skills related to patient care practices. Delivered by field specialists, the program comprises various e-modules, simulation activities, workshops, and in-service sessions aimed at upskilling providers on topics relevant to healthcare practices and clinical settings. Specifically, the Clinical Healthcare Ethics for Pediatric Nurses course aims to assist nurses in applying ethical principles, improving communication skills, and adhering to legal and regulatory frameworks concerning ethical dilemmas in practice.

Program Outcomes The outcomes of the Continuing Professional Education (CPE) program include:

1. Enhancing professional knowledge and skills in specific areas of healthcare practices.
2. Improving professionals’ clinical competency and ability to make effective decisions in patient care areas.
3. Maintaining patient safety and improving healthcare quality by integrating professional, legal, and regulatory standards.
4. Integrating evidence-based best practices and theoretical knowledge in clinical areas.
5. Developing effective communication and interpersonal skills and fostering a lifelong learning environment for healthcare providers.

This course description presupposes that nurses, as frontline staff, bear the responsibility of providing comprehensive care while upholding the dignity and integrity of each individual and fulfilling their healthcare duties. Therefore, understanding healthcare ethics is indispensable for providing care that is beneficial to patients and aligns with nursing ethics codes.

Alignment Table

Assessment/Evaluation Strategies

Criteria to Evaluate Alignment The criteria for evaluating the alignment of professional standards with learning objectives and the program are based on relevance, clarity, and coherence. Relevance ensures that the course content addresses essential ethical competencies in nursing practice, while clarity focuses on the language used to articulate the content. Coherence ensures that the objectives align with professional standards and regulations to integrate theory into practice harmoniously.

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, specifically targeting nurses working in Pediatric Intensive Care Units at Miami Valley Hospital. The course, titled “Clinical Healthcare Ethics for Pediatric Nurses,” aims to provide nurses with an overview of fundamental ethical principles and their application in clinical settings.

Pediatric nurses face 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.

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

NURS FPX 6111 Assessment 1 Course Definition and Alignment Table

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

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

NURS FPX 6111 Assessment 1 Course Definition and Alignment Table