Using The Baccalaureate Essentials To Create Context: Evaluation Of An Innovative Approach

Abstract

The Essentials of Baccalaureate Education for Professional Nursing Practice (AmericanAssociation of Colleges of Nursing, 2008) seek to communicate standards that will prepare graduates to function within a complex healthcare system. The document highlights concepts from patient-centered care to evidence-based practice (Commission on CollegiateNursing Education). A service-learning experience was facilitated for junior-levelnursing students and they were asked to reflect on their learning outcomes using the nine essentials as a guiding framework. Themes were identified within the nine sub-categories and through overall analysis. By using standardized disciplinary outcomes to develop a sense of the bigger picture for students, it is possible to help them make connections between theory and practice.