One goal of the nursology.net website is to provide resources for encouraging the use of nursology knowledge by all nursologists. I join others who maintain that one way to do this is to teach the content of nursology knowledge as a foundational course in the nursology curricula of undergraduate and graduate programs. We on the Nursology.net team are convinced that the very best way to do this is to start with a nursology course at the beginning of undergraduate nursology programs.
We ask, why are nursology programs typically the only programs in colleges and universities to NOT have an undergraduate foundational course that focuses on the theories of the discipline? For example, many other disciplines have a foundational course that introduces the knowledge of the discipline, such as Psychology 101, Sociology 101, Biology 101 and so on.
Our answer has been to develop a syllabus and other resources for Foundations of Nursology (could also be titled Nursology 101). Although we wrote about these resources in 2020, at this time we are pleased to remind readers of this resource and emphasize the importance of offering the Foundations of Nursology very early in undergraduate curricula, such as the first semester of the freshman year.
The resources for teaching and learning are relevant for everyone who is seeking to learn about the foundational knowledge of the discipline. The resources currently available on nursology.net include
- The Foundations of Nursology course syllabus
- A course description and objectives.
- A sample topical course outline
- Learning Activities
See also
- Examples of “Teaching and Learning Strategies“ in the “Resources” Section, which provide descriptions of notable courses and programs designed to teach “Nursology 101” content.
- The Future Events list in the main menu provide information about regional and national/international events that provide opportunities for learning.
In 2020, we wrote “The Foundation of Nursology: Curriculum and Course Guidelines,” designed to address the Future of Nursing documents and various nursology organizations and initiatives, as well as accreditation bodies related to nursology programs. Specifically, this resource emphasizes the essence of disciplinary knowledge as a foundation for transforming health care and health care delivery” (https://nursology.net/resources/foundations-of-nursology-curriculum-and-course-guidelines/).
Now, we can add that in the newest American Association of Colleges of Nursing “The Essentials: Core Competencies for Professional Nursing Education,” (2021) the very first domain is Domain 1: Knowledge for Nursing Practice. This Essentials domain can easily and creatively be achieved by using the Foundations of Nursology resources.
The AACN website includes a vast array of resources in the Teaching Resource Database as well as a tool kit for Domain 1: Knowledge for Nursing Practice
Many nurse educators are currently revising and developing nursing curricula to implement the “Knowledge for Nursing Practice” domain! We encourage you to Contact Us to contribute additional resources to expand the resources for developing teaching and learning approaches for developing new and creative approaches to “Nursing 101” content throughout nursing education!
Reference
American Association of Colleges of Nursing. (2021). The essentials: Core competencies for professional nursing education. https://www.aacnnursing.org/Portals/0/PDFs/Publications/Essentials-2021.pdf