DEMONSTRATION: DEVELOPMENT OF A MINIMUM SET OF PARISH NURSE EDUCATIONAL OUTCOMES AND BEHAVIORAL OBJECTIVES

摘要

A Wisconsin parish nurse educator asked the question, “...who has the authority to say what is parish nursing in the state of Wisconsin and what are the key elements of a parish nurse training curriculum?” This work represents a six year effort to answer that question. This project answers the question by examining the essential core elements of parish nursing (now referred to as faith community nursing) training curriculums taught in the state of Wisconsin. Ultimately the project provided a minimum set of standardized education outcomes and behavioral objectives for training courses throughout the state. The work began with a SWOT analysis with educators and other key stakeholders. This was followed by discussions with key nursing leadership and a legal consultant. Comparisons of all Wisconsin’s parish nursing/ faith community nursing curriculums to a standardized and acceptable curriculum, with direct inferences to the Faith Community Nursing Scope and Standards of Practice (2005; 2010), was done. A survey of Wisconsin coordinators revealed their perceptions of training and a qualitative research study explored student’s perceptions of training. Finally, minimum standardized education outcomes and behavioral objectives were developed for training programs in the state of Wisconsin. Throughout the process, consensus and validation was sought and received from the Wisconsin’s parish nurse/faith community nurse educators. Later the outcomes and objectives were endorsed by the Wisconsin Nursing Association Board. The development of a set of endorsed education outcomes and behavioral objectives may standardize Wisconsin’s parish nurse/faith community nurse education experiences and entrench a leveled expectation of Wisconsin’s current and future training programs.