Running head: BACCALAUREATE ESSENTIALS

Critique of Baccalaureate Essentials Toolkit Hannah Dowling University of South Florida

BACCALAUREATE TOOLKIT The Baccalaureate Essentials Toolkit The baccalaureate essentials toolkit is intended for faculty who teach undergraduate nursing students who are earning their Associates in Nursing (ADN) or Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN). The intention of the Baccalaureate Essentials Toolkit (toolkit) is to prepare graduates for a career as a professional nurse, as a care provider and a coordinator of care. The

toolkit covers ten Essentials which clearly define the expectations of a BSN graduate and uses integrative learning strategies, which are detailed in the toolkit. Toolkit Development The AACN website states that the toolkit was originally developed in 1986 as a comprehensive set of core competencies for BSN students and as a framework to design BSN programs. This publication by AACN was the first national effort to standardize the expectations of graduate nurses, and gives educators the tools to meet expected outcomes. Each essential listed is followed by a rationale for that behavior, and is followed by outcomes that outline the skills and knowledge expected of a nurse graduate. The outcomes are designed to be specific and measurable so that faculty around the country (and indeed the world) can use them and tailor their program to fluctuate with students needs and the changing world of healthcare but still meet expected criteria. The AACN does not list a theoretical foundation upon which the Baccalaureate Essentials Toolkit is based. Intended Audience The intended audience of the Baccalaureate Essentials toolkit is educators, instructors, faculty, preceptors, program directors, or any other staff involved in educating nursing students who are earning their Registered Nurse (RN) through an ADN degree, BSN, second Bachelors degree (accelerated BSN), or bridge program (LPN to ADN, ADN to BSN). The toolkit helps

BACCALAUREATE TOOLKIT educators understand what outcomes are expected at program completion and how those can be achieved. The toolkit meets the needs of its audience on many levels as a comprehensive resource and for suggesting many more tools that may be helpful. As a learner-focused toolkit, the toolkit must allow for diverse student experiences, to engage learners as full partners, and define roles of faculty based on needs of the students (OBanion, 2000). The Baccalaureate Essentials toolkit encourages these behaviors and therefore is learner-focused. Tools and Strategies The baccalaureate toolkit emphasizes integrative learning strategies that are defined as

powerful, active, and collaborative instructional methods that thread general education concepts throughout the major (Baccalaureate essentials, 2009). The toolkit gives the user examples of integrative learning strategies that assimilate liberal education, nursing science, ethics, and clinical reasoning into the classroom and the clinical setting. Examples for each essential are provided as a starting-point for faculty and may address more than one essential each. As an example, under Essential V (Healthcare Policy, Finance, and Regulatory Environments), the toolkit suggest that students observe a state board of nursing hearing and reflect on how state statutes protects its residents, or analyze a hospital bill for one day of care and identify the cost of nursing services. Under Essential VII (Clinical Prevention and Population Health for Optimizing Health), students could participate in a community disaster drill, advocate for policy change regarding a community health issue, or help organizations implement a smoke-free workplace. The activities suggested allow a broad range of learning styles and different activities to encourage students to be well-rounded and knowledgeable, engaged students. The learning strategies suggested lend themselves well to the desired

BACCALAUREATE TOOLKIT competencies and serve as a starting point for faculty to tailor experiences to each group of students. References and Information The toolkit available for download on the American Association of Colleges of Nursing

(AACN) website has a published date of 2008, but the downloadable document is listed as being updated on February 19, 2009 and does not appear to have been updated since then. Therefore, the toolkit and references are three years old at this time. However, the toolkit provides more than adequate references and bibliography, with a list four pages long. The references provided were published as far back as 1974 and as recently as 2009 and span a wide range of disciplines. A long list of helpful web links is also provided and those include general resources, other toolkits for use, such as Cultural Competency, End-of-Life, Gerontology, and Evidence-Based Practice. The links has a date of the most recent update included, and most were currently working when this paper was written. The website for the American Organization of Nurse Executives (AONE) was not a valid link, neither was the link for emergency preparedness from Vanderbilt University, nor that for the End-of-life toolkit by the AACN. Links listed for Evidence-Based Medicine Education Center, the CDC Genetics and Genomics education, The International Society of Nurses in Genetics, Nursing Informatics, the TIGER Initiative, and the National Quality Forum did not work either. Out of a total of twenty-seven helpful links provided, nine were not current, or one third. This suggests that the toolkit needs updating and more current links to valuable resources. Some of the resources could be found using a search engine such as Google the TIGER Initiative was quickly found but it is not always clear if the website located is that which the authors of the Baccalaureate Essentials intended.

BACCALAUREATE TOOLKIT Critique of Toolkit Criteria Extremely 3 Purpose is clear. Information is organized and logically structured. Information is evidence based. Information is current, up-to-date. Site is visually appealing. Links to other sites and attachments are functional. Site is easy to navigate. Teaching strategies identified are useful for nurse educators. I would recommend this site to other nurse educators. x x x x x x x x x Somewhat 2 Minimally 1 Not at all 0

Conclusion wrap it up. Include recommendations for changes (i.e. edits, additional tools) and discuss how a nurse educator might use the tool kit and with whom The Baccalaureate Essentials toolkit is intended to support students earning their Registered Nurse through various routes, and as such should be used by nursing educators in academia. The toolkit would not be appropriate for use by a staff educator in an institution such

BACCALAUREATE TOOLKIT

as a hospital, as those nurses have already completed many of the objectives listed. However, the objectives listed are relevant across the globe, although they may require some changes depending on the setting. Recommendations for updates for this toolkit would include updating the list of helpful web links which have since become defunct, and publish the most current website. The volume and quality of internet-based resources has grown exponentially since this toolkit was written, so an update of different types of media (such as videos, interactive games) that relate to the essentials of the toolkit should be provided. Also, many nursing schools now offer partial or fully-online degree programs or distance learning programs, and this requires the updating of the essentials to incorporate students who may rarely come face-to-face with their instructor or fellow students. The Baccalaureate Essentials toolkit is an essential resource for faculty and educators working with undergraduate nursing students and should be used throughout the country in nursing schools to ensure a degree of quality assurance in nursing graduates. Widespread use of the toolkit can help assure that students have completed the same objectives, but having met objectives through vastly different experiences allows the students to work more closely with each other and develop an individual set of skills as they foray into the world of professional nursing and most importantly, giving care to patients.

BACCALAUREATE TOOLKIT References OBanion, T. (2000). An Inventory for Learning-Centered Colleges. US Department of Education, Educational Resources Information Center. Retrieved from http://legacy.owensboro.kctcs.edu/ir/qep/Plan/Inventory.pdf

American Association of Colleges of Nursing (2009). The Essentials of Baccalaureate Education For Professional Nursing Practice: Faculty Tool Kit. Retrieved from http://www.aacn.nche.edu/publications/order-form/baccalaureate-essentials