NURS FPX 6111 Assessment 1 Course Definition and Alignment Table

Beyond the Bedside: Advancing Patient Care through Effective Care Transitions

Course Description

This comprehensive course is developed for adult health nurses working in Springfield Hospital, Vermont, providing knowledge on managing care transitions for adult patients. The description assumes that nurses are crucial in maintaining care coordination and continuum during transitional care, mainly to prevent patient safety and reduce medical errors (Mardani et al., 2020). Therefore, this course aims to provide nurses with an in-depth understanding of challenges during care transitions, patient-centered approaches, effective teamwork and communication, and evidence-based practices to ensure seamless transition and improve patient outcomes. 

Vision

To empower adult health nurses with the vital information and skills required to assist patients in navigating the intricate healthcare system without encountering challenges, ensuring positive healthcare experience, patient satisfaction, and improved health outcomes. 

Rationale

Adults and elderly populations have several chronic conditions which may require healthcare services from various disciplines. These complex healthcare needs emphasize collaboration among providers. As frontline healthcare professionals, nurses must be educated to understand care transitions better, as it is essential to improve care coordination models (Hudon et al., 2022). Thus, this course is essential for adult health nurses to advance for enhanced patient care. 

Learning Objectives 

Several learning objectives are set for this course, as outlined below: 

1. Learners will describe the key aspects of a comprehensive care transition plan for adult patients. 
2. Apply patient-centered care approaches to develop transitional care plans. 
3. They will recognize strategies for effective communication to foster collaboration among healthcare providers involved in patient transitions.
4. Explain the role of technology and integrate it for seamless care transitions.
5. Learn and apply educational strategies for patients and their caregivers about self-management of health conditions.
6. Integrate evidence-based practices in care transition plans and their evaluation. 

Program Description 

This course is planned under the Evidence-based Practices Continuing Professional Education (EBPCPE) program. This comprehensive program is designed for healthcare professionals to upgrade their knowledge and skills by integrating EBP. Through various courses delivered using face-to-face, digital, and hybrid approaches, this program ensures that healthcare professionals are up-to-date in their knowledge, implementing best practices advocated by evidence-based research. The course “Beyond the Bedside: Advancing Patient Care through Effective Care Transitions” provides learners with the proficiencies to apply EBP to facilitate the care transition process, enhancing their ability to deliver high-quality care.

Program Outcomes 

The outcomes of the Evidence-based Practices Continuing Professional Education (EBPCPE) program include:

• Understanding the concepts of EBP and the importance of incorporating those concepts in professional practices. 
• Recognize the sources of evidence-based information using appropriate research methods. 
• Integrate EBP to address challenges encountered during healthcare practices. 
• Evaluate the effectiveness of EBP implementation by assessing one’s and others’ healthcare practices. 

Alignment Table 

Criteria to Evaluate Alignment

This alignment can be evaluated using clarity and specificity, relevance, and consistency. Clarity and specificity mean that the program objectives must be clear and specific to the professional standards of nursing care. Clear expectations from the learners and learning assessment should be presented. Next, nursing standards, learning objectives, and program outcomes should be relevant to learners’ needs and the profession’s demands. Lastly, they must be consistent throughout different stages of learning and development.

Part Two – Memo to the Supervisor

Dear Supervisor, 

This memo introduces an educational course titled “Beyond the Bedside: Advancing Patient Care through Effective Care Transitions” for adult health nurses in Springfield Hospital. This course is established under the Evidence-based Practices Continuing Professional Education (EBPCPE) program, aiming to provide nurses with a clear understanding of essential care transition concepts, patient-centered educational strategies, effective collaboration methods, and evidence-based practices to ensure patients encounter fewer challenges during the transition phase across various healthcare settings. 

An integrative literature review by Gheno and Weis (2021) emphasizes the role of nurses in care transition, especially related to patient education and health promotion. The authors advocate that nurses must manage complex healthcare situations based on their experiences and competencies in patient care. Therefore, there is a need to educate them about care transition so that they can effectively deal with the process and ensure seamless shifts. Since the course aims to provide insights into care transitions using evidence-based research, this course supports the program offering. The main objective of EBPCPE is to improve clinical practices by understanding and utilizing evidence-based practices. A systematic review highlights the importance of incorporating EBP in nursing education. It reveals that such an approach enhances nurses’ confidence, competencies, knowledge, and behavior, thus improving patient-related outcomes (Sapri et al., 2022). 

NURS FPX 6111 Assessment 1 Course Definition and Alignment Table

The course evaluation strategies are case studies, group discussions, and written assessments. Case studies provide learners with simulated real-world scenarios, honing their critical thinking, problem-solving, and decision-making abilities related to care transitions (Seshan et al., 2021). The purpose of group discussions is to enhance collaboration among professionals. By considering complex care transition challenges, learners can acquire various outlooks, understand each other’s experiences, and improve their practices using evidence-based research. Finally, a written exam will help instructors measure their learners’ comprehension of key concepts and ability to apply knowledge to real-world situations. These assessments also assist learners in self-evaluating their practices and classifying areas of further improvement. 

I recommend gathering a team of educators and professional experts from the hospital and developing a course outline and a curriculum. This curriculum must meet the professional standards of nursing education and should be reviewed by international experts in the field. Then, it is essential to decide the delivery mode of the course, and accordingly, the course must be integrated for adult health nurses in Springfield Hospital. I would also recommend gathering participants’ feedback at the end of the course to ensure appropriate and learner-centered modifications can be instilled in the course. 

References 

ANA. (n.d.). Nursing: Scope and Standards of Practice, 3rd Edition – Ana Enterprise. https://www.nursingworld.org/~4af71a/globalassets/catalog/book-toc/nssp3e-sample-chapter.pdf 

Dolezel, J., Zelenikova, R., Finotto, S., Mecugni, D., Patelarou, A., Panczyk, M., Ruzafa‐Martínez, M., Ramos‐Morcillo, A. J., Skela‐Savič, B., Gotlib, J., Patelarou, E., Smodiš, M., & Jarosova, D. (2021). Core evidence‐based practice competencies and learning outcomes for European nurses: Consensus statements. Worldviews on Evidence-Based Nursing, 18(3), 226–233. https://doi.org/10.1111/wvn.12506 

Ferro, A. L., & Yoder, L. H. (2023). A scoping review of graduate nurses’ education and use of QSEN competencies. Military Medicine, 189(Supplement_1), 45–50. https://doi.org/10.1093/milmed/usad097 

Gheno, J., & Weis, A. H. (2021). Care transition in hospital discharge for adult patients: Integrative literature review. Texto & Contexto – Enfermagem, 30, e20210030. https://doi.org/10.1590/1980-265X-TCE-2021-0030

NURS FPX 6111 Assessment 1 Course Definition and Alignment Table

Hudon, C., Aubrey-Bassler, K., Chouinard, M.-C., Doucet, S., Dubois, M.-F., Karam, M., Luke, A., Moullec, G., Pluye, P., Tzenov, A., Ouadfel, S., Lambert, M., Angrignon-Girouard, É., Schwarz, C., Howse, D., MacLeod, K. K., Gaudreau, A., & Sabourin, V. (2022). Better understanding care transitions of adults with complex health and social care needs: A study protocol. BMC Health Services Research, 22(1), 206. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-022-07588-0 

Mardani, A., Griffiths, P., & Vaismoradi, M. (2020). The role of the nurse in the management of medicines during transitional care: A systematic review. Journal of Multidisciplinary Healthcare, 13, 1347–1361. https://doi.org/10.2147/JMDH.S276061 

Sapri, N. D., Ng, Y. T., Wu, V. X., & Klainin-Yobas, P. (2022). Effectiveness of educational interventions on evidence-based practice for nurses in clinical settings: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Nurse Education Today, 111, 105295. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2022.105295 

Seshan, V., Matua, G. A., Raghavan, D., Arulappan, J., Al Hashmi, I., Roach, E. J., Sunderraj, S. E., & Prince, E. J. (2021). Case study analysis as an effective teaching strategy: Perceptions of undergraduate nursing students from a Middle Eastern country. SAGE Open Nursing, 7, 237796082110592. https://doi.org/10.1177/23779608211059265