NLN Offers New Competency-Based Education Toolkit to Guide the Future of Nursing Education

NLN Offers New Competency-Based Education Toolkit to Guide the Future of Nursing Education

Integrating Competency-Based Education in the Nursing Curriculum

Washington, DC — With the publication of the latest entry in the National League for Nursing Vision Series, Integrating Competency-Based Education in the Nursing Curriculum, the League proposed a transformative shift in the preparation of new nursing graduates. Competency-based education holds the promise of improved patient safety and better health outcomes in the delivery of outstanding, equitable care for today’s diverse population of patients, families, communities, and populations.

To help guide the future of nursing education, the National League for Nursing now offers the NLN Competency-Based Education Toolkit as a comprehensive and practical guide for implementation across pre-licensure and graduate-level nursing curricula. By taking incremental steps now to incorporate the components of competency-based education into academic nursing programs and clinical education, faculty may progress in closing gaps between what learners are expected to know and what they are expected to do as health care providers in today’s sophisticated, dynamic health care institutions.

With an emphasis on student-centered learning in the acquisition of knowledge and the development of practical and analytical skills, competency-based education relies on nurse educators capable of transmitting information within a new instructional framework that prioritizes critical thinking and clinical judgment and takes account of individualized learning styles. This new toolkit will help faculty to create reliable methods of assessment that reflect the core competencies students must master to successfully transition to practice across the multiplicity of current health care environments.

“As educators, we are always looking for ways to support our students, to help them succeed as professionals, and to grow in their skills and confidence. Competency-based education provides an essential approach to unlocking their individual potential and thereby raising the standard of excellence for the entire nursing workforce today and for generations to follow. With the new toolkit, educators now have the roadmap to put this into action, strategically adapting its concepts and methodologies to best match school culture, program level, and student demographics,” said NLN Chair Patricia Sharpnack, DNP, RN, CNE, NEA-BC, ANEF, FAAN, Dean and Strawbridge Professor at the Breen School of Nursing and Health Professions at Ursuline College in Ohio.

“Academic leaders in nursing agree that competency-based education can transform nursing education by bridging the gap between education and practice. This new innovative, concrete blueprint can help assess nursing competence in real-world settings and will prove invaluable in assisting faculty and administration as they strive to craft a framework for a workable competency-based curriculum,” said NLN President and CEO Beverly Malone, PhD, RN, FAAN.

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