End-Program Learning Outcomes

In Adult Physical Health Nursing II students are expected to provide care for adult

patients with acute and chronic illnesses. Suffolk County Community College (SCCC) developed

a two sets of student learning outcomes that guide students for the lecture component as well as

the clinical component of the class. According to Iwisaw and Goldenrburg (2015), learning

outcomes are written statements that explain the professional abilities students should be able to

display after completing the course. Course specific learning outcomes should satisfy the end-

program outcomes.

The first course learning outcome focuses on providing care for patients and takes into

consideration their cultural, ethical, and spiritual needs. The clinical learning outcome specifies

how students should provide safe patient care in the clinical setting while considering the cultural

needs of their patients. This aligns with the end-of-program goal which specifies that students

will be able to deliver patient and family centered care in a culturally sensitive and holistic

manager. Students will attend lecture where they will learn how to provide safe patient centered

care and apply this knowledge during the clinical component of the course.

The third course objective focuses on effective communication with the patient, their

family, and the interdisciplinary team. The clinical outcome calls for students to work in a team

with their peers, faculty, and interdisciplinary team. Students are expected to work participate in

interdisciplinary rounds, if possible, while in the clinical setting. These outcomes align with the

end-of-program outcome of participating as an effective member of the interdisciplinary

team. This course is the final course in SCCC’s nursing program, focusing on developing

communication skills in nursing is essential. Students will be expected to build on what they

have already learned to communicate in the clinical setting.

 The fifth course learning outcome focuses on developing a plan of care that reflects the

biophysical needs of a patient and promotes health maintenance. The clinical learning outcome

asks students to develop a plan of care using evidence-based practice to treat the acute or

chronically ill adult patient. These outcomes align with the end-of-program outcome that

requires student to develop plans of care that focus on health promotion and maintenance. The

course will teach students how develop plans of care that can be applied to specific patients in

the clinical environment.

ACEN Standards and End-of-Program Outcomes

End -of-program outcomes should include the behaviors, skills and knowledge students

should have when they graduate from the nursing program. These are outcomes are created by

the faculty and should be used to guide student learning outcomes. (Beasley, Farmer, Ard, &

Nunn-Ellison, 2018). The ACEN requires schools of nursing to include assessments of student

learning outcomes throughout the program to ensure all outcomes are met (Beasley et al.,

2018).

The ACEN has developed a set of standards for each degree level that it

accredits. Standard three focuses on the students and the policies and resources they will use to

achieve end-of-program outcomes (ACEN, 2018). Students can easily access the end-of-

program outcomes in the student handbook when they start the program. They can use this as a

guideline as they progress through the program. Each course has student learning outcomes in

the syllabus.

Standard four involves the curriculum and curriculum development. This is useful for

both faculty and students. The points in this section involve how the curriculum satisfies the

end-of-program outcomes. For example, the end-of-program outcomes are used to organize the
curriculum and help direct teaching and learning (ACEN, 2018). In this program, there the end-

of-program outcomes mentioned providing culturally competent care and holistic care to

patients. This is mentioned in Standard 4 and addresses the need for nurses to provide care for a

diverse patient population. Another point in Standard 4 calls for nursing students to be able to

work with inter-professional teams and provide research-based care (ACEN, 2018). The end-of-

program outcomes as well as the student learning outcomes for SCCC’s nursing program call for

students to utilize evidence-based research in practice and work on communication with the

interdisciplinary healthcare team.

Standard six focuses on assessment and evaluation of the end-of-program outcomes

(ACEN, 2018). This is met throughout the entirety of the nursing program. The end-of-program

outcomes are measurable tasks that each student is expected to achieve upon graduation. The

course syllabus breaks down how these outcomes are measured in terms of grading, clinical

evaluations, and projects the students will submit.

QSEN Competencies

Several of the QSEN competencies align with both the student learning outcomes as well

as the end-of-program outcomes. Many of the outcomes satisfied components of the patient-

centered care competency. These competencies calls for students to be able to provide care for a

variety of patients while considering their culturally, ethnic, and social needs (OSEN,

2018). There is a QSEN competency dedicated to teamwork and collaboration as this is essential

in healthcare (QSEN.ORG, 2018). Developing communication skills is an outcome that could be

found in the student learning outcomes for the course and clinical as well as an end-of-program

outcome. The QSEN competencies seem to direct nurses to become well rounded in the diverse

healthcare field.
 Student Assignment Scenario

The students in SCCC nursing program are required to take a clinical simulation

preparation scenario as some of their clinical time is spent in the simulation labs. During this

time students are expected to provide care to a mannequin that is controlled by facilitator and

interact with an interdisciplinary team during the simulation. This project correlates with course

learning outcome two and three, and the clinical learning outcome B as listed in the table

above. The class has 12 students and only five successfully navigated the scenario.

The school of nursing decided to perform a root cause analysis to determine why so many

students failed this project. In reviewing the information, the school noted many students failed

to communicate what they were doing to treat the patient. When they looked at the assignment

directions they noted it did not direct students to talk out loud while performing tasks with the

patients. The students also mentioned the instructor did not provide feedback during the

simulation. According to AL Fozan, Sayed, and Habib (2015), students report satisfaction with

the simulation experience when there are clear direction and feedback from instructors.

Based on the student’s experience, they failed to meet the outcomes mentioned

above. There was a lack of communication in the directions as well as with the faculty. The

students reported they didn’t feel this experience helped them learn how to interact with the

interdisciplinary team.

Failing to Meet ACEN Standards and QSEN Competencies

Clear communication and direction are required in the nursing profession. Throughout

the nursing program students learn that all of their interventions and tasks are driven by policies,

national guidelines, and orders received by the healthcare team. Because of a lack of

communication some ACEN and QSEN standards were not met.

 According to the ACEN (2018), Standard 3 requires students to have access to policies

and services that will help them meet the end-of-program outcomes. Because the directions for

this assignment did not specify the expectations of the students, they nursing program did not

meet this standard. Standard 4 states the curriculum should support the achievement of the end-

of-program goal. Point 4.11 calls for the curriculum to provided instructional materials to help

students meet the end-of-program outcomes (ACEN, 2018). Again, this standard was not met

during this learning activity. The QSEN competency of teamwork and collaboration is in danger

of not being met. There was a barrier to effective communication in this scenario where students

were not informed of their expectations during the simulation experience (QSEN.ORG, 2018).

Solutions to Improve Outcome Results

When many students fail to meet a student learning outcome it is important to evaluate

why this happened. Conducting a root cause analysis allows the nursing program to analyze the

contributing factors that lead to problem and establishes a guide to implement changes to prevent

the problem from happening again. (Kung, Brook, Eisenburg, & Slanetz, 2016). In this case

faculty needed to look at why so many students failed to meet the student learning outcomes for

their simulation project.

Universities determines the success of its learning by measuring student outcomes. One

way to evaluate these outcomes is by receiving feedback from students (Henderson & Trede,

2017). This can help curriculum designers understand where problems occur. Another way to

improve outcomes is to have supportive faculty who mentor and guide students towards

achieving the course and end-of-program outcomes (Henderson & Trede, 2017). In this

scenario, the faculty noted a problem when several students failed the simulation and

investigated the reason why.

 Conclusion

It is important for nursing programs to recognize that curriculum development is an

ongoing process that requires constant evaluation. When developing outcomes for students to

achieve, educators are committed to continually evaluating the outcomes to ensure students are

prepared to enter the workforce (Kremer & Horton, 2016). When there is a problem with

achieving an outcome, curriculum designers need to exam if they need to change something in

the course to help students meet the outcome.

 References

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