Faculty Support for Curriculum Development in Nursing Education

Continuing shifts in health and healthcare systems, technologies, population profiles, expectations and demands have led to the realization that the education of nurses, and therefore, nursing curricula, must be subjected to evaluation, revision, and maybe even dramatic change. Faculty support for curriculum development is mandatory for the process to begin and for a successful outcome to be achieved. In fact this is obtained through open and thoughtful consideration of the reasons for curriculum development and honest attention to factors that could be limiting.Attention to the values of individual and collective faculty, the extent of curriculum development that might be necessary, and the timeframe for the undertaking, will influence whether approval is gained and curriculum development is occured.Generally the idea of engaging in curriculum development arises among a small group of faculty members who believe that the current curriculum is no longer adequate to prepare students to practice competently in the healthcare and societal contexts they will encounter when they graduate. So identifying reasons why curriculum development is necessary, the extent of the curriculum development that might be required, and possible timelines are important ideas to present to colleagues when seeking their support for curriculum development.