Assessing a Nursing Program External Frame Factors Essay

Need assessment guides a nursing faculty while revising an existing curriculum or developing a new one. The assessment process is guided by the frame factors formulated in M. Johnson’s model of 1977. The frame factors consist of external and internal forces influencing various educational programs. Therefore, incorporating these factors into curriculum amendment ensures that the new or revised curriculum aligns with needs. This paper assesses the Associate Degree Nursing (ADN) curriculum offered at Northwestern Michigan College based on the nine external frame factors. Assessing a Nursing Program External Frame Factors Essay

Northwestern Michigan College (NMC) Overview

NMC is a public institution founded in 1951 (NMC, 2023). The institution has been accredited fully as a community college providing over 60 programs. It was ranked as one of the leading institutions in the Regional Colleges Midwest in 2022-2023 (NMC, 2023). NMC’s in-state tuition fee is $8,544 (NMC, 2023). In 2019, more than 3,700 and 3,579 learners enrolled for NMC credit programs and the fall semester, respectively (NMC, 2023). About 77% of all learners enrolled in NMC degree programs in 2018–2019 (NMC, 2023). Additionally, the institution awarded approximately 689 degrees in 2018–2019 (NMC, 2023). Out of these graduates, more than 90% reported being satisfied with the career preparation and skills offered at NMC in the 2019 Graduate Survey (NMC, 2023). However, need assessment indicates that a new program should be introduced to NMC’s curriculum to prepare the graduates to address the community’s healthcare needs.

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External Frame Factors

External frame factors significantly impact curriculum development. According to Keating (2015), external frame factors affect curriculum outside the parent institution. Education stakeholders should consider the nine external frame factors during the needs assessment process to enhance curriculum development. The nine external frame factors are discussed below. Assessing a Nursing Program External Frame Factors Essay

Community and Demographics Description

Educational programs and curricula must focus on addressing learners’ needs. The students’ characteristics must be analyzed for the curriculum to address their learning needs (Keating, 2015). In other words, the curriculum is modified based on the consumers’ recommendations. Therefore, the assessment process should consider various community factors such as size, infrastructure, and location. Additionally, the assessment team should focus on understanding key industries and their impact on the program.

NMC is located in a rural city, Traverse. The city’s population by 2020 was approximately 150k people (Data USA, 2023). By 2020, the city residents’ median age and household income were 45.7 and $64,466, respectively (Data USA, 2023). The city’s population rose from 149,033 to 149,717 from 2019 to 2020, representing 0.459% growth (Data USA, 2023). Additionally, this period was marked by a 5.65% growth in the city’s median household income (Data USA, 2023). The city has five significant ethnic groups (Data USA, 2023). White (non-Hispanic) is the largest ethnic group, representing 92.4% of the city’s population (Data USA, 2023). The second ethnic group is two+ Non-Hispanic, representing about 2.12% (Data USA, 2023). White (Hispanic) are ranked in the third category with 2.01% (Data USA, 2023). The fourth ethnic group consists of Alaska Native (Non-Hispanic) and American Indian (1.14%) (Data USA, 2023). The last group is African American, representing 0.673% (Data USA, 2023). The city does not have non-English speakers. However, potential multi-lingual households are not considered. Approximately 99.1% of Traverse City residents are U.S. citizens (Data USA, 2023). Therefore, the new NMC’s nursing program should focus on meeting the diverse healthcare needs of community members to promote the population’s health and quality of life. Assessing a Nursing Program External Frame Factors Essay

Academic Setting Characteristics

            Other institutions of higher learning in the neighboring region, city, or community significantly influence a nursing program and its curriculum. The program assessment team identifies existing competition by considering other institutions and higher education programs available (Keating, 2015). Therefore, the strategies for recruiting students, staff, and faculty should be better than those of neighboring institutions, making the college attract more learners and staff than other regional higher education institutions. However, NMC does not primarily focus on competing with other institutions of higher learning in the region. Instead, NMC aims to become a feeder for other programs provided by neighboring institutions of higher learning. It collaborates with nine universities via its University Center, allowing students to further their education by enrolling in various doctoral programs. Thus, NMC allows students to achieve professional growth through partnership programs. Hence, the new program should facilitate NMC’s collaboration with other institutions of higher learning. Additionally, the curriculum assessment team should be guided by the benchmarks of the competitors during program development. Assessing a Nursing Program External Frame Factors Essay

Political Climate

The assessment team should consider the community’s public governing structure. For instance, they should consider the presence of a chief executive, mayor, or any other city governing board when assessing an urban community (Keating, 2015). On the other hand, subdivisions or country governments should be considered when dealing with rural or suburban communities. Additionally, the assessors should consider body politic, influencing the community’s official government. They should also evaluate information on body politics’ influence on the community’s decisions through their financial, political, or personal positions. Specifically, the assessors should consider key politicians’ perceptions toward institutions of higher learning, including community colleges and universities. Politicians who value higher education will likely support the new program through funding. Assessing a Nursing Program External Frame Factors Essay

Traverse City political leaders include a mayor and six commissioners. Specifically, the faculty should focus on understanding how these leaders perceive institutions of higher learning, especially nursing colleges located in the City. The city’s political leaders view nursing as the backbone of a healthy community. Therefore, they support nursing colleges by approving and funding their programs, enabling them to prepare highly competent nurses. Additionally, commissioners serve as nurse managers in city nursing colleges, strongly supporting NMC’s nursing programs.

Health Care System and Population’s Health Care Needs/the Program’s Needs

Health care systems’ primary goal is to address consumers’ healthcare needs and improve the population’s health. The healthcare system’s interests and the population’s healthcare needs should be considered during curriculum development and education program planning (Keating, 2015). These factors enable nursing schools to equip graduates with the knowledge, competence, and skills to meet the community’s healthcare needs. Additionally, the faculty should assess the healthcare system to establish healthcare providers, financial bases, and organizations needed to enhance healthcare delivery in the community due to dramatic changes in the healthcare delivery system following the implementation of the ACA (Singer et al., 2019). Furthermore, the assessors should focus on understanding challenges to the community’s healthcare system regarding healthcare delivery and the nurse’s role in improving the system’s efficacy. This aspect of the assessment process will enhance preparation for new nurse graduates. The nursing curriculum should be modified to align with the community’s healthcare needs. Assessing a Nursing Program External Frame Factors Essay

NMC assesses community health needs in five county regions. Survey data indicated that a dramatic increase in the aging population in Traverse City is a significant challenge facing the community’s healthcare. Manning (2022) estimated an increase in the over-60 population in Traverse County from 27,818 in 2021 to 31,545 in 2026. This trend has increased geriatrics seeking medical care for various health problems, which will rise dramatically. Consequently, nurses’ workload will increase, making providing efficient, timely, and high-quality medical care to other patient populations difficult. Another challenge facing the healthcare system is low income and poverty. A considerable percentage of community members are low-income earners, limiting their access to medical care due to high transportation costs. Secondly, the high-cost compromises access to high-quality medical care among residents of Traverse City (Manning, 2022). As a result, chronic illness, including diabetes Mellitus and heart disease, has increased significantly among city residents, especially elderly adults at high risk of these diseases (Zhao et al., 2018). Consequently, the curriculum should be modified to prepare nursing students to meet individuals’ healthcare needs in their future nursing roles, reducing the high disease burden in the city. Assessing a Nursing Program External Frame Factors Essay

Nursing Profession

Curriculum assessors should also consider the nursing profession. This aspect of curriculum assessment focuses on the availability of nurses needed to address the community’s healthcare needs (Keating, 2015). Nurses use their skills, experience, and competence to provide high-quality, efficient, and safe medical care, optimizing patient health outcomes. Additionally, nurses are more than other healthcare providers in various states across the U.S. Therefore, nurses significantly impact individuals’ and community’s health. Furthermore, the assessors should consider the presence of nursing organizations supporting the faculty and nursing students. These organizations ensure that nurse graduates have the skills and knowledge required for future nursing roles. NMC programs are supported by two organizations located in the region. Hence, these organizations will contribute to successfully implementing the new curriculum. Assessing a Nursing Program External Frame Factors Essay

Regulations and Accreditations Requirements

The assessors must consider schools of nursing state regulations’ requirements when reviewing a new or revised program. Additionally, the faculty should consider any anticipated requirement changes that might impact the curriculum (Keating, 2015). The State Boards of Nursing provide essential information on regulations. However, national accreditation is not required during program or curriculum assessment. Conversely, the faculty should consider the nursing program’s standards and quality established in the national guidelines. The NMC faculty should adhere to the Quality and Safety Education for Nurses (QSEN) standards during curriculum development. Additionally, NMC should seek accreditation for the new nursing program via the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN). The ACEN accreditation will indicate that the new program has met the required standards.

Financial Support

The curriculum developers determine the program’s economic health by evaluating available finances. Financial health impacts the delivery of a new program. Thus, faculty members should assess the program’s financial viability indicators (Keating, 2015). The program’s new sources of income require faculty to identify possible resources to enhance the successful implementation of the new program. Therefore, the faculty should ensure the proposed curriculum’s revision is associated with a realistic cost (Keating, 2015). The required resources, such as start-up funds for curriculum implementation, should be readily accessible. However, the only accessible financial data regarding NMC’s new program is tuition fees. Assessing a Nursing Program External Frame Factors Essay

Conclusion

Faculty assess nursing programs and curricula to determine their efficacy in meeting diverse community’s healthcare needs. An existing curriculum is amended, or a new program is introduced to meet fast-changing consumers’ healthcare needs. In this case, NMC’s ADN curriculum will be revised to equip the nurse graduates with the skills and knowledge to address consumers’ fast-changing healthcare needs. Specifically, nurse graduates will use their competence in providing quality patient care to elderly adults living in Traverse City to improve their health and quality of life. Assessing a Nursing Program External Frame Factors Essay

References

Data USA. (2023). Traverse City, MI. Data USA. https://datausa.io/profile/geo/traverse-city-mi-31000US45900

Keating, S. B. (2015). External frame factors. Curriculum Development and Evaluation in Nursing, 111-143.

Manning, C. (2022). The Silver Tsunami: What a Growing Senior Population Means For Northern Michigan. The Ticker. https://www.traverseticker.com/news/the-silver-tsunami-what-a-growing-senior-population-means-for-northern-michigan/

Northwestern Michigan College (NMC). (2023). Northwestern Michigan College: Facts & Statistics. NMC. https://www.nmc.edu/about/facts/index.html

Singer, A. J., Thode, H. C., & Pines, J. M. (2019). US emergency department visits and hospital discharges among uninsured patients before and after implementation of the Affordable Care Act. JAMA Network Open, 2(4), e192662-e192662.

Zhao, C., Wong, L., Zhu, Q., & Yang, H. (2018). Prevalence and correlates of chronic diseases in an elderly population: A community-based survey in Haikou. PloS One, 13(6), e0199006. Assessing a Nursing Program External Frame Factors Essay