Envisioning the new AACN essentials in a competency-based DNP strategic and financial business planning course.

Faculty members teaching in the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) programs are charged with undergoing curriculum restructure that is aligned with the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) newly released Essentials. The purpose of this article is to share an existing course structure that was designed to teach students the business acumen in a strategic and financial business planning course and present a strategy for nursing faculty to consider when applying the Essentials to new or existing courses. This article includes a brief review of the literature, a discussion of a strategic and financial business planning course, and application of the Essentials for graduate nursing programs. Based on findings from the literature, and reported student outcomes, a strategic and financial program planning course is an effective way to meet the new Essentials for graduate nursing students that are competency-based, while providing valuable business acumen learning experiences.

Vortman R ，Stogis S ，Kirkbride G 《-》

The business of Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) education: Practical application strategies to apply business concepts in DNP education.

The purpose of this article is to 1) review updated business competencies in The Essentials: Core Competencies for Professional Nursing Education for Advanced-Level Nursing Education (2021) and 2) suggest strategies on how to integrate business and finance concepts encompassing quality, safety, and systems-based practice into DNP educational curricula. The Institute of Medicine recognizes strong nursing leadership on all system levels from "bedside to boardroom" as critical to redesigning healthcare that is affordable and accessible. The business of healthcare requires the DNP-prepared nurse to be equipped to understand and navigate business principles necessary for sustainable change to improve patient outcomes. The updated 2021 AACN Essentials include enhanced business concepts and competencies as curricular elements to prepare practice-ready DNP prepared leaders. Current healthcare translation of research to practice has historically been slow, and only recently has the average time for research to translate to practice decreased from 17 years to 15 years. DNP-prepared nurses, as evidence-based practice and quality improvement experts, are positioned perfectly to reduce this research translation time gap to improve patient outcomes by implementing evidence-based change. Employers outside the academic setting, and arguably even within the academic setting, often fail to understand this unique skill set of a DNP-prepared nurse. A lack of business expertise disadvantages s the DNP-prepared nurses 'ability to effectively communicate and demonstrate the ROI and value added to an organization or interprofessional team. Achieving competency with business concepts during DNP education such as marketing, budgeting, return on investment, healthcare finance and interprofessional collaboration are critical components for a practice-ready DNP graduate as noted within the revised AACN Essentials (2021). The didactic content of business education that meets the 2021 AACN Essentials can be integrated in established DNP core courses or through creating new courses in the curriculum. Students through innovative assignments, immersion experiences, and the DNP final scholarly project can demonstrate application and competence of learned business principles. Strategically integrating business concepts into DNP curriculum provides multiple benefits to the DNP graduate, organizations, and ultimately, patients.

Hanners A ，Alston A ，Masciola R 《-》

Aligning the Post Master's DNP with the 2021 AACN Essentials.

The Essentials: Core Competencies for Professional Nursing Education was published in 2021 to establish competency-based education on two levels; entry and advanced. Advanced level competencies are intended for doctorally prepared professionals. The purpose of this initiative was to align a Post Master's Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Program with the new 2021 American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) Competency-Based Essentials. Three DNP faculty met weekly, outlined a timeframe and approached the revision as a quality improvement plan to revise the curriculum based on our comprehensive review of the domains and concepts of the revised (2021) AACN Essentials. DNP Course Leads were interviewed to evaluate the course objectives, student learning objectives, assignments, and course content. Six new program outcomes (POs) were written. For each (PO), measurable student learning outcomes (SLOs) were articulated for each course. Several courses were combined or retired, and several new courses were added including an elective. The DNP project was reframed based on a 'systems' approach to implement quality improvement (QI) within the health care system in consideration of the concepts of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and the impact on patient outcomes. In keeping with the Mission, Vision and Values of the College and with the collaboration and support from the Dean, the graduate Chair, and faculty of the College, the post-master's DNP program was approved with an anticipated start date in Summer, 2023.

Gray K ，Miller JM ，Manning ML 《-》

Activating the American Association of Colleges of Nursing Essentials Through Competency-Based Leadership in Graduate Student Organizations.

Manderscheid A ，McKay A ，Slager D ，Butler A ，Hubner J ，Bekker P ，Sabo R ... -  《-》

The AACN essentials: An intentional framework for successful implementation.

Nursing education is shifting toward competency-based education (CBE) in line with the American Association of Colleges of Nursing's (AACN) 2021 Essentials. This pedagogical shift from knowledge-based leaner outcomes to competency-based learner and program outcomes affects how faculty teach, how students learn, and how programs allocate resources to support this change. The initial move toward CBE necessitates scrutiny of current curricula and alignment of curriculum, teaching strategies, and assessment tactics framed within the ten domains of the Essentials. Drawing on the Donabedian quality improvement framework, one school of nursing's curricular revisions project team discusses their strategies and challenges in implementing the AACN Essentials, illustrating the structural, procedural, and initial outcomes of adopting the Essentials across programs and specialties. Key to this approach is engaging all relevant stakeholders and mapping current curricula to the Essentials' many competencies and subcompetencies. This work informs curricular revisions and fosters faculty engagement and creativity. Lessons learned highlight a critical need for ongoing faculty development and use of learner-centric pedagogies to achieve students' competency development and practice readiness. This article offers insights and guidance for nursing programs embracing CBE and aligning with AACN Essentials.

Mueller-Burke D ，Bindon S ，Akintade B ，Idzik S ... -  《-》