Designing health care environments: Part II. Preparing nurses to be design team members

Significant renovation, expansion, and new construction of health care facilities is expected during the next several years. Nurse leaders must expand their knowledge of the design process and evidence of design features that enhance safety, efficiency, and healing. In this article, the authors discuss the development of a graduate-level nursing course that provides nurse leaders with knowledge and competencies in health care design and enables them to engage in effective interdisciplinary communication during the design process. Part I of this two-part series, which was published last month, discussed the basic concepts, principles, and issues related to evidence-based design (Cesario, 2009).