From the outside in: a unique model for stimulating curricula reform in nursing education

Given the current demands on nursing education, the introduction of new content into curricula can present significant challenges for nursing faculty. This is particularly true when the content being introduced is the subject of deep ethical, religious, or political controversy. This article offers a unique model for approaching curricula reform that draws on a decade-long effort to increase abortion-related content in nursing programs in New England and other regions of the United States mounted by a nonprofit organization. Strategies used and successes of the project are discussed. Faculty interested in introducing controversial topics into curricula, as well as advocacy groups that seek to stimulate curricula reform, may find this discussion to be particularly relevant and instructive to their efforts.