Development of a postgraduate interventional cardiac nursing curriculum

Interventional cardiology practices have advanced immensely in the last two decades, but the educational preparation of the workforce in cardiac catheter laboratories has not seen commensurate changes. Although on-the-job training has sufficed in the past, recognition of this workforce as a specialty practice domain now demands specialist educational preparation. The aim of this paper is to present the development of an interventional cardiac nursing curriculum nested within a Master of Nursing Practice in Australia. International and national health educational principles, teaching and learning theories and professional frameworks and philosophies are foundational to the program designed for interventional cardiac specialist nurses. These broader health, educational and professional underpinnings will be described to illustrate their application to the program's theoretical and clinical components. Situating interventional cardiac nursing within a Master's degree program at University provides nurses with the opportunities to develop high level critical thinking and problem solving knowledge and skills.