Curriculum assessment using the essentials of college and university education for professional nursing

The Essentials of College and University Education for Professional Nursing provide a logical, systematic way to assess and update a baccalaureate curriculum. The American Association of Colleges of Nursing received a grant to conduct a 2-year study to identify essential knowledge, practice and values of college and university education for professional nurses. This article describes a process for using the Essentials to assess baccalaureate curricula. Each step in the process is presented and the implementation of the results of the assessment is discussed. Using the Essentials for assessment contributes to an updated and enriched curriculum.