The QSEN Competency Legacy Threaded Through the Entry-Level AACN Essentials: Shaping the Future

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Curriculum Development
• Competency-Based Education

Background:

• The Quality and Safety Education for Nurses (QSEN) competencies have been a staple in nursing curricula for 17 years.
• The recent publication of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) Essentials necessitates an evaluation of existing frameworks.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the overlap between the established QSEN prelicensure competencies and the new AACN Essentials.
• To develop a tool to assist nursing faculty in integrating the AACN Essentials into their curricula.

Main Methods:

• A crosswalk was developed to map QSEN competencies and knowledge, skill, and attitude (KSA) statements to the AACN Essentials domains.
• Analysis included 6 QSEN competencies, their associated KSAs, and 50 graduate-level QSEN KSAs for alignment.

Main Results:

• A strong alignment was found between the 6 QSEN competencies and the 10 AACN Essentials domains, with evidence-based practice noted as a concept.
• Most prelicensure QSEN KSAs and a significant portion of graduate-level QSEN KSAs were identified within the AACN Essentials.

Conclusions:

• The developed QSEN-AACN crosswalk serves as a valuable resource for faculty.
• This tool supports the integration of the AACN Essentials into nursing education, building upon the QSEN framework.