Curricular trends in accredited generic baccalaureate nursing programs across the United States

Rapid technological advances in health care delivery, changes in health care financing, and the increasing number of elderly in the American population have resulted in dramatic alterations in the nature and scope of health care, the needs of health care consumers, and the practice of nursing. A descriptive research study was conducted with 113 respondents from accredited generic baccalaureate nursing programs across the continental United States and the Virgin Islands to determine the presence or absence of current health care emphases and essential nursing knowledge and skills in professional nurse education curricula. Findings revealed that, with few exceptions (e.g., computer literacy, economics, legal issues), content addressing current health care emphases and essential knowledge was integrated within one or more required courses in most nursing curricula. Differences were noted in the teaching strategies used by different types of nursing programs and in different locations.