Violence content in nursing curricula: strategic issues and implementation

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Public Health
• Social Work

Background:

• Healthcare professionals require training in violence and victim/survivor care.
• Current nursing curricula often address this topic incidentally, relying on faculty interest.
• Systematic integration is needed due to nurses' primary care role and global violence prevention initiatives.

Purpose of the Study:

• To address the need for systematic inclusion of violence and victim/survivor care content in nursing education.
• To develop a curriculum approach that avoids an 'add-on' strategy.
• To meet the needs of nurse educators in Ontario, Canada.

Main Methods:

• Conducted a survey of Ontario nursing schools regarding violence and victim/survivor care content.
• Organized a series of workshops for nurse educators.
• Facilitated collaboration between faculty, clinical preceptors, and community experts in victim/survivor care.

Main Results:

• A considerable number of hours are devoted to violence and victim/survivor care in Ontario nursing programs.
• The current approach is largely incidental and dependent on individual faculty interests.
• Workshops provided a collaborative platform to address educators' needs.

Conclusions:

• Systematic curriculum development is essential for effective violence and victim/survivor care education in nursing.
• Collaboration among educators, clinicians, and experts is crucial for successful curriculum integration.
• Addressing nurse educators' needs through workshops can enhance the quality of violence and victim/survivor care training.