Concerns of nurse educators regarding the implementation of a major curriculum reform

This comparative descriptive study used the self-administered stages of concern questionnaire, a diagnostic dimension of the Concerns Based Adoption Model, to measure the stages of concern of nurse educators (n = 93) at four nursing colleges regarding implementation of a new comprehensive basic nursing programme (CBNP). Data were analysed using the guidelines from the manual designed by Hall et al. The MANOVA was used to measure variations between colleges in high and low stages of concern by (a) timing of adoption, (b) perceived level of experience with the CBNP and (c) training in use. Differences between colleges in timing of adoption were significant in intensity of lower stages of concern (awareness, informational, personal and management) only. Concerns of inexperienced users were significantly higher than those of experienced users on both lower and higher stages of concern. Training in teaching a comprehensive basic nursing programme failed to effect significant differences in intensity of concerns among nurse educators.