Speaker: Victoria Greenwood, DNS, MSN, MSEd., RN-BC, Associate Professor of Nursing Director of Curriculum, Undergraduate Nursing
What steps are you taking in the transition to competency-based education?
Victoria Greenwood, DNS, MSN, MSEd., RN-BC: Here at Russell Sage College in Troy, New York, in Troy, New York, we have started the transition to competency-based education. So far we've completed the curriculum mapping for domains one and three. We've identified gaps in the curriculum and have become incorporating competency-based activities and assessments.
What are some of the early lessons learned?
Victoria Greenwood, DNS, MSN, MSEd., RN-BC: One of the early lessons learned was that although we address most of the sub competencies in our curriculum, already, assessment of competencies is missing. So we are working on valid assessments that go along with each of the sub-competencies.
What domain of nursing practice are you focusing on in addition to Population Health?
Victoria Greenwood, DNS, MSN, MSEd., RN-BC: Domain One was selected as our additional domain to focus on. Basically, because the faculty are very interested in how students learn and of course, what is the best way to teach? I am particularly interested in educational research that shows how students best retain information, including how to group information into concepts for better retention. I'm also interested in the educational theory of constructivism including how students make connections with previously learned material.
How are you engaging with practice partners to transition to competency-based education?
Victoria Greenwood, DNS, MSN, MSEd., RN-BC: Our engagement with our practice partner, which is the Rensselaer County Department of Health includes participation in community vaccination programs, substance abuse prevention programs, observation of drug courts, Narcan training for students and emergency preparedness training. And of course, we're looking for ways to expand the partnership. We also go into the community in the local schools. We go into local clinics and reaching out to other nonprofits in the area. Again, to expand the partnership.
What is most exciting in this work for your faculty?
Victoria Greenwood, DNS, MSN, MSEd., RN-BC: One of the most exciting parts of working on the competency-based education curriculum is creation of a new instrument following a review of the literature, I created an instrument to measure competency of various essentials in their sub-competencies. This instrument will be used in both simulations and clinical settings across the curriculum. Currently, I'm testing the instrument's reliability using a two-person inter-rater scoring format. I will analyze the data following data collection. This is exciting because if this instrument is found to be both valid and reliable, it will give us a way to objectively score competency for every student. The plan is to track each student's performance levels as they progress through the program. With the final goal of having graduating, prepared nurses.
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