NURS FPX 6108 Assessment 4 Course Development and Influencing Factors

Student Name

Capella University

NURS FPX6108

Professor Name

Submission Date

Course Development and Influencing Factors

Nursing courses such as Foundations of Geriatric Nursing Practice are constructed in a collaborative process that is susceptible to strategic forces and partially defined by internal and external factors. Others are the mission of the institution, the standards of the curriculum, the qualifications of the faculty, and input by the stakeholders, which include the requirements of the accreditation and the trends in health care.

It is imperative that communication between these variables should be put into use in the undertaking of creating a pertinent and research-based curriculum that will provide the students with the skills they need to respond to the changing needs of a varied patient population. The present assessment will be that of teamwork and mentoring in designing effective nursing courses.

Description of an Appropriate Course: “Foundations of Geriatric Nursing Practice”

Among courses that will be included in the MSN Nursing Education Track, one will refer to Foundations of Geriatric Nursing Practice, which will enable nurses to have the required knowledge and skills to provide high-quality and evidence-based care to older adult populations. The physiological changes of an older adult, common conditions in geriatric patients, communication, polypharmacy, end-of-life care, the approaches to managing polypharmacy in geriatric patients, ethical concerns in geriatric care, and legal concerns in geriatric care are examples of the aspects of an older adult discussed during the course (Sutanto, 2025).

Throughout the course, there is a focus on clinical judgment, cultural sensitivity, and evidence-based interventions. The second year of a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN), which is a course founded on the basic adult health and pharmacology, would form Geriatric Nursing Practice. It is amenable to the growth of the key competencies that are demanded to provide holistic and caring geriatric care within various settings, such as hospitals, long-term care centers, and community health.

Rationale for Adding the Course

The need to introduce a geriatric-oriented course is justified by the fact that the aging population of people requiring a special approach to nursing is increasing. The U.S. population is aging, and through special knowledge and skills, nurses are expected to cope with the difficulties of complicated health conditions characteristic of the population group (Karam et al., 2021). In the classical curricula, geriatrics constitutes a significant portion of the curriculum; however, during which time it is usually minimal or distinct.

The additional course will also be useful to the students as they will be equipped and systematically equipped with the method on how to care for the aged, as well as being equipped so that once they report to clinical places, they will find themselves encountering a considerable number of patients who will be aged. Besides this, the course is informed by the provisions of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) and accrediting bodies that promote the increased authority of gerontology education in undergraduate nursing.

Topical Outline for the Course

The topical outline of the course Foundations of Geriatric Nursing Practice is a methodical manner of tackling geriatric treatment. The foundation of these issues is the ideas that were offered in the earlier courses, such as Adult Health Nursing, Pharmacology, and Health Assessment.

The course enhances the knowledge of students as it applies the basic knowledge on the geriatric population using the principles of person-centered care, safety, and quality of life. Topical sequence enhances the acquisition of skills that are needed in clinical decision-making, as well as in the field of leadership in the treatment of the elderly. On course are the following:

• Introduction to Geriatric Nursing and Aging Theories
• Physiological Changes of Aging
• Assessment and Health Promotion in Older Adults
• Chronic Disease Management
• Polypharmacy and Medication Safety
• Cognitive Disorders: Dementia and Delirium
• Mental Health in Aging
• End-of-Life and Palliative Care
• Ethical and Legal Issues in Geriatric Practice
• Family and Caregiver Roles

Relationship to Other Courses in the Curriculum

Findings of Geriatric Nursing Practice are closely related to other MSN degree courses. The versatility of Adult Health Nursing is in the fact that it brings the values of care to the geriatric population who may have multimorbidities (Whitehead et al., 2023). The course decreases the volume of knowledge received in the course of the subject of Pharmacology as it extends to age-focused medication administration and polypharmacy issues. It is also related to Health Assessment as it provides the opportunity to increase geriatric-specific assessment skills and abilities, functional status, and cognitive assessment.

The healthcare policy and leadership are aligned with ethical and legal content because they contribute to the understanding of the policy implications of older adult care in students. This integration is linked to the fact that students are permitted to develop an undimensional and comprehensive view of the continuum of nursing. The family and caregiver roles, end-of-life care, also fall under the concepts associated with the Instructional Strategies and Teaching Methods, as students are educated to incorporate sensitive and learner-oriented teaching planning in these areas of concern. This orientation ensures that graduates are prepared to educate nurses who would offer evidence-based, compassionate care to an elderly population.

Collaboration of Faculty with other Staff

Effective curriculum design is dependent on the involvement of the faculty and compatibility with the inner organization framework. It will involve faculty and the people in the curriculum committees, department chairs, and academic leaders in developing a new course that will respond to institutional goals and nursing program standards. Nursing educators implemented an educational innovation strategy and introduced competency-based assessment (CBA) into the curricula and emphasized employing innovative methods of teaching in the classroom and patient care setting (Al-Omari et al., 2024).

A meeting will be scheduled to share the ideas about the course goals, integration plans, and resource deployment. The faculty will also engage the instructional designers and assessment experts to design the appropriate evaluation tools and learning outcomes. Clinical education liaison is made in such a way that the course is able to be relevant to the trends in practice and therefore can be applied in practice scenarios. This work on the interdisciplinary level helps promote openness and the sharing of decisions concerning the curriculum, which is one of the keys to sustainability and quality assurance.

Supporting Details and Internal Review Processes

At the beginning of the design phase, the faculty will collaborate with the curriculum committee to study the existing program structure, reveal gaps in the content, and map the proposed courses to professional standards, including AACN Essentials and NLN Nurse Educator Core Competencies (AACN, 2021). Consistent meetings with instructional designers and technology experts will be conducted to combine the best practices of the online and hybrid delivery processes to make sure that the courses, such as Instructional Technology in Nursing Education, represent the latest developments and tools.

Clinical partners and preceptors will also be used to seek the input of faculty on the core competencies required in the practical teaching setting to enhance the practicality of the program. During the development process, faculty will work on internal issues like processes in the organization and internal review committees by presenting elaborate course proposals and syllabi to be reviewed and approved formally. This will involve making documentation to the academic affairs office, providing feedback to the graduate education review committee, and making recommendations on how the academic affairs office can enhance their clarity, consistency, and alignment with the outcomes.

Impact of External Factors on Curriculum Design

The availability of funds, input of stakeholders, and requirements of the regulatory and accrediting agencies are some of the external factors that greatly affect nursing curriculum design. The stakeholders’ engagement, such as the employers of the healthcare sector, clinical partners, and community leaders, identifies the needs of the employers and the competencies that the graduates would need, which define curriculum priorities (Lepre et al., 2021).

The sources of funds, including both federal program grants and personal foundation grants, directly determine what resources may be directed to simulation labs, instructional technology, and faculty development, which affects the extent and execution of the curriculum.

Clinical partners, community organizations, and advisory boards are stakeholders who offer an important input on workforce requirements and emerging trends and, thus, ensure that courses are always up-to-date on real-world practice and on local healthcare needs and priorities. Moreover, the regulatory and accrediting bodies, including the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) and state boards of nursing, impose the standards and competencies that should be fulfilled by the curriculum to ensure the program approval and accreditation (AACN, 2023). These mandates influence all aspects of course purpose and hours of clinical work, assessment, and faculty credentials, leading to ongoing quality enhancement and responsibility in curriculum matters.

Supporting Details and Examples of External Influence

An example is the implementation of the Foundations of Geriatric Nursing Practice course in accordance with the AACN Essentials that focus on population health and care of the diverse and aging population. The development of a course, simulation resources, or faculty training can be financed either by the healthcare system or by a grant (public health).

Information regarding the shortage of skills in geriatric care can be supplied by the stakeholders in the clinical world, which may lead to a change in curricula. Also, regulations, e.g., the timing of the content of elder abuse, dementia care, or end-of-life preparation being included in the program, should be monitored in the course material to be approved for the program. The presented examples explain how the outside forces are used in the creation of the curriculum, and how it is important that the curriculum is relevant, compliant, and ready in terms of the future working force.

Impact of Mission, Philosophy, and Framework on Curriculum Design

Nursing program/institute mission and philosophy, and conceptual frameworks are the guiding forces in curriculum development. Mission represents the end-game of the institution, such as the stipulation of equity of healthcare, leadership, or lifelong learning (Kipasika, 2024). The philosophy of the nursing program and hence the contents and the structure of the curriculum will be inclined towards holistic care, evidence-based practice, or even community engagement.

The conceptual framework that is rather common is also the one regarding patient-centered care, systems thinking, or nursing process that defines the manner in which the knowledge is organized and represented throughout the program. These points should be reflected in all the courses, including Foundations of Geriatric Nursing Practice, in order to make them consistent and coherent with the institutional values. The curriculum will therefore become a form of meeting the educational and societal goals of the institution.

Supporting Details and Examples of Institutional Alignment

These elements, mission, philosophy, and framework of Valley Health Center and its MSN Nursing Education Track have a powerful impact on all areas of curriculum development. Innovation, professional development, and compassionate care are part of the mission of the organization to improve community health, which is why the inclusion of courses that focus on evidence-based practice, cultural competence, and leadership in nursing education becomes inevitable. Instructional strategies based on the philosophy of the program, where lifelong learning and student-centered teaching are valued, are those that emphasize active engagement, reflection, and the ability to integrate past experiences of the learners.

As an example, the Adult Learning Theory is used in the curriculum in order to acknowledge the autonomy and willingness to learn among students to embody this philosophical commitment (Mukhalalati and Taylor, 2019). The larger institutional context, which places emphasis on interprofessional collaboration and superiority in patient care as well as education, informs the design of practicum experiences, as well as partnership with clinical sites, so as to give students practical teaching skills in various settings. The faculty must ensure that the teaching, clinical experience, and learning goals of the curriculum are aligned with the philosophy of nursing and the institutional mission.

Collaboration Between External and Internal Stakeholders

The successful development of a curriculum in such a course as Foundations of Geriatric Nursing Practice should be based on continuous cooperation between the internal and external stakeholders. Faculty, curriculum, instructional designers, and academic leadership have to plan internally so that the content of courses and institutional objectives, program outcomes, and academic standards of accreditation are consistent (Aly et al., 2025). It must also be collaborative between the faculty and clinical education staff to make sure that a course is current with the practice with regard to geriatric care.

Externally, the input of healthcare employers, clinical partners, accrediting courses, and state nursing boards will be made to align with the workforce requirements and needs of the regulations on the exterior. The partnership procedure is valuable to ensure the relevance of curricula, in addition to encouraging the preparedness of these students, and the quality standards required to accept a program and ensure success as a graduate.

Consequences of Not Collaborating

Absence of collaboration may result in poor or ageing course content that cannot meet the standard required by the regulation or respond to workforce demands. Devoid of a coordinated course between the internal areas, the course might not follow suit with the entire curriculum, and thus it might lead to redundancies or gaps in knowledge among the students.

The impact of the omission of the outside stakeholders may be graduates who lack the required geriatric competencies needed by the employer or the licensing boards. Besides, the absence of interdepartmental communication may result in logistical issues, such as ineffective clinical placements or ineffective resources (Tiwary et al., 2021). Ultimately, a deficiency of collaboration disrupts the integrity, effectiveness, and sustainability of the nursing curriculum, which is catastrophic to student outcomes and the sustainability of the institution’s accreditation.

Conclusion

Considerate cooperation between internal and external stakeholders and responsiveness to institutional, regulatory, and societal pressures are essential to the successful development of such a nursing course as Foundations of Geriatric Nursing Practice. When the course is oriented on the basis of the accreditation standards, needs of the working population, and even the mission of the very program under consideration, it will be ensured that the overall course is educational in quality and applicable to the world of real life. A combination of these factors enables the nursing curricula to merge together to effectively equip nursing students to provide quality, caring service to the ever-growing aging population.

For the next (5th) Assessment of this class visit: NURS FPX 6108 Assessment 5