From Outcome to Input: Maximizing Nursing Curricula with Backward Design
May 16, 2024
2:00 PM - 3:00 PM (ET)
Webinar Details
In this webinar, participants will explore the benefits of backward design in curriculum transition, focusing on aligning with the 2021 Essentials and embracing competency-based education (CBE). By starting with the end goals in mind, nursing faculty can effectively map out learning objectives, assessment strategies, and experiential learning activities that foster deep understanding and proficiency.
Objectives:
- Identify the key components of backward design, including establishing learning goals, determining acceptable evidence of learning, and designing learning activities.
- Explore the rationale behind the backward design approach and its effectiveness in fostering meaningful learning experiences.
- Analyze how backward design aligns with principles of learner-centered instruction and promotes deeper understanding and retention of content.
Note: Recording of the webinar will be available soon after the webinar airs. Visit AACN's On-Demand Webinars to watch.
Speakers
Speaker

Jacquelyn McMillian-Bohler, PhD, APRN
Assistant Clinical Professor
Director for the Institute for Educational Excellence
Duke University
Dr. Jacqui McMillian-Bohler is an Assistant Professor and the Director for Educational Excellence at the Duke University School of Nursing. She received a BSN from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, an MSN in Nurse-Midwifery from Vanderbilt University, and a PhD in Nursing Education from Villanova University. Grounded by her Masterful Educator Model, she mentors faculty and presents nationally on faculty development, fostering inclusive learning environments, and employing impactful teaching strategies. Her efforts extend to guiding nursing programs toward competency-based education and researching effective teaching practices and health equity. Beyond academia, she advances health equity through Cultural Intelligence workshops and a culturally concordant doula training initiative.
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Virtual Reality in Distance-led Graduate Nursing Programs: The VR-NP Innovation Project
December 06, 2023
2:00 PM - 3:00 PM (ET)
Webinar Details
In Spring of 2023, faculty in an online advanced health assessment course embarked on an innovative project to integrate virtual reality simulation into the competency-based curriculum of a graduate nursing program. Students were given virtual reality headsets to use at home to complete weekly simulations to reinforce didactic content. This webinar will be presented by the recipients of the 2022 AACN Faculty Scholars Grant Program and will explore how to integrate virtual reality into an online graduate nursing program. Lessons learned will be shared along with implications for faculty, students, and technology staff.
Objectives:
- Describe the Virtual Reality Simulation to aid in competency-based online nurse practitioner curriculum (VR-NP) pilot innovation project.
- Examine ways virtual reality might be introduced to your nursing program.
Note: Recording of the webinar will be available soon after the webinar airs. Visit AACN's On-Demand Webinars to watch.
Speakers
Speakers

Kelly Casler, DNP, APRN-CNP, CHSE, EBP-C, FAANP
Associate Clinical Professor
The Ohio State University College of Nursing
Kelly Casler is an Associate Clinical Professor at The Ohio State University College of Nursing where she teaches in the Family Nurse Practitioner and Doctor of Nursing Practice programs. She also maintains a weekly clinical practice at The Healthcare Connection, an FQHC in Cincinnati. Kelly obtained her Doctor of Nursing Practice degree in 2018 through the University of Kansas School of Nursing and completed both a BSN and MS in Nursing at the University of Missouri-Columbia. Her scholarship focuses on innovative nurse practitioner education, including virtual reality simulation and she is a Certified Healthcare Simulation Education (CHSE). Dr. Casler is also a proud U.S. Air Force spouse and mom to Caleb and Zach.

Kate Gawlik, DNP, RN, APRN-CNP, FAANP, FNAP, FAAN
Associate Clinical Professor
Project Manage, Million Hearts
Director of Undergraduate Health and Wellness Academic Programming
Co-Director of Bachelor of Science in Health and Wellness
The Ohio State University
Kate Gawlik is an Associate Professor of Clinical Nursing, Director of Undergraduate Health and Wellness Academic Programming Director of the Bachelor of Science degree in Health and Wellness, and Project Manager for the Million Hearts® initiative at Ohio State University. She is a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing, the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, and the National Academies of Practice. She is a Family Nurse Practitioner and her areas of expertise are in wellness, parental burnout, cardiovascular prevention, and nursing education. She received the 2022 AACN’s Innovation Award for her work in nursing education and cardiovascular prevention. Her most recent work in wellness involved developing a new scale, the very first instrument on the globe to measure working parent burnout. She is the editor of four nursing textbooks.
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Aligning Program Outcomes, Course Outcomes, and Student Learning Activities for Competence
October 17, 2023
2:00 PM - 3:00 PM (ET)
Webinar Details
In this webinar, Dr. Gerry Altmiller will provide a deeper understanding of how to scaffold competency-based education and assessment across the curriculum to support learners in meeting the Essentials. Additionally, participants will learn the process to take next steps for greater integration of the Essentials into their nursing education programs.
Objectives:
- Review effective strategies for integrating competency-based education across the curriculum.
- Examine processes for developing curriculum that connects end-of-program outcomes with course outcomes and student learning activities.
- Demonstrate examples of how the Essentials and competency-based education can be layered to support student learning and practice-readiness.
For more information and resources on the AACN Essentials, go to www.aacnnursing.org/essentials.
Speakers
Speakers

Gerry Altmiller, EdD, APRN, ACNS-BC, ANEF, FAAN
Professor
Director, Quality and Safety Innovation Center
School of Nursing, Health, and Exercise Science
The College of New Jersey
Gerry Altmiller is a professor of nursing, a clinical nurse specialist consultant for Jefferson Einstein Healthcare Network in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and director of the Quality and Safety Innovation Center at The College of New Jersey. She served on the QSEN Advisory board for over a decade and for 7 years led the QSEN Academic Task Force, creating opportunities for its 120 faculty members to network, share ideas, and conduct academic focused research.
Dr. Altmiller authored the Teamwork and Communication Module of the National Council of State Boards of Nursing’s Transition to Practice program and in 2014 she received a Lindback Award for distinguished teaching. Her work on constructive feedback led to the development, testing, and dissemination of support tools for nurse educators and learning tools for students to view feedback as an opportunity. Dr. Altmiller serves on the editorial board for Nurse Educator Journal. She is a member of the AACN workgroups that developed the toolkits to support adoption of the 2021 AACN Essentials and serves as an AACN Coach for implementation of the Essentials. Her research focuses on clinical evaluation, quality and safety integration, and creating a just culture in academia.
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Implementation of the Essentials in RN to BSN Programs
April 26, 2023
2:00 PM - 3:00 PM (ET)
Webinar Details
To align with the 2021 AACN Essentials, RN to BSN programs must prepare graduates to meet all entry-level (Level 1) competencies. These programs should be designed to build on previous learning and bridge educational gaps, ensuring that all new competency expectations are met. By the end of this presentation, led by James Madison University nurse educators Dr. Karen Jagiello and Dr. Jamie Robinson, faculty will gain a clearer understanding of how to implement the Essentials in a degree-completion program and deploy teaching strategies and methods to assess student competency.
Objectives:
- Discuss opportunities and challenges that are unique to RN to BSN degree completion programs
- Explore moving beyond a curriculum crosswalk toward course-level integration of the Essentials
- Explore approaches to integrating the Essentials and competency-based education into RN to BSN programs
Speakers
Speakers

Karen Jagiello, PhD, RN, CNE
Assistant Professor and Coordinator RN-BSN Program
James Madison University
Dr. Karen Jagiello is an Assistant Professor and the Coordinator of the RN-BSN Program at the James Madison University School of Nursing. She earned her PhD from West Virginia University and holds certification as a nurse educator. Dr. Jagiello has 42 years of experience in nursing, including 17 years in nursing education. Dr. Jagiello’s nursing career is centered on women’s health with a focus on marginalized persons seeking care, intimate partner violence, and gender-related power imbalances. She is committed to providing nursing education that focuses on inclusivity, and to that end, is assessing gaps in her school’s BSN curriculum. Dr. Jagiello teaches students in both traditional BSN and online RN to BSN programs. She is experienced in curriculum and instructional design, course development, and curriculum evaluation. She has 17 years of experience educating nurses returning to complete a BSN degree in face-to-face, hybrid, and virtual platforms. She is a Quality Matters Certified Peer Reviewer and course developer.

Jamie Robinson, PhD, RN, CNL
Associate Professor and Director for Undergraduate Programs
James Madison University
Dr. Jamie Robinson is an Associate Professor and the Associate Director for Undergraduate Programs at the James Madison University School of Nursing. She earned her PhD from Virginia Commonwealth University and holds certification as a Clinical Nurse Leader. Dr. Robinson has 25 years of experience in nursing, including 18 in nursing education. Dr. Robinson's nursing career has focused on serving rural communities. She is passionate about improving access to care in rural healthcare deserts by leveraging registered nurse expertise to bridge care gaps and assist with navigating complex healthcare systems. She is active in health policy, advocating at the state and federal level for policies that better serve rural communities. In nursing education, she teaches in the traditional BSN and online RN to BSN programs, both of which focus on entry-level nursing competency. She has extensive experience in curriculum design, evaluation and planning, course development, and instructional design. She has 10 years of experience teaching in the online RN to BSN program and is a Quality Matters Certified Peer Reviewer and course developer. She was a team member of the HRSA NEPQR-funded Undergraduate Primary Care and Rural Education (UPCARE) project, where her role was to develop curricula to support primary care and rural healthcare education and to create longitudinal rural clinical experiences for BSN students.
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Using Design Thinking to Thread the Social Determinants of Health into Undergraduate Curriculum
March 09, 2023
2:00 PM - 3:00 PM (ET)
Webinar Details
Nurse educators Dr. Mary Jo Vetter, Dr. Karyn Boyar, Dr. Stacen Keating, and Dr. Emerson E. Ea describe how design thinking was utilized as a unifying framework to foster an understanding of the social determinants of health in an undergraduate nursing program. Students utilize design thinking to develop innovative solutions for clinical problems experienced by diverse populations across all spheres of care in a series of four sequenced courses. Details of the teaching strategy and how it supports the acquisition of competencies defined by AACN Essentials are shared.
Objectives:
- Describe how design thinking was utilized as a unifying framework to foster an understanding of the social determinants of health in an undergraduate nursing program.
- Discuss teaching strategies utilized to promote the acquisition of competencies defined by AACN’s Essential Core Competencies for Professional Nursing Education.
- Explore methods to evaluate competency-based student outcomes.
Speakers
Speakers

Mary Jo Vetter, DNP, RN
Director, Doctor of Nursing Practice Program and Clinical Associate Professor
New York University
Mary Jo Vetter is a Clinical Associate Professor and Director of the DNP Program at NYU Meyers College of Nursing. Dr. Vetter co-led the integration of Design Thinking in the undergraduate curriculum at Meyers. As a nurse entrepreneur, she engages in clinical practice as the founder of VetterAPN Consulting promoting clinical and care management strategies to support successful aging in place. Dr. Vetter focuses her scholarship on evidence-based quality improvement, designing and implementing cutting-edge, NP led, primary care services in the community, and virtual care delivery. She has a proven track record of innovation in practice and education that focuses on promoting the nurse practitioner as leader and has received awards and accolades for her contributions to clinical academic partnerships, advancing and leading the profession, and transforming advanced practice nursing.

Karyn Boyar, DNP, RN
Director, Master of Science, Clinical Research Program and Clinical Assistant Professor
New York University
Karyn Boyar is an Assistant Clinical Professor at NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing, the director for the Master in Clinical Nursing Research Program, Interim FNP Program Director, as well as a Certified Nurse Educator. As an educator and family nurse practitioner specializing in neurology and long-term care, she teaches both didactic and clinical courses and simulation. She has over 25 years of experience in healthcare and over ten years of experience in the clinical care and management of patients with Parkinson’s disease and Dystonia. Before joining the faculty at NYU, Boyar was the clinical specialty coordinator at Mount Sinai School of Medicine and the designated outreach coordinator for the National Parkins on Center of Excellence at the Robert and John M. Benheim Center for Movement Disorders. Boyar earned her DNP from Pace University and MS and BS in nursing science from Pace University. Currently, she serves on the board of directors of the IARCN (International Association of Clinical Research Nurses) as a member-at-large. Her current scholarship focus; bringing Design Thinking Models to life for undergraduate students in the large classroom. She has presented her work on Design Thinking on the local, national and international levels and has contributed several book chapters disseminating this innovation in teaching.

Stacen Keating, PhD, RN
Clinical Associate Professor
New York University
Stacen A. Keating is a Clinical Associate Professor at NYU's Rory Meyers College of Nursing. Dr. Keating teaches across programs in both the undergraduate, graduate and doctoral departments (DNP). She has established competencies in Instructional Design as well as Design Thinking (DT). Design Thinking is a means of teaching nurses a framework of creative thinking and innovation and has established a process for utilizing this framework within her public health classes. Her areas of scholarship interest are further focused on global public health. She has written numerous publications related to both educator and student needs. A key focus has been to assist nurse educators and students attain access to the most evidenced based resources to achieve excellence within professional nursing practice. Dr. Keating is on the Nursing Advisory Board for Nurses International, a 501c3 organization devoted to providing excellence in global nursing education, especially in countries with limited resources. Dr. Keating has developed educational products in collaboration with colleagues at Nurses International which are open access resources and are readily available at Nurses international's main website. Key courses relate to: oncology nursing, fundamentals of nursing and medical surgical nursing. Additional courses taught at NYU include: Community/Public Health Nursing (UG), Applied Epidemiology (DNP), Environment and the Health of Populations (G) and Psych Nursing (UG, simulation).

Emerson E. Ea, PhD, DNP, APRN, FAAN
Dean, Clinical and Adjunct Faculty Affairs
New York University
Dr. Emerson Ea is the associate dean and a clinical associate professor at NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing. His scholarship interest areas include nursing education and innovation, immigrant health and well-being, and cardiovascular health. He has published peer-reviewed articles and authored/co-authored books and several book chapters on topics that relate to work and personal-related outcomes among internationally educated nurses, Filipino immigrant health, gerontologic nursing, and nursing education and practice. Dr. Ea was part of the inaugural cohort of the American Academy of Nursing Jonas Policy Scholars working with the Cultural Competence and Health Equity Expert Panel (2014–2016). Dr. Ea is a Fellow of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing Leadership in Academic Nursing Program, the New York Academy of Medicine, and the American Academy of Nursing. He is also chair of the Kalusugan Coalition, a community organization that aims to promote cardiovascular health among Filipino Americans in the New York metropolitan area, and chair of the Education Committee of the Philippine Nurses Association of America. Dr. Ea earned a PhD in nursing from Duquesne University, Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) from Case Western Reserve University, MS in adult health from Long Island University, and BSN from the University of St. La Salle, Philippines.