The Essentials

CBE Guiding Principles

Guiding Principles on Competency-Based Education & Assessment

AACN developed this resource to guide faculty engaged with transitioning to competency-based curricula based on The Essentials: Core Competencies for Professional Nursing Education. The following key components of competency-based education (CBE) provide a foundation for implementing CBE: outcome competencies, sequenced progression, tailored learning experiences, competency-focused instruction, and programmatic assessment. A shared understanding of the components and approaches of CBE is needed for successful implementation while still allowing for flexible program design.

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Practice Partners Guide

What Practice Partners Need to Know About the AACN Essentials

Preparing practice-ready nurses to thrive across all healthcare settings is a top priority for academic nursing. Sweeping changes in healthcare delivery, including new models of care delivery, emerging technology, and health system restructuring call for a new approach to how nurses are educated and transitioned into the workforce. The transformational work can only be achieved through close collaboration among nurses in academia and practice

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Prospective Student Guide

What Prospective Nursing Students Need to Know About the AACN Essentials

To help introduce those considering a nursing career to the profession’s move to competency-based education (CBE), AACN has developed a new guide that provides a brief overview of the many benefits of CBE to preparing more practice-ready nurses, followed by ten questions frequently asked by students interested in pursuing a nursing degree. The guide was developed to assist admissions professionals in explaining how CBE differs from other models of nursing education and how students benefit from this approach.

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Development Officer Guide

What Development Officers Need to Know About the Essentials

This guide provides development officers actionable steps and talking points on why this change is occurring in nursing education and how it is different from before. In addition, this guide helps explain  the process of transitioning to CBE, implementing the Essentials, and how to appeal to donors. 

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Vision Statement

Vision for Sharing Data and Information Across Nursing Education, Practice, and Regulation

This resource provides an overview of AACN’s vision for the use of technology in nursing education, with recommendations for tools that support the implementation of the Essentials; tools that support the needs of member schools, accreditors, and students; and standards for technology that promotes communication and sharing across the academic nursing community.

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