Planning Guide- College or University

Part 1: Needs Assessment Student’s Name Institutional Affiliation Course Instructor Date Chosen Setting The setting that will be used for this needs assessment is a college or university with a BSN program. From the more conventional students coming out of high school to the non-traditional students returning after spending some time in the workforce and working primarily in health care, this would encompass a varied student body. Usually having jobs, families, and other obligations, non-traditional students depend on flexibility in course delivery systems (Zamecnik et al., 2022). Given the aging population and rise in chronic diseases, there is still an increasing demand for well-prepared nursing staff with better opportunities in the larger society. Needs Assessment Overview This needs assessment identifies the major internal and external factors driving development in the nursing curriculum. Such components are crucial in aligning the program with the needs of students and industry for effective entry into professional practice. External Factors: The demand within the healthcare industry increases due to an aging population that is outpacing the supply of nurses very fast while also driving the incidence of chronic diseases upwards (Jones & Dolsten, 2024). Therefore, these nursing courses prepare those students for real-world realities by offering courses like chronic disease management, critical care skills, and senior care. These are necessary for the graduates to equip themselves to meet the workforce's needs. Most nursing curricula are planned based on specific accreditation standards provided by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (Ard et al., 2019). Such an outline is sufficient to ensure that during nursing education, students will develop clinically competent skills and critical thinking for practice after licensure examinations, such as the NCLEX-RN. Of course, curriculum design is one of those aspects that, within a period, will be influenced by such regulatory requirements once students are adequately exposed to clinical hours and develop specific vital competencies. Internal Factors: The university's mission and vision provide an impulse to develop the curricula in a career-oriented manner, combining theoretical education with elements of practical training. It insists on students' being active participants in their learning process and developing programs that graduate job-ready students, aligning the curriculum with the institution's greater purposes. The student profiles include both traditional and nontraditional students, which drive the university's curriculum of study. Traditional students may need to take more foundation classes. To manage job and personal life, nontraditional students, on the other hand, require advanced courses and flexibility inside those course options, including hybrid models or online programs (Zamecnik et al., 2022). Impact of External and Internal Factors on Curriculum Development The development of the nursing curriculum mostly depends on internal and external factors discovered through requirements analysis. The demands within the healthcare industry give way to identifying competencies that the nursing program ...