Developing an innovative undergraduate curriculum – responding to the 2002 National Review of Nursing Education in Australia

The Australian government responded to the recent global critical shortage of registered nurses by initiating a national review into nursing education. The 36 recommendations of the review report published in 2002 supported one or more of three strategies: building a sustainable workforce through partnership; maximising health outcomes through quality education; and capacity building. The review drew extensively on the international research literature, invited submissions, previous reviews and commissioned research. This paper articulates the key features of a new innovative undergraduate nursing curriculum that incorporates several of the recommendations of the national review, specifically a new approach in delivery of the clinical component of the curriculum. The curriculum model emerged from a strategically planned partnership between a university and health care providers committed to improving graduate outcomes and transition into professional practice. The curriculum was implemented in 2004 in a Faculty of Health Sciences that had not previously offered nursing programs. It is anticipated that the newly implemented undergraduate nursing program, modelled on a clinical schools partnership approach, will graduate registered nurses able to face the challenges of a rapidly changing health sector. The objective of this paper is to describe the key features of the program and share new insights that might challenge traditional curriculum approaches in undergraduate nursing.