A case for review of anatomy and physiology

Nursing faculty must make decisions about course content. Thus, the question arises as to whether nursing students think it is helpful to include a review of anatomy and physiology prior to discussing the nursing care. An instructor and course-specific assessment revealed that students believed it was beneficial. This finding is consistent with the teaching/learning literature, which stresses the importance of linking past learning to new learning (Smilkstein [2003]. We're born to learn. Thousand Oaks: Corwin Press; Sousa, D.A. [2005]. How the brain learns. 3rd ed. Thousand Oaks: Corwin Press).