Preparing nurses to intervene in the tobacco epidemic: Developing a model for faculty development and curriculum redesign

As the largest group of health professionals, nurses have a tremendous potential to help curb the tobacco epidemic. However, studies conducted across a range of global settings continue to indicate that both practicing nurses and nursing student have limited knowledge, skills and confidence needed to implement evidence-based tobacco cessation interventions. A contributing factor is the limited inclusion of tobacco control content in nursing curricula. Additionally, there is limited understanding of nurse educators' knowledge and perceptions about teaching tobacco dependence content. This paper presents the Loma Linda University School of Nursing's concurrent experience with both faculty development and curriculum redesign in the area of tobacco dependence prevention and treatment. An internal survey was administered at baseline and at 2-year follow-up to assess faculty's knowledge, perceptions and practices related to teaching tobacco dependence content and skills (n = 42). Faculty and curriculum development strategies and resources utilized, evaluation findings and subsequent lessons learned are described. The findings have implications for nursing programs seeking to enhance their curricula and commitment to ensuring that their graduates are prepared to provide evidence-based tobacco cessation interventions with each patient they encounter.