Expanding Community Based Roles to meet AACN Essentials for Prelicensure Nursing Students

We expanded educational content and experiences regarding the entire care continuum, focusing on nursing roles in ambulatory care, work with increasingly more diverse populations, and exploring skills for engaging patients to manage chronic diseases over a lifetime. Ambulatory nursing skills at the BSN level require defining how nurses implement clinical judgment in settings other than acute care, where students have a majority of their clinical educational experiences. As healthcare moves toward outpatient/ambulatory care, including transitional settings, graduates need preparation to function in these roles. This is the basis for curriculum development in this area, preparing students’ knowledge, skills, and attitudes for the evolving healthcare system. It also aligns with the new AACN Essentials.