In this article, Elizabeth A. Fritz, PhD, RN, NPDA-BC, SSM Health, and Jessica M. Phillips, PhD, MSN, RN, NPD-BC, UCLA Health, reflect on their experiences as contributors to the newly released Core Curriculum for Nursing Professional Development, 6th Edition.
ANPD: What updates can nursing professional development (NPD) practitioners expect to see in the updated Core Curriculum?
Elizabeth Fritz (EF), section editor: The Core Curriculum for Nursing Professional Development (Harper, 2023) is a comprehensive reference on the nursing professional development specialty, containing many practical resources for NPD practitioners. The sixth edition of the Core Curriculum has three sections: Foundations of Practice, Roles and Responsibilities of the NPD Practitioner, and NPD Responsibility for Education. In addition to updated content on classic topics like competency management and educational planning, this edition contains entirely new content in key areas like social equity and workplace violence prevention. Throughout the book, content has been brought up to date with the latest evidence to ensure the Core Curriculum remains the premier reference text for NPD practitioners, both new and experienced.
ANPD: Can you share your experience serving as section and chapter editors?
EF: The section editor role required me to exercise many of the roles and responsibilities from the NPD Practice Model, including mentor, leader, champion for scientific inquiry, advocate for the NPD specialty, and collaborative partnerships. As an editor, I also employed skills in communication and project management. The editorial team worked together under the direction of Dr. Mary Harper, ANPD Director of Research and Inquiry, to identify needed content updates for the Core Curriculum and recruit authors and peer reviewers with expertise in each of the 28 chapters. As a section editor, I functioned as a project manager for my section, keeping each chapter moving through stages of writing, revising, peer review, more revising, and copy editing. While working with authors to develop content, the editors also collaborated with each other to ensure consistency and prevent duplication throughout the text. The rigorous process that went into developing each section of the Core Curriculum will help ensure the book meets readers’ needs in the coming years.
Jessica Phillips (JP): Considerable thought went into the development of each chapter of the Core Curriculum. Content was aligned with the Nursing Professional Development: Scope and Standards of Practice, 4th Edition, literature was updated to the last five years unless classic/seminal work, and references were cited using APA formatting, providing all copyright attributes. In my role as chapter author, updating the Educational Neuroscience Chapter included collating relevant information and evidence, creating an outline of the chapter structure, writing an appealing title and headings, drawing readers into the why and significance in the introduction, defining key terms, and elaborating on the main ideas of the chapter to ensure a comprehensive understanding of the topic. A clear connection was made to the Scope and Standards relevant to each topic. A summary was provided with tangible takeaways for NPD practitioners. Finally, to conclude the chapter, discussion questions were used to stimulate application to practice, innovation ideas, and relevant calls-to-action.
ANPD: What value does the updated Core Curriculum provide?
JP: First, this resource provides foundational concepts, application to the scope and standards, and discussion questions that will elevate competency, growth, learning, reflective practice, and role development. Second, the Core Curriculum fosters the ability to find and strengthen your NPD voice so you can be a strong advocate for the role, illustrating value and importance to the health care industry.
This text summarizes the importance of NPD roles in quality improvement, research, and evidence-based practice in advancing quality health care and professional practice. Third, connections to the NPD Practice Model are incorporated throughout each chapter to signify the importance of inputs, throughputs, and outputs on change, learning, and patient outcomes measures. The scope of NPD practice occurs in the context of interprofessional practice and learning environments; thus, there is close attention paid in this text on fostering partnerships with other vital health care roles. Lastly, the contents demonstrate how you can take on leadership roles at the local, state, and national levels. Whether you want to elevate your NPD practice to another level, innovate, or strengthen your skills, this book should be at the top of your reading list. A highly suggested read for the NPD practitioner and a preparatory resource for the NPD certification examination.
Core Curriculum for Nursing Professional Development, 6th Edition is now available for purchase on the ANPD store.
References
Harper, M. G. (Ed.). (2023). Core curriculum for nursing professional development. (6th ed.). Association for Nursing Professional Development.
Harper M. G., & Maloney P. (Eds.). (2022). Nursing professional development: Scope and standards of practice (4th ed.). Association for Nursing Professional Development.
Elizabeth Fritz, PhD, RN, NPDA-BC
Program Manager, SSM Health
Elizabeth Fritz, PhD, RN, NPDA-BC is an education program manager at SSM Health. Dr. Fritz has contributed to numerous ANPD resources, including the ANPD EBP Academy, the Virtual Cert Prep Course, and the 4th edition of Nursing Professional Development: Scope and Standards of Practice. She has also served on numerous committees and task forces for both ANPD and the American Academy of Ambulatory Care Nursing.
Currently, Dr. Fritz serves on the ANPD Board of Directors and the AAACN Research Committee. She has presented and published on a variety of topics related to nursing professional development, evidence-based practice, and ambulatory care.
Jessica M. Phillips, PhD, MSN, RN, NPD-BC
Interim Executive Director of Nursing Practice, Education, and Research; Center for Nursing Excellence, UCLA Health
Jessica Phillips, PhD, MSN, RN, NPD-BC is the interim executive director of nursing practice, education, and research at Center for Nursing Excellence, UCLA Health. Phillips has published and or presented on a variety of professional development topics, such as; transition to practice (newly licensed, leadership), teaching/learning methodologies, simulation, virtual reality, evidence-based practice, educational neuroscience, health equity, competency management, professional governance, and wellness/healthy workplace environments.
Recently, Phillips received the UCLA School of Nursing, PhD Dissertation Award 2023 and has two manuscripts in press and a book chapter on the way. She also led the team on two recognitions for UCLA Health: ANCC Nursing Continuing Professional Development (NCPD) Premier Award for 2023-2025 and the Creative Health Care Management Relationship-Based Care (RBC) Designation with Distinction for 2023-2027.