1. In their article, "Nurse Educator Pathway Project: A Competency-Based Intersectoral Curriculum," Young et al. (2010) discuss several issues that face educators in the practice setting. Among these are healthcare environments that have become increasingly complex, issues with human resource planning, and the need for service education that is both relevant and timely (Young et al., 2010, p. 1). The authors contend that there is a gap between the service and education sectors that makes it difficult for the education infrastructure to address the needs of both (Young et al., 2010, p. 1). They posit that what is needed is "an intersectoral education infrastructure" where the academic and the clinical practice settings can come together to provide learning environments that can train nurse leaders to address workforce issues emerging in the practice setting (Young et al., 2010, p. 1). Here, nurses can use theory, empirical knowledge, and evidence-based research to guide their decisions (Young et al., 2010, p. 1). Ultimately, they favor the competency-based intersectoral curriculum (Young et al., 2010, p. 1).
Issues that can impact a nursing curriculum go beyond those identified by the authors, however. The two most important issues are critical thinking and cultural competence, both of which are challenging to incorporate effectively into a nursing curriculum. Critical thinking is one of the primary skills that nurses must have in order to make sound decisions on the job and figure out solutions to problems that arise during practice that have not been seen before. Koskinnen et al. (2009, p. 2) identify cultural competence as a need in nursing education because of society's increasing diversity, and they view it as a continuing process of personal maturation that includes "increasing self-awareness, ability to see through others' eyes when conflicting values and expectations occur in interaction, willingness to negot...