NURS FPX 6111 Assessment 1 Course Definition and Alignment Table

Name

Capella university

NURS-FPX 6111 Assessment and Evaluation in Nursing Education

Prof. Name

Date

Course Definition and Alignment Table

This assessment offers a recently developed course, “Improving Palliative Care for Geriatric Patients in Long-Term Care Settings,” into the nursing program in the teaching hospital of our community. The course has been designed systematically to provide our undergraduate students with crucial knowledge and skills for delivering comprehensive End-Of-Life (EOL) care to older adults in sustainable care facilities (Cant et al., 2021). Recognizing the increasing need for quality EOL care in such settings, we have oriented this course toward meeting the needs and challenges posed by older patients. 

Program Offering

Program Description

The Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program at Mountainside Teaching Hospital is designed to equip students with the skills necessary for a successful nursing career. It integrates classroom instruction, simulation labs, and clinical practice, fostering critical thinking, communication, leadership, and patient-centered care competencies.

Program Outcomes

• Apply specialized nursing knowledge to provide high-quality, safe care across the lifespan.
• Demonstrate effective communication and collaboration with patients, families, and healthcare teams.
• Develop strong evaluation and analytical skills for comprehensive patient care planning.
• Uphold ethical, legal, and professional standards while advocating for patient rights.
• Promote culturally competent care for diverse populations.
• Utilize leadership and management skills to enhance healthcare delivery and interdisciplinary teamwork.

Assumptions

The BSN program assumes that students are committed to developing essential nursing competencies, including critical thinking, communication, and leadership. It presumes that students will actively engage in theoretical and practical learning experiences to enhance their clinical expertise. Additionally, the program is assumed to foster a strong commitment to cultural competence, ethical practice, and collaboration within interdisciplinary healthcare teams.

Course Definition

Course Title: Enhancing Palliative Care for Geriatric Patients in Long-Term Care Setting

Course Description, Vision, and Rationale

This course provides BSN students with essential knowledge and skills to deliver high-quality palliative care to elderly patients in long-term care (LTC) facilities. Over four months (18 credit hours), students engage in blended learning—classroom lectures, simulations, and supervised clinical rotations—covering symptom management, ethics, cultural sensitivity, and interdisciplinary collaboration. The vision of this course is to empower nursing students with the expertise and compassionate approach necessary to improve palliative care for elderly patients, ensuring dignity, comfort, and quality of life in LTC settings.

The rationale of this course includes the urgent need for nurses trained in geriatric palliative care due to the growing elderly population. It addresses critical knowledge gaps, equipping students with the necessary skills to manage complex medical and psychosocial challenges (Henderson et al., 2022). This course aims to improve patient outcomes and enhance family support by preparing nurses to deliver compassionate and comprehensive end-of-life care while navigating ethical dilemmas and cultural considerations in long-term care settings.

Course Learning Objectives

• Understand the foundational principles of palliative care in LTC settings.
• Assess and manage pain and distressing symptoms in elderly patients.
• Communicate effectively with patients, families, and healthcare teams regarding end-of-life (EOL) care goals.
• Implement evidence-based practices to enhance patient comfort and quality of life.
• Address ethical dilemmas and cultural considerations in palliative care.

Evaluation and Assessment Strategies 

In a nursing education course focused on palliative care for elderly patients in LTC settings, assessment and evaluation strategies address different domains of learning: cognitive, psychomotor, and affective. The didactic component assesses cognitive skills through tests, quizzes, essays, and assignments, which evaluate students’ understanding of palliative care principles (Vellani et al., 2023). These assessments gauge knowledge retention and the application of theory to practice. The clinical component focuses on psychomotor skills, assessing students’ abilities to apply theoretical knowledge during clinical placements. Teachers observe students’ pain management, communication with patients and interdisciplinary teams, and development of care plans, using checklists to systematically evaluate clinical skills and decision-making (Cross & Abbeyquaye, 2024).

Affective skills, such as empathy and professional values, are assessed through reflective journals and peer evaluations. These assignments foster self-awareness and encourage students to analyze their experiences critically (Lee, 2021). Project-based assessments also provide opportunities for collaborative learning and evaluate critical thinking and teamwork. However, knowledge gaps remain in assessing cultural competence and ethical decision-making in palliative care. Integrating more specific cultural and ethical frameworks into the assessment strategies could strengthen the course’s evaluation of these essential competencies (Vellani et al., 2023).

Align Appropriate Professional Standards and Regulations

Several key regulatory bodies must be considered to align professional standards and regulations with learning objectives in a nursing education course on palliative care for geriatric patients in LTC facilities. The National Consensus Project (NCP) Clinical Practice Guidelines for Quality Palliative Care ensure that learning objectives meet established standards for palliative care delivery (NCHPC, 2021). Additionally, the National Association of Long-Term Care Administrator Boards (NAB) guidelines ensure that students are prepared to meet regulatory expectations for LTC care (NAB, 2022).

The National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) provides a framework for nursing education related to assessment, care planning, and collaboration (NCSBN, 2024). Moreover, CMS regulations emphasize quality of care and patient rights (CMS, 2020), while ACEN accreditation ensures program quality (ACEN, n.d.). The specificity, relevance, comprehensiveness, and currency criteria should be used to evaluate alignment. These criteria assess how well learning objectives reflect professional standards, cover necessary competencies, and remain current with current geriatric palliative care regulations (Yin et al., 2022).

Alignment Tables

Table 1: Alignment of Learning Objectives to Program Outcomes

Learning Objectives	Program Outcomes	Alignment (Cognitive, Psychomotor, Affective)
Understand the foundational principles and philosophy of palliative care in LTC environments.	Utilize nursing expertise and evidence-based practices to deliver safe and high-quality care across all stages of life (Carpenter et al., 2020).	Cognitive
Conduct assessments and manage pain and other distressing symptoms commonly experienced by elderly patients.	Critical thinking and clinical judgment are essential for performing comprehensive assessments and developing effective care plans (Vellani et al., 2023).	Cognitive, Psychomotor
Communicate effectively with patients, families, and interdisciplinary teams, facilitating discussions.	Demonstrate strong communication skills and build collaborative relationships with patients, families, and healthcare team members (Vellani et al., 2023).	Affective, Cognitive
Develop holistic care plans addressing geriatric patients’ physical, emotional, social, and spiritual needs.	Provide culturally competent care to diverse populations.	Cognitive, Affective
Apply evidence-based practices to improve comfort and enhance quality of life.	Apply leadership and management skills to improve healthcare delivery and promote teamwork among interdisciplinary professionals (Moore et al., 2020).	Cognitive, Psychomotor
Recognize and address ethical dilemmas and cultural considerations.	Uphold ethical and legal standards, advocate for patient rights, and maintain professional integrity (Moore et al., 2020).	Affective, Cognitive

Table 2: Alignment of Learning Objectives to Assessment Strategies and Domains of Learning

Learning Objectives	Assessment Strategies	Domains of Learning
Understand the foundational principles and philosophy of palliative care in LTC environments.	Written exams, quizzes, and essays (Cant et al., 2021)	Cognitive
Conduct assessments and manage pain and other distressing symptoms commonly experienced by elderly patients.	Clinical observation, simulation exercises, and checklist-based evaluations (Lee, 2021)	Cognitive, Psychomotor
Communicate effectively with patients, families, and interdisciplinary teams, facilitating discussions.	Role-playing, peer assessments, and reflective assignments (Vellani et al., 2023)	Affective, Cognitive
Develop holistic care plans addressing geriatric patients’ physical, emotional, social, and spiritual needs.	Group projects, case studies, and rubric-based evaluations (Cant et al., 2021)	Cognitive, Affective
Apply evidence-based practices to improve comfort and enhance quality of life.	Simulation scenarios, project-based assessments, and observational assessments (Cant et al., 2021)	Cognitive, Psychomotor
Recognize and address ethical dilemmas and cultural considerations.	Reflective assignments, peer assessments, and role-playing (Lee, 2021)	Affective, Cognitive

Table 3: Alignment of Program Outcomes to External Standards

Program Outcomes	External Standards	Alignment
Utilize nursing expertise and evidence-based practices to deliver safe and high-quality care.	NCP Clinical Practice Guidelines for Quality Palliative Care (NCHPC, 2021)	Aligns with quality care standards in palliative care.
Demonstrate strong communication skills and build collaborative relationships.	NCSBN Guidelines on communication and collaboration in healthcare settings (NCSBN, 2024).	Meets communication and teamwork standards.
Employ critical thinking and clinical judgment for assessments and care plans.	NCSBN standards, NAB guidelines for clinical judgment in LTCFs.	Ensures critical thinking skills in clinical settings.
Uphold ethical and legal standards, advocating for patient rights.	NCSBN ethical standards and CMS regulations regarding patient rights in LTC facilities (CMS, 2020).	Complies with ethical and legal frameworks.
Provide culturally competent care to diverse populations.	CMS has cultural competency requirements, and ACEN (Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing) has standards on cultural competence (CMS, 2020).	Ensures adherence to cultural competency standards.
Apply leadership and management skills to improve healthcare delivery.	ACEN leadership and management standards, NAB leadership competencies for LTC administrators (ACEN, n. d.).	Aligns with leadership and teamwork standards in LTCFs.

References

ACEN. (n.d.). Accreditation commission for education in nursing. Acenursing.org. https://www.acenursing.org/ 

Cant, R., Ryan, C., & Cooper, S. (2021). Nursing students’ evaluation of clinical practice placements using the clinical learning environment, supervision and nurse teacher scale – A systematic review. Nurse Education Today, 104(1). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2021.104983 

Carpenter, J. G., Lam, K., Ritter, A. Z., & Ersek, M. (2020). A systematic review of nursing home palliative care interventions: Characteristics and outcomes. Journal of the American Medical Directors Association, 21(5), 583–596. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jamda.2019.11.015 

NURS FPX 6111 Assessment 1 Course Definition and Alignment Table

CMS. (2020). Long-term care facilities | CMS. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.gov. https://www.cms.gov/medicare/health-safety-standards/conditions-coverage-participation/long-term-care 

Cross, L. A., & Abbeyquaye, S. (2024). Preparing nurses for palliative care in long term care: An integrative review. Journal of Professional Nursing, 53, 131–139. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.profnurs.2024.05.011 

Henderson, A., Ryan, R., Henderson, S., Young, J., Bradford, N. K., Bothroyd, J. I., & Herbert, A. (2022). Interventions for interpersonal communication about end of life care between health practitioners and affected people. The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 18(9). https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD013116 

Lee, K. C. (2021). The lasater clinical judgment rubric: implications for evaluating teaching effectiveness. Journal of Nursing Education, 60(2), 67–73. https://doi.org/10.3928/01484834-20210120-03 

Moore, D., Payne, S., Ling, J., Froggatt, K., Pivodic, L., Miranda, R., van Hout, H., Pasman, H. R. W., Ten Koppel, M., Hockley, J., Szczerbińska, K., Kylänen, M., Gambassi, G., Pautex, S., Bassal, C., Deliens, L., Smets, T., Adang, E., Andreasen, P., & Barańska, I. (2020). Strategies for the implementation of palliative care education and organizational interventions in long-term care facilities: A scoping review. Palliative Medicine, 34(5), 558–570. https://doi.org/10.1177/0269216319893635 

NAB. (2022). Home – NAB. Www.nabweb.org. https://www.nabweb.org/home 

NCHPC. (2021). National consensus project for quality palliative care (NCP) | NCHPC. Nationalcoalitionhpc.org. https://www.nationalcoalitionhpc.org/ncp/ 

NCSBN. (2024). Practice. NCSBN. https://www.ncsbn.org/nursing-regulation/practice.page 

Vellani, S., Nicula, M., Lucchese, S., Kruizinga, J., Sussman, T., & Kaasalainen, S. (2023). Palliative approach to care education for multidisciplinary staff of long-term care homes: A pretest post-test study. Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine, 9. https://doi.org/10.1177/23337214231158470 

NURS FPX 6111 Assessment 1 Course Definition and Alignment Table

Yin, S., Chen, F., & Chang, H. (2022). Assessment as learning: How does peer assessment function in students’ learning? Frontiers in Psychology, 13. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.912568