The B.N.Sc. Curriculum at Queen's University

Abstract

Like many schools of nursing, Queen's University has been involved in the development of a new conceptual framework for its undergraduate curriculum. Never has the need for a conceptual framework in nursing been so evident as it is today. Nursing needs to be able to identify its particular area of practice within the health field in order to gain an expanded and clearer definition of itself as a discipline. It is from the theoretical conceptual framework of any discipline that the area of practice, its body of knowledge, and its scientific basis are developed. What is needed is a conceptual framework for nursing which could provide curriculum integration, point to relevant clinical settings, focus on the specific nursing functions, and guide the development of preparation for new roles in nursing. Before any change in a curriculum is made, one must ask the question: what constitutes basic nursing preparation at the baccalaureate level?