NURSING AND THE HEALTH
PROFESSIONS
1ST EDITION
• AUTHOR(S)JUDITH A. HALSTEAD;
DIANE M. BILLINGS
TEST BANK
1
Reference
Ch. 1 — Introduction to curriculum development
Stem
A nursing program is revising its curriculum after a recent
employer survey showed graduates lack proficiency in care
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,transitions. As the faculty lead, you must prioritize curricular
changes while balancing existing accreditation standards and
limited faculty time. Which next step best aligns curriculum
development principles to ensure effective, evidence-based
change?
Options
A. Draft new course objectives on transitions immediately and
present them at the next faculty meeting.
B. Conduct a focused needs assessment that triangulates
employer feedback with graduate outcomes and clinical data.
C. Replace an elective with a required transitions course to
create space in the curriculum.
D. Assign a single experienced faculty member to redesign all
clinical courses to emphasize transitions.
Correct answer
B
Rationales
Correct (B): Conducting a focused needs assessment uses
multiple data sources to validate the employer feedback and
identify specific gaps; this aligns with curricular principles that
changes be data-driven and contextually justified before
altering outcomes or structure. It supports stakeholder
alignment and accreditation readiness.
A: Drafting objectives before confirming the scope or root
causes risks misalignment with program outcomes and may
waste faculty effort if the problem differs from surface
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,feedback.
C: Removing an elective without assessment may harm
curricular balance and does not guarantee alignment with
program outcomes or stakeholder needs.
D: Centralizing redesign to one faculty member risks narrow
perspective, reduces shared governance, and undermines
faculty ownership and sustainability.
Teaching point
Base curriculum changes on a triangulated needs assessment,
not single feedback sources.
Citation
Halstead, J. A., & Billings, D. M. (2025). Getting Started in
Teaching for Nursing and the Health Professions (1st Ed.). Ch. 1.
2
Reference
Ch. 1 — Introduction to curriculum development
Stem
During curriculum mapping, you find redundancy in content on
patient safety and a gap in content on population health.
Faculty are split: some argue redundancy reinforces learning;
others want to eliminate duplicated sessions to make room for
population health. Which curriculum principle should guide
your synthesis and decision?
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, Options
A. Eliminate all redundancy immediately to maximize curricular
breadth.
B. Retain redundancy because repetition always improves
mastery.
C. Analyze alignment of redundant elements with program
outcomes and student level, then selectively consolidate or
scaffold.
D. Replace the redundant patient safety content with
population health content even if it reduces safety coverage.
Correct answer
C
Rationales
Correct (C): Best practice is to evaluate whether redundant
content supports progressive competence (scaffolding) or is
true duplication; selectively consolidating maintains learning
progression while freeing time for gaps. This reflects alignment
and intentional sequencing principles.
A: Eliminating all redundancy risks removing necessary
reinforcement and weakens spiraled learning.
B: Blanket retention ignores inefficiencies and misaligns with
competency sequencing; repetition must be purposeful.
D: Substituting without analysis risks undermining critical safety
competencies and accreditation expectations.
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