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 plans to revise its curriculum after
stakeholders reported graduates lack care-coordination skills.
As faculty lead, you must decide the first curricular activity to
ensure the revision targets real gaps. Which initial step best
aligns with curriculum development principles?
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,Options
A. Draft new course objectives focused on care coordination
and present them to the curriculum committee.
B. Conduct a focused needs assessment with employers, recent
graduates, and clinical partners.
C. Add an interprofessional simulation module on care
coordination into the senior practicum.
D. Increase credit hours in existing leadership and management
courses.
Correct Answer
B
Rationales
Correct (B): A focused needs assessment identifies specific,
evidence-based performance gaps and stakeholder
expectations. Curriculum design begins with data about learner
and system needs to ensure alignment of objectives, content,
and assessment—consistent with Halstead & Billings’ emphasis
on context-driven development.
A: Premature—writing objectives before gathering stakeholder
data risks misaligned outcomes.
C: Implementation before needs validation may waste resources
or fail to target the true problem.
D: Changing credits is a structural change without first
confirming it addresses the identified gap.
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,Teaching Point
Begin curriculum revision with a stakeholder-driven needs
assessment.
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 — Faculty role and responsibilities in curriculum
development
Stem
As a new faculty member on a curriculum committee, you
notice a pattern: course authors write objectives that don’t
appear in assessments. You are asked to recommend a practical
committee-level intervention to improve alignment across
courses. Which action best addresses the problem?
Options
A. Require faculty to submit objectives and exams
simultaneously for committee approval.
B. Create and implement a curriculum map linking program
outcomes, course objectives, learning activities, and
assessments.
C. Ask course coordinators to attend a single workshop on
writing measurable objectives.
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, D. Hire an external evaluator to audit assessments for all
courses once every three years.
Correct Answer
B
Rationales
Correct (B): A curriculum map makes explicit links among
outcomes, objectives, activities, and assessments, enabling
systematic alignment and gap identification—an evidence-
based curricular tool advocated for transparency and
continuous improvement.
A: Administrative gatekeeping may temporarily block
misalignment but doesn’t build systems-level visibility.
C: A single workshop may increase awareness but lacks the
structural follow-through of mapping for sustained alignment.
D: An external audit is useful periodically but reactive and
infrequent; it won’t proactively guide routine alignment.
Teaching Point
Curriculum mapping reveals alignment and gaps across program
components.
Citation
Halstead, J. A., & Billings, D. M. (2025). Getting Started in
Teaching for Nursing and the Health Professions (1st Ed.). Ch. 1.
3
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