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 graduate nursing program plans to revise its curriculum to
better prepare students for population health roles. As course
director, you have conflicting stakeholder input: clinical partners
request more community placements, while faculty worry
about losing essential classroom content. Which approach best
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,aligns with sound curriculum development principles to
reconcile these needs?
A. Prioritize clinical partner requests immediately and convert a
core theory course into a clinical practicum.
B. Conduct a targeted needs assessment, map competencies to
outcomes, then redesign sequences to integrate community
placements with preserved core theory.
C. Maintain the current curriculum and add optional community
placements so required accreditation content remains
unchanged.
D. Ask each faculty member to independently revise their
course objectives and aggregate changes later.
Correct answer
B
Rationales
Correct (B): A targeted needs assessment and competency-to-
outcome mapping aligns stakeholder needs with program
outcomes and accreditation requirements, enabling integration
rather than ad hoc substitution—consistent with systematic
curriculum design.
A: Prioritizing partner requests without analysis risks omitting
essential theory and weakens outcome alignment.
C: Adding optional placements may not achieve program-level
competency attainment and ignores stakeholder urgency.
D: Decentralized, uncoordinated revisions create curricular gaps
and redundancy; lacks alignment strategy.
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,Teaching point
Use needs assessment and outcome mapping to integrate
stakeholder demands with curriculum integrity.
Citation
Halstead, J. A., & Billings, D. M. (2025). Getting Started in
Teaching for Nursing and the Health Professions (1st Ed.). Ch. 1
— Introduction to Curriculum Development.
2
Reference
Ch. 1 — Introduction to Curriculum Development
Stem
During curriculum redesign, faculty debate whether to adopt a
competency-based framework that requires demonstration of
milestones rather than seat-time. As curriculum lead, which
evaluation focus will best determine if a competency-based
shift is appropriate?
A. Compare student satisfaction scores between current and
similar programs without competencies.
B. Analyze whether measurable competencies align with
graduate outcomes, clinical needs, and available assessment
resources.
C. Survey faculty preferences about teaching methods and
adopt the most popular option.
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, D. Switch immediately to competency-based progression for
motivated cohorts to pilot without formal evaluation.
Correct answer
B
Rationales
Correct (B): Evaluating alignment between competencies,
outcomes, clinical needs, and assessment capacity is essential
before structural change—this is the core of evidence-informed
curriculum decision-making.
A: Student satisfaction is insufficient for structural change; it
doesn’t show competency attainment or system readiness.
C: Faculty preference alone may not ensure curricular validity or
feasibility.
D: Piloting without formal evaluation planning risks inconsistent
standards and poor data for decisions.
Teaching point
Assess alignment and assessment capacity before adopting
competency-based progression.
Citation
Halstead, J. A., & Billings, D. M. (2025). Getting Started in
Teaching for Nursing and the Health Professions (1st Ed.). Ch. 1
— Introduction to Curriculum Development.
3
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