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The field of nursing is constantly changing. As a result, nursing education must change alongside the profession. New methods and theories arise often, and for anyone with a vested interest, keeping up with nursing educator trends requires constant vigilance. 

In the interest of removing some of that burden of knowledge, here’s an overview of the top trends in nursing education as we look to the year 2023.

A Renewed Focus on Leadership

Teaching leadership in nursing education is hardly a brand-new concept, but the landscape of nursing leadership has been forced to adapt to a constantly changing work environment. For example, telehealth is more viable than ever. This approach to healthcare delivery was present well prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, but then became ubiquitous and mainstream after 2020. The pandemic, coupled with a seemingly endless nurse shortage, has forced those in leadership positions to adapt to flexible gig-like work and travel nurse arrangements. 

As education methods adjust to new leadership roles, an interesting shift has emerged. Educators are spending more time teaching nursing as a business and the prevalence of nursing entrepreneurship. Leadership in Nursing Practice: The Intersection of Innovation and Teamwork in Healthcare Systems, Fourth Edition, for example, provides students with the tools and knowledge they need to develop solid leadership skills to be successful in a clinical nursing career. These lessons provide new insights for exploring leadership styles, technologies to help with administration, and conflict resolution as well.

Teaching to the Next Generation NCLEX (NGN) Exam

The National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) is undergoing a significant change in 2023. Beginning in April, the exam, the Next Generation NCLEX, will be administered. The updated exam, created by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN), will feature an emphasized focus on case studies and new types of questions to better measure clinical judgment. In the below video, Jason Schwartz, MS, director of outreach for NCSBN, provides additional insight on the updates to this exam.

Utilizing Active Learning

Nursing education has a long tradition of hands-on learning, yet modern changes in technology and healthcare methodologies have pushed nursing education further into theoretical discussions. While both theory and practice are essential for healthcare education, the current trend is finding new ways to push back toward active learning.

It’s not always possible to get nursing students more time in clinical environments. To compensate, educators are increasingly exploring classroom techniques that aid the transition from classroom learning to real-world practice. Navigate eBook Access for Professional Nursing Concepts: Competencies for Quality Leadership, Fifth Edition is a digital-only eBook featuring 365-day access. This learning tool takes a patient-centered, traditional approach to the topic of nursing education. An ideal text for teaching students how to transition from the classroom to practice, it focuses on the core competencies for health professionals as determined by the Institute of Medicine (IOM), including content on epidemics and pandemics (specifically COVID-19), minority health, integrating social care into health care, infection control and prevention, competency-based education, motivational interviewing, Healthy People 2020, and more. 

Collaborative learning, role play, and hybridizing in-person and online education are just a few ways that educators are finding success.

Expanding Gerontological Care Lessons

The simple fact is that there is a population inversion in the United States and many other parts of the world. The demand for geriatric care is rapidly increasing, and the burden of that demand will largely fall on nurses. Instruction must account for this change, and indeed, many educators are picking up on it. 

There are two current nursing education trends that are assisting this shift toward more gerontological care. The first is obvious. Courses are spending more time on gerontological concepts.

The second is more sophisticated. Gerontological care instruction is broadening. Gerontological nursing remains a critical specialty area for the profession of nursing, especially as the older adult population grows. The fifth edition of Gerontological Nursing: Competencies for Care takes a holistic approach and teaches students how to provide quality patient care for the older adult, preparing them to effectively care for this population. Coursework is highlighting the special needs of geriatric patients in light of some of the most common health issues they face:

• Falls
• Sleep disorders
• Depression and anxiety
• Elder abuse

Adapting Mental Health in Nursing

The scope of mental health care has certainly changed from what it was like 20 years ago, or even 10 years ago. The number of cases are up, and the stigma is down. Nurses today are expected to be better equipped for a wide range of mental health challenges.

Nursing education trends are accounting for this by working to expand clinical judgment skills—specifically in psychiatric care. These skills are developed through instruction on care planning fundamentals, interpersonal nursing theory, and objective psychopharmacology.

A great example of a curriculum built around this approach is Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing: An Interpersonal Approach. Built from APNA and ISPN essentials, this book takes an adjusted look at psychiatric nursing education.

Teaching Data and Mathematics

Even though we have a calculator in our pocket at all times, math and data is consistently growing as a part of everyday decisions. In healthcare, increases in data-driven technologies continue to reshape diagnosis and care prescriptions. 

For nurses to stay ahead of this trend, math and data education in nursing must be reevaluated.

Nurses need the correct math skills to properly utilize and understand data-driven changes to healthcare. For example, dosage calculation is an essential skill for students embarking on a career in nursing. This topic can be very challenging and intimidating for students, however, veteran author, Anna Curren breaks down this subject using the dimensional analysis method which reduces all calculations into a single, easy-to-solve equation in the sixth edition of Dimensional Analysis for Meds: Refocusing on Essential Metric Calculations. 

Healthcare will never stop changing. It is the focal point of innovation, and nursing trends in education will always be shaped by that innovation. With demographic and cultural shifts on top of that, nursing education is an ever-evolving organism.

Read more:

• How the AACN Essentials Update is Changing Nursing Education