Integration of primary care education into undergraduate nursing programs: a scoping review protocol

Abstract

Objective: The objective of this scoping review is to examine and map literature related to primary care education in undergraduate nursing programs and to describe the attributes and extent of primary care education. Introduction: Primary care is a model of first-contact, continuous, comprehensive, and coordinated health care. Registered nurses are integral in successful collaborative team models of primary care. However, it is unclear how undergraduate nursing programs offer opportunities to learn about nursing practice within primary care settings. A better understanding of the attributes and extent of primary care education in undergraduate nursing programs will direct research, inform teaching–learning, and develop a stronger primary care nursing workforce. Inclusion criteria: This review will consider articles that include faculty/administrators, preceptors, or students of nursing programs that qualify graduates for entry-level registered nursing practice. Articles that report on undergraduate teaching–learning related to primary care will also be considered. Practical nursing, advanced practice, and post-licensure programs will be excluded. Teaching–learning related to settings other than primary care will also be excluded. Methods: The Framework of Effective Teaching–Learning in Clinical Education will be the organizing framework for this scoping review. A 3-step search strategy will be followed to identify published and unpublished literature. Articles published in English or French will be included. Data extracted from eligible articles will include details on the study design/method, participants, context, type of teaching–learning activity, attributes associated with dimensions of the teaching–learning environment, and relevant outcomes. The results will be reported in tabular and/or diagrammatic format, accompanied by a narrative summary. Review registration number: Open Science Framework: https://osf.io/cw5r3

Educating nurses for a changing world

“…In many ways, primary care is rich with opportunity for optimized nursing scope of practice and fulfilling clinical experiences. Despite this, many prelicensure nursing programs have limited primary care content and clinical exposure, and nurse learners rank primary care placements as one of their least preferred settings 5–7 . There is also significant variability in primary care nursing education requirements, limited longitudinal research pertaining to nursing roles in primary care, and significant variation in the definition of primary care nurses worldwide 8 …”

“…Given the trend toward increasing the number of collaborative health teams in primary care and the limited primary care exposure in many nursing programs, the importance of evaluating current nursing education practices in primary care cannot be overstated. In terms of nursing innovation, a scoping review of primary care in nursing education programs is both timely and relevant 6 . Mapping primary care education has the potential to advance current nursing education practices, alter the way that nurse learners perceive primary care, and foster highly competent primary care nurse graduates who can contribute meaningfully to primary care collaborative health teams.…”

Educating future generations of health professionals: looking back and moving forward

“…Gholar et al 12 reveal the results of their scoping review on the implementation and evaluation of structural competency training in health science programs for undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate students. Additionally, Curnew et al 13 plan to map the literature related to education within primary care that facilitates access to health care services. Their protocol outlines a plan to examine how undergraduate nursing programs offer opportunities to learn nursing practice within primary care settings.…”

“…Their protocol outlines a plan to examine how undergraduate nursing programs offer opportunities to learn nursing practice within primary care settings. 13 These articles reflect the growing interest in educating health professionals to understand and acknowledge the universality of health care. A curriculum that incorporates primary health care approaches is even more important today to support health professionals in making health systems more resilient to crisis situations, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.…”