Development of a Curriculum for Rehabilitation Nurse Specialist Program

재활 전문간호사 교육과정안 개발연구

The purpose of this study is to develop a systematic and efficient curriculum for the rehabilitation nurse specialist program. This research was carried out as a group work of 15 experts in order to share various opinions about the curriculum, and also through literature review. Articles, curriculums of other Clinical Nurse Specialist Programs, medical laws guidelines, as well as Clinical Nurse Specialist Program from the Korean Nurses Association were reviewed, and the issue was discussed throughly via group meetings. The developed curriculum is as follows: 1. Educational philosophy lies in the fact that the rehabilitation nurses support the patients to maximize their potential and functional level, so that they could maintain healthy state and re-adapt to changed environment. Furthermore the rehabilitation nurses are disposed of arbitrary decision power under their own responsibility, thus they take charge of welfare and healthy environment of the local society through the patients(subjects) and local resources. 2. Educational goals are to train rehabilitation nurse specialist, who correspond to the social needs, so to say, those who have the knowledge and skills for nursing practice, education and research. 3. The curriculum consists of 37 credits, of which 24 credits are based on lectures and 13 credits based on clinical practice. General courses are 3 subjects (5 credits) ; nursing theory, nursing research, and laws/ethics. Mandatry courses are 8 subjects with 19 credits; advanced physical assessment, pharmacology, pathophysiology, issues in rehabilitation nursing, advanced rehabilitation nursing intervention I, advanced rehabilitation nursing intervention II, sports physiology, special rehabilitation nursing intervention. As for the clinical practice courses, assessment and evaluation for rehabilitation(64 hours), community and home based rehabilitation nursing(128 hours), hospital based rehabilitation nursing(128 hours), institution based rehabilitation nursing(96 hours) would be treated. 4. Contents of the curses were developed to correspond with the courses' objectives and specific items. 5. Evaluation would be carried out both in the lecture and in the clinical practice. The knowledge and skills of the students would be measured to ensure full validity and credibility. However this developed curriculum should be continuously modified and updated in more desirable direction.