Identifying important conceptual areas in a nursing education programme to meet future demands, using group concept mapping

A nursing programme in southern Sweden was revised to meet future demands. The aim of this study was to explore important conceptual areas to be included in a nursing programme in order to meet long-term societal and health care requirements. Group concept mapping (GCM), a mixed-methods approach, was used. Thirty-four experienced teachers participated. Data was collected during brainstorming sessions in focus groups. Following editing and removal of duplicates, 101 statements remained to be sorted into piles that had similar conceptual representation in nursing education. The final step was then to rate each statement from 1 to 5 (higher values = more important/more feasible). Quantitative analysis using non-metric multidimensional scaling and hierarchical cluster analysis resulted in 11 clusters. Assessment and treatment and Person-centred care were rated as the most important and Scientific theories and methods, Basic caregiving in nursing and Person-centred care had the highest feasibility ratings. Further analyses suggested that the content of nursing education can be seen from a systems theory perspective, represented by the macro, meso, and micro levels. These levels may increase the understanding of the complexity of nursing care. Furthermore, the cluster analysis can facilitate the development of a concept-based curriculum for nursing education.