Pediatric baccalaureate nursing curriculum in Pakistan: strengths, limitations and recommendations

Background: Pakistan is a developing country that is struggling with rising child mortality and morbidity rates since many decades. The rising childhood morbidity and mortality rates indicate that this country needs trained Pediatric nurses to promote child health. From an educationist perspective, a pressing need was viewed to appraise whether the existing Pediatric Health Nursing curriculum is coherent with the health needs of Pakistani pediatric population. This paper will explore the way forward to strengthen knowledge, skills and attitudes of future Pediatric nurses in Pakistan. Methods: The existing Pediatric Health Nursing curriculum of the Higher Education Commission (HEC)/Pakistan Nursing Council (PNC) was reviewed and analyzed for its alignment, sequence, credits, course objectives, course content, and assessment. Results: Review of the Pediatric Health Nursing curriculum revealed that all of its components are in alignment with the HEC/PNC objectives, and it gives coverage to the four main themes including “integration of knowledge derived from humanities and science”, “effective communication”, “health promotion” and “nursing process”. It was also analyzed that the course can be further improved by involving students in lab based simulation exercises, adding practice sessions for communication, utilizing community sites for students’ clinical practice, and offering sessions on Pediatric medications and drug dosage calculation. Conclusions: Knowledge, attitudes and practices of future pediatric nurses can be enhanced with a Pediatric Health Nursing curriculum that is well aligned, uses an integrated approach, and is in accordance to the health needs of a nation. Key words: Baccalaureate curriculum, nursing, Pakistan, Pediatric nurse