A critical exploration of ‘working together, learning together’ – does it meet the learning needs of nurses?

Recent government educational initiatives have emphasised the need for lifelong learning to facilitate and equip nurses with the appropriate knowledge and skills to operate in a dynamic healthcare delivery system. In this paper I will critically explore a recent educational framework from an educational ideology and curriculum design perspective. It is recognised that any educational program cannot be devised or constructed in a socio-political vacuum and any developments must acknowledge this influence on the context in which nurse education operates. The framework is debated from an ideological perspective and I surmise that an ideological change from Romanticism to Revisionism will facilitate change in curriculum design that is in keeping with the realties of healthcare needs. The educational initiative is explored from a curriculum design perspective utilising Beattie’s Fourfold Model. I further surmise that the educational initiative fails to acknowledge the uniqueness of nursing knowledge and the integral learning processes such as reflection thus marginalising nursing as a profession. In this paper I suggest that any educational initiative must recognise the evolving role of nursing, the profession and the realties of healthcare systems to ensure the present and future workforce is skilled and empowered to aspire to these multifaceted demands.