How Davis Advantage Supports the AACN Essentials

How Davis Advantage supports the AACN Essentials

Competency-Based Support & Alignment According to the AACN publication Guiding Principles for Competency-Based Education and Assessment, Davis Advantage encompasses key components for faculty, learners, curriculum development, and assessment measures. Through purposeful product development and instructional design, Davis Advantage solutions are aligned to support competency-based educational (CBE) needs.

Faculty §

Curriculum Development §

Allows for a tailored learning experience to meet competencies Delineates expectations of the learner

Supports scaffolding and upward spiral approach

Provides detailed mapping tools

Learners §

Assessment Measures § Provides formative & summative assessments § Provides data-driven outcomes

Allows learners to be active in the assessment process Supports engagement in performance review

For faculty, Davis Advantage provides flexibility to design learning experiences aligned with competencies. By defining assignments and tracking outcomes, faculty can intentionally guide students toward success. For students, frequent feedback and visual metrics track progress, keep a pulse on performance, and support active engagement in the assessment process to guide learning. Davis Advantage also supports curriculum development and assessment measures. The scaffolding and upward spiral approach delivers increasing intensity as students progress from developing competence to becoming competent, guided by their progression indicators. Assignments and data-driven metrics support formative and summative assessments, providing feedback, identifying

learning gaps, and giving educators clear evidence of competency progression and mastery. Purposeful Instructional Design & Essentials Mapping Domains and Concepts

To assist faculty with the integration of the AACN Essentials , the 10 Domains and 8 Concepts are mapped throughout Davis Advantage products. Detailed mapping tools clearly identify where content aligns with textbook features, online assignments, and teaching plans categorized to demonstrate the depth and breadth of coverage and reduce faculty workload when planning lessons to meet curriculum needs. Examples of this alignment include:

Textbook/eBook figures, tables, boxes, reflection activities, case studies, etc.

Personalized Learning Assignments pre & post-assessments, videos, activities

Clinical Judgment Assignments each case study

Simulation Assignments each immersive experience

Personalized Teaching Plans each activity

Domains & Concepts Tab

DOMAINS

CONCEPTS

DAVIS ADVANTAGE CONTENT

Competencies and Sub-Competencies Within each Domain, the Competencies and Sub-Competencies needed for entry-level professional nursing education (Level 1) define the observable and measurable abilities students need to integrate knowledge, skills, and attitudes. The Clinical Judgment and Simulation assignments are mapped to these expectations to guide student performance. Four Spheres of Care Additionally, all entry-level professional nurses need the knowledge and proficiencies to practice across a variety of settings. This includes care for a diverse population across the lifespan that focuses on the four spheres of care. 1. Promotion of health and well-being/disease prevention 2. Chronic disease care

3. Regenerative or restorative care 4. Hospi ce/palliative/supportive care.

Wellness, Disease Prevention

Chronic Disease Care

Throughout Davis Advantage, students engage with a wide variety of care settings and person-centered experiences. The Clinical Judgment and Simulation assignments are also mapped to the corresponding Sphere(s) of Care they address.

4 Spheres of Care

Regenerative/ Restorative Care

Hospice/ Palliative Care

AACN, 2021

Domains 1-10 Tabs

COMPETENCIES

DOMAIN

SUB-COMPETENCIES

Clinical Judgment Assignments

Simulation Assignments

Analytics: Assessing Student Competencies Determining each student’s mastery of material can be difficult to measure and track—but not with Davis Advantage. The tools provide individualized assessment and real-time data tracking to support student outcomes. Students receive actionable insights to guide their learning. Frequent practice opportunities offer immediate feedback and clear explanations, while personalized performance metrics monitor their progress to steadily advance toward competency. In addition, the analytics enable ongoing formative evaluation of both course and individual level performances with each activity. Faculty can tailor learning experiences to specific competencies, while students can easily identify areas of strength and weakness, allowing them to remediate topics of concern until mastery is achieved.

INSTRUCTOR

STUDENT

Formative feedback allows students and faculty to also identify learning gaps. The Davis Advantage process of measuring outcomes using green-yellow-red thumbs up and down indicators provides a visual of outcome measures. The thumbs-up and -down process transitions perfectly to supporting the ACCN Progression Indicators of ‘Developing’ to ‘Developed’ competencies.

Developing Competency

Developed (Competent)

Not Yet Competent

Incorporating the Essentials into your Curriculum Course Outline A course outline is a detailed plan of the course material, including topics, assignments, learning activities, and forms of assessment. It is the foundation for collaborative learning between the instructor and the students. Using the Davis Advantage Essentials maps will allow you to intentionally align content with your course outcomes to integrate competency-based education into your curriculum. The Davis Advantage tools can then be used to teach, assess, and remediate students’ level of mastery. Here is an example of how content in Davis Advantage can be leveled within a course.

Learning Activities Davis Advantage uses principles of Adult Learning Theory, Metacognition, Clinical Judgment, and Simulation to support individual, group, and classroom learning environments. Consider bringing patients from the various assignments to the classroom to reinforce mastery. Example 1 Bring a patient from a Clinical Judgment assignment to class and have students build a concept map based on that person’s individualized needs.

Diversity, Equality, & Inclusion

Population Health

System-based Practice

Communication

Social Determinants of Health

Clinical Judgment

Example 2 Open a Simulation activity in the classroom and listen to the Nurse Handoff Report or watch one of the patient care Videos, then break the class into small groups to identify specific examples of Domains, Competencies, or Sub-Competencies. Debrief the class as a whole using the Sims Debriefing Guidelines.

Learn More Visit FADavis.com/DavisAdvantage or contact us at Hello@FADavis.com

References American Association of Colleges of Nursing. (2023). Guiding Principles for Competency-Based Education and Assessment . Accessible online at https://www.aacnnursing.org/Portals/0/PDFs/Essentials/Guiding-Principles-for-CBE-Assessment.pdf American Association of Colleges of Nursing. (2025). Progression Indicators. Accessible online at https://www.aacnnursing.org/ essentials/tool-kit/domains-concepts/progression-indicators American Association of Colleges of Nursing. (2021). The Essentials: Core Competencies for Professional Nursing Education. Accessible online at https://www.aacnnursing.org/Portals/0/PDFs/Publications/Essentials-2021.pdf About the Author Karin Sherrill, MSN, RN, CNE, ANEF, FAADN, has been a nurse educator for over 30 years. She works as a nursing education consultant, supporting faculty in creating better nurses.

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