Toward a Narrative-Centered Curriculum for Nurse Practitioners

Abstract

This paper discusses various alternative and nontraditional teaching strategies currently used in nurse practitioner curricula. These instructional strategies include case-study analysis (Ryan-Wenger & Lee, 1997) and problem-based learning/practice-based learning (Barrows, 1994). We suggest a further evolution, using principles and practices of a narrative pedagogy (Diekelmann, 1995) to allow convergence of these several narratively-focused inductive and interpretive approaches. This combination of ways of learning has led us toward a narrative-centered curriculum for family nurse practitioners (FNPs). Specific ways to use narrative in the FNP curriculum are presented to demonstrate how to take the curriculum beyond traditional ways of teaching and learning.