Undergraduate Nursing Curriculum Content Focuses on Emerging Issues that Influence Health

Abstract

Undergraduate education content could hold the key to nursing workforce development. A professional's attitudes and beliefs are developed during these years, along with the ability to use knowledge and skills to promote mental health and well-being, and work with people experiencing mental health and addiction issues. Historically undergraduate education has targeted the support of illness as opposed to developing and supporting health and well-being. In the past decade research shows there is a close relationship between mental illness and addiction with physical health and early brain development. This chapter explores how the Modern Apprenticeship nursing curriculum prepares undergraduate nurses to critically think about a person or family's health at every encounter using a biopsychosocial framework by understanding that all of health is connected and the development of the brain in the early years is key to health and well-being.