title: A core curriculum for the continuing professional development of nurses: Developed by the Education Committee on behalf of the Council on Cardiovascular Nursing and Allied Professions of the ESC.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The European Society of Cardiology and the Council on Cardiovascular Nursing and Allied Professions share a vision; to decrease the burden of cardiovascular disease in Europe. Nurses represent the largest sector of the health professional workforce and have a significant contribution to make, which has not yet been fully realised. Recent evidence highlights an association between the level of nurse education and inpatient mortality making this an important topic, particularly as the provision of nurse education in Europe is variable.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To develop a core curriculum to inform the education of nurses following initial qualification for work in cardiovascular settings.
  
  
  METHODS
  A syllabus was developed using published literature, policy documents and existing curricula with expert input from service users, specialist nurses, cardiologists, educationalists and academics. The syllabus formed the framework for the development of the core curriculum.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Eight key themes characterise the core curriculum which are presented together with an account of the development process. While the curriculum is not intended to cover all aspects of the highly complex role of the cardiovascular nurse, the themes do exemplify the science and art of nursing and are transferable across different levels of clinical practice and settings. The curriculum functions both as a 'map', which identifies key themes to include in nurse education, and as a 'tool' to inform educational provision that bridges' the gap between initial nurse education and advanced specialist practice. Content can be adapted for use to fit the national context and reflects the specific needs, health priorities, legislative and regulatory standards that govern safe nursing practice across different countries.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The core curriculum can be used as a learning framework to guide nurse education, in particular the continuing professional education of post-qualifying nurses working in cardiovascular settings. This represents a significant step towards streamlining cardiovascular nurse education in Europe.
authors.affiliation: University of Huddersfield and Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust, UK f.astin@hud.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Felicity
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Astin
authors.affiliation: Yvonne L. Munn Center for Nursing Research, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, USA.
authors.forename: Diane L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Carroll
authors.affiliation: University of Missouri, USA.
authors.forename: Todd
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ruppar
authors.affiliation: Wroclaw Medical University, Poland.
authors.forename: Izabella
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Uchmanowicz
authors.affiliation: Department for Internal Medicine and Cardiology, Salzburg University Hospital, Austria.
authors.forename: Lynne
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Hinterbuchner
authors.affiliation: University General Hospital Attikon, Greece.
authors.forename: Eleni
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kletsiou
authors.affiliation: 1st Department of Cardiology, Medical University of Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Agnieszka
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Serafin
authors.affiliation: University of Leeds, UK.
authors.forename: Alison
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ketchell
mesh_terms: D000488:Allied Health Personnel / Q000193:education*; D064646:Cardiovascular Nursing / Q000193:education*; D002983:Clinical Competence; D003479:Curriculum; D004509:Education, Nursing, Continuing / Q000458:organization & administration*; D005060:Europe; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015397:Program Evaluation; D012956:Societies, Nursing / Q000458:organization & administration
keywords: Cardiovascular nurses; continuing professional education; core curriculum; syllabus