List all the symptoms, diagnostic criteria, points of physiological knowledge, treatments and background information a student should know for each medical condition. This is for your own use, as you then organize this exhaustive list into specific, constructive goals.
Begin with strictly knowledge-based goals. These are things students should be able to identify, distinguish and explain. Write your goals using Creighton's recommended three components of clear goal writing: time frame for learning the skill or content, an action verb, and a single content area. For knowledge-based goals, these might read, "By the end of the third week, students should identify common drug reactions to tetracycline." or "At the end of the term, students should recognize five types of seizures and explain their causes."
Find the diagnostic terms in your list and use them to write diagnostic skill goals. Use the same three elements of goal writing. Examples might include, "At the end of week seven, students should be able to perform throat cultures to investigate a diagnosis of streptococcal infection of the throat." or "At end of the rotation, using a stethoscope, students should recognize bowel sounds that indicate an obstruction."
Formulate your treatment-related goals. These involve identifying, performing and prescribing the correct treatment for a medical condition. For example, "At the end of the week, students should properly administer injections of high-concentration antibiotics." or "Within two weeks, students should skillfully change wound dressings on abdominal incisions."
Develop your teaching goals related to precautions. These include recognizing potential complications and taking action to prevent them. Sample goals might include, "By the end of week four, nursing students should be able to successfully place a patient in the supine position." or "At the end of the day, residents should list three medications capable of lowering blood pressure and under which conditions each is indicated."