Faculty perspectives on implementing a concept-based nursing curriculum: A qualitative study

• Faculty perspectives on CBC reveal role shifts in nursing education. • Concept mapping and simulation improved student engagement and reasoning. • Findings call for faculty support to sustain curriculum reform in diverse settings. The Concept-Based Curriculum (CBC) promotes critical thinking and deep learning in nursing education. At the University of Calgary in Qatar, CBC was implemented to align with international standards and national healthcare goals. Faculty play a central role in this pedagogical shift, yet their perspectives remain underexplored in transnational settings. To explore faculty experiences in implementing CBC in a culturally diverse nursing program. A qualitative descriptive study used semistructured interviews with 15 faculty members involved in CBC development and teaching. Thematic analysis followed Braun and Clarke’s framework. Six themes emerged: (1) concept mapping as a scaffold for learning, (2) structured prebriefing and debriefing to promote reflection, (3) evolving faculty roles from content experts to facilitators, (4) balancing content with conceptual depth, (5) navigating institutional and curricular constraints, and (6) perceived gains in student engagement and clinical reasoning. These themes reflected systemic change in teaching philosophy, institutional support, and learner engagement. CBC implementation fostered pedagogical transformation and improved learning, requiring sustained faculty development and institutional support.