DIFE: A new model in undergraduate nursing education

This article presents a new model of nursing created in 2003 for use in an undergraduate nursing program. It reviews the drivers for the development of an innovative approach to nursing education in a New Zealand educational institution, Whitireia Community Polytechnic. After referring to the literature informing this development, the article briefly outlines the philosophy underpinning a revised curriculum for the program. The article then describes the nursing model created to realize the intention of the revised curriculum, the DIFE framework, consisting of four interrelated phases: Discovery, Interpretation, Facilitation, and Evaluation. It highlights the distinctive educational practices that use of the model in teaching the curriculum produces. In this approach, educational practice embodies a model for clinical practice. Finally, this article reflects on the value of this new model of nursing after 5 years of use.