Designing a career ladder curriculum is not simply taking an existing practical nurse curriculum and an associate degree nursing curriculum and placing one after the other. The curriculum is designed to produce students who are competent practitioners as practical nurses at the end of the first level and then allow them to continue for an additional time to complete the educational requirements for a registered nurse. Faculties becoming involved with a career ladder educational program must have a clear understanding of the roles of the practical nurse and the registered nurse, for only when the role of practice is clearly understood can educational objectives be designed; clearly stated behavioral objectives form the base of an effective career ladder curriculum. The book provides a guide to the implementation of a career ladder curriculum in nursing. Outlined course content, behavioral objectives and learning experiences are presented for nine curricular areas: foundations of nursing, science, nutrition, behavioral science, maternal and child health nursing, medical-surgical nursing, nursing situations (termination of the first-level education program), communication skills, and psychiatric nursing. (Author/AJ)