Nursing and Healthcare Education: Effective Learning Theories

With reference to chosen theory of learning (behaviourist, social learning) discuss its application to patient education in context of general nursing.

The Humanistic Perspective focuses on how people can achieve their fullest potential as individuals who make choices and who take control of responsibility for their mental, social, and personal experiences.   It also emphasizes free will and individuals' control of their own behavior. Andrea fulfilled her dreams when in high school by being valedictorian. She also had a home to shelter with her family. She was loved very much by her kid’s husband, and parents.

Several learning theories have been put forward to explain how learning takes place in individuals. These theories have found application in formal learning situations including nursing education and training. In addition, a number of nursing theories also aim to prescribe the best approach to the practice of nursing in a professional environment. Of the learning theories, social learning theory takes into account the role of the environment in shaping responses through interaction with the cognitive skills of the learner. The deliberate nursing process theory also emphasizes the importance of responding to the real environment instead of blindly implementing prescribed solutions. This essay discusses the responses of a nursing professional in a real-life learning environment in the light of social learning theory and deliberative nursing process theory.

The nurse also has to be aware of the nature of the nurse-patient relationship, the environment in which it takes place in, as well as an understanding of the context and the moment of the interactions in order to share a meaningful experience. Finally, nurses have to be passionate about his or her career. Nurse’s care and tend to the patients’ needs because nurses are passionate about the career. Even though the fundamental pattern of personal knowing, it provides a holistic nature of knowing. Many humanistic theories and models of nursing have been derived from personal knowing such as Peplau’s interpersonal relation theory, Kolcaba’s comfort theory, and Jean Watson’s theory of caring.

As the demand for nursing education grows and with the rapidly advancing roles of nursing, educators need to stay up-to-date. “Theory-based practice provides nurses with a perspective” (Parker, 2006, p.28). With the comprehension and use of educational theories, nursing educators can support student knowledge and development into practice. These theories are outlines of cohesive concepts and principals that describe, explain, or predict how people learn. Every one learns differently and as an educator you need to be familiarized with and open to the use of one or more combinations of theories to successfully teach adult learners in this ever changing health care system. This paper will highlight the use of Constructivist Learning Theory and its application to nursing practice.

Humanistic theories emerged in 1950s. We have two types of humanistic theories, the first one is Person-centred theory by Carl Rogers which is based on how people see them-selves in relation to their personal experience and the second theory is Self-actualisation by Abraham Maslow which is based on the needs that motivate people. In this paper both theories will be described in detail and also they will be evaluated.

Nursing students today are diverse with different learning styles. Nursing educators must shape students to become critical thinkers and there are a host of approaches for instructors to develop needed teaching skills (Kostovich et al., 2007). There are many models of education styles; one to fashion teaching after is from Kolb’s model in 1985 which suggests matching learning methods to teaching approaches. However, educators need to become proficient in identifying individual student learning styles. Nursing educators should also recognize their own teaching style and the effect it has on learner development and socialization (National League for Nursing, 2007). The National League for Nursing (NLN) has developed eight core

Humanistic perspective is a psychological perspective popularized by Carlo Rogers and Abraham Maslow that emphasizes the human capacity for choice and growth. This perspective offers a very positive viewpoint of human nature and potential. It suggests that we are each responsible for our own happiness and well-being as humans. “The humanistic approach emphasizes the personal worth of the individual, the centrality of human

In the Theory of Nursing as Caring, Boykin and Schoenhofer believe that all humans are caring. As nurses, we have the inherent ability to touch our patient’s lives through the care we provide for them. The theory presents nursing with the aim nurturing persons and caring for the living as well as growing in the caring for others. This theory is based on essential foundations that to be a human means to care and that that being a complete person implies that a person ought to take part in nurturing relationships as well taking care and caring for others. In fact, the fundamental premise with this theory is that all humans are caring, and the innate caring nature is what dictates that a person is human. Moreover, the theory

There are many different theories of how people learn and in considering their application to how students learn and how teachers teach; educational programmes must be of holistic value. Learning according to the humanistic theory speaks to the holistic value that must be communicated through the process of acquiring new

This perspective assumes that we all thrive for personality growth, through mental processes and behaviors.. This perspective is different in its methodology compare to the biological approach, and the psychodynamic approach. Both these perspectives assume that human beings are controlled by internal or external forces. There are deterministic in nature. The humanistic perspective, promotes free will, and people can be, whatever, they envision themselves. This perspective was influence by humanists such as Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow, who emphasizes on the importance of individual potentials.

The humanistic perspective on personality deals exclusively with human behavior. Humanistic psychologists believe that human nature includes a natural drive towards personal growth, that humans have the freedom to choose what they do regardless of environmental factors, and humans are mostly conscious beings and are not controlled by unconscious needs and conflicts. They also believe that a person's subjective view of the world is more important than objective reality. Two of the humanistic theorists that have made an impact of humanism are Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow.

Humanists believe that people are influenced by their self-perceptions and personal meanings attached to their experiences. The humanist theory helps to develop critical thinking, judgment, and creativity. They encourage to empower and take control over their learning processes not be just concentrating on the reward at the end They encourage people to look into themselves for the answers to their questions. Behaviorists believe the exact opposite. They believe we are solely the product of our environment, and by controlling rewards and punishments you can shape the behavior of another person. Humanists also believe in stimulating people though asking question to help them draw on their past experiences to extract lessons (DeMar, 2007).

The humanistic approach to psychology is an organization of different thoughts in which the interests of humans and their values and/or beliefs are of main importance (Schultz & Schultz, 2009). The term humanistic relays the notion that all human beings have the potential for growth and that no one is purposely bad or unworthy (Carver & Scheier, 2012). In contrast to psychoanalytical psychologists, humanistic psychologists tend to focus on the strengths of human behavior and not the aspects that make an individual’s

The main responsibility of a nurse is to offer a various range of health care services which includes provision of health education, prevention against disease, promotion of health condition and treatment of acute illness. (as cited in Ling, Bo, Ying, Shao & Hui, 2014) They are expected to perform a wide range of clinical skills for saving patients’ lives and this requires student nurses to have solid foundation in their learnings. The problem-based learning is defined as the learning that develops from the process of working towards the solution of a given problem (as cited in Ling, Bo, Ying, Shao & Hui, 2014) and its learning approach has been the focus in the nursing education for student nurses’ academic curriculum. This essay argues that problem-based learning and self-directed learning help student nurses to develop critical thinking skills and problem solving competency. The essay also explains that both learning approaches develop student nurses to become effective team collaborators with good communication skills, which will make them grown and achieve higher in professional nursing career. Moreover, it describes how problem-based learning aids student nurses to develop their self-directed learning skills and empowers them to adopt to changes in the workplace and health care practices.