The Nurse As A Nurse Educator

McKenna, L., & Newton, J. M. (2009). After the graduate year: a phenomenological exploration of how new nurses develop their knowledge and skill over the first 18 months following graduation. Australian Journal of Advanced Nursing, 25. Retrieved from http://web.a.ebscohost.com.proxymu.wrlc.org/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=57a243af-c0d3-4f81-addf-041456493db3%40sessionmgr4005&vid=1&hid=4206

Although both advanced practice nurse positions are masters prepared, nurse educators and nurse practitioners are very different roles maintaining complimentary characteristics. A Nurse Educator (NE) is a nurse who teaches and prepares nursing students and various levels from licensed practical nurse to the Nurse Practitioner (NP) graduate student (National League of Nursing, 2014). In contrast a NP will engage patients and families in their care teaching signs and symptoms, disease progression and how to manage their own illness (Barnes, 2015).

When most experienced registered nurses hear the word shock, they begin to use their critical thinking skills to determine the patient’s immediate need. However, new graduate nurses in the career field are faced with a different type of shock; they are faced with transitional shock. Transitional shock is a theory created by Judy Duchscher. Her theory is based on reality shock which is a term coined by Marlene Kramer. Reality shock is when new nurses recognize clinical practice and the classroom setting are two different worlds (Hentz and Gilmore, 2011, p.134). When new graduates transition to a registered nurse position, it does not happen with ease. Over the years, there has been a rise in concern with this transition. As new graduates move in the career field, they may feel anxious and uncertain about their new responsibilities. Unfortunately, when there is a high demand of nurses, new graduate nurses are expected to begin a new job at full speed, but they are not able to handle the fast pace position they are placed in. When new graduates are expected to accomplish task they are unprepared for, it sets them up for transitional shock. To minimize transition shock for new graduates, finding a mentor, preceptor, seeking an internship or residency program may help ease the transition.

I want to become a Nurse educator to help shape the next generation of nurses through my efforts in creating quality educational experiences. Nurse educators are not valued enough for the amount of work they do but are an essential part of the educational system as they provide rising nurses with the knowledge that is essential in order to ultimately help save a person’s life. My goals as a Pediatric nurse is to obtain as much experience as I can through the hospital setting in order to teach as a Nurse Educator in Pediatrics through personal experience and to teach students to learn from any of my mistakes in my hopes for them to

The webinar titled “Succeeding as a Nurse Educator” was presented by Diane Billings, EdD, RN, FAAN. The three objectives for the webinar were to be able to “differentiate between the roles of faculty appointment: teaching, service, and scholarship; implement strategies for working smarter, not harder; and develop a career plan for success as a nurse educator” (Billings, 2013).

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

My practice in nursing has been influenced by various elements within my career. I have come to embrace that nursing is a learning process and one should expect constructive criticism. When I began as a “novice,” I found myself nervous in some clinical situations but I managed to remain focused on

Elisha (2008) discussed evidence suggested, programs that focused on clinical educators had a positive effect not only with the teachers but also improved the learning environment for students. The school providing opportunities for professional development in curriculum design allows for novice learners to advance their skills (Iwasiw and Goldenberg, 2015). Changes require faculty to expand their views, taking into consideration the future of nursing practice, goals, and how students can be successful in achieving these goals (Iwasiw and Goldenberg, 2015). National League of Nursing (2016) notes that educators have to commit to maintain competency in their educator role with the competency of pursuing continuous quality improvement in the nurse educator role. Educators have to be willing to push themselves to develop the skills for curriculum design and evaluation to continue to provide effective education to nursing students. Success of curriculum development is dependent upon knowledgeable faculty willingness to participate and professional development planned with and for the faculty (Iwasiw and Goldenberg, 2015). Educators will also need to develop skills for evaluation of student learning and part of the curriculum development. Evaluation of student learning is key to determine if the current curriculum allows for students to achieve set goals for the course and evaluation methods used match course objectives (Iwasiw and Goldenberg, 2015). Evaluation helps to understand what works and what areas need improvement to ensure student

Review the competencies for the nurse educator role of your choice (either hospital-based or academic; ANA or NLN) in the assigned readings. Select one competency and share it with your classmates. Be sure to address why you selected the one you did. Discuss how you have already met it or how you plan to meet it as you embark on your journey as a nurse educator. Support your response with literature.

Nursing is by nature a stressful occupation. Making that even more stressful, newly licensed nurses are being thrown into the profession more and more without the proper orientation and training. Although newly licensed nurses have achieved the legal and professional requirements of minimal competence to enter practice, studies indicate that many new nurses lack the clinical skills and judgment needed to provide safe, competent practice (Dyess & Sherman, 2009). The rapid deployment of new graduates into clinical settings where they assume professional responsibilities on the same

While adapting the Dreyfus Model, Patricia Benner developed the five stages of skills acquisition. The first is the novice stage. With no clinical background or experience this is where all student nurses begin. Novice nurses guide their practice by text book rules and what is taught during orientation from their preceptors. Benner has also implied that an experienced nurse could be classified as novice if they are practicing in a setting where the tools needed for patient care are unfamiliar (Alligood & Tomey, 2010). An example of this would be a nurse who works on an adult medical surgical unit having to float to pediatrics. This nurse may have years of experience working with adult medical surgical patients but no training in relation to caring for a child.

Teaching and learning in the clinical setting is not a new concept and the teaching of clinical skill to nursing student ranks high on the current agenda of nurse education (Pfeil, 2003). Therefore, has be the duty of teachers to continue to provide ongoing guidance during teaching and learning taking place. According to While (2004), the mentor is required to feel personally and professionally confident when assessing the student’s performance. This allows the development of the students will become better and more effective.

In today’s world, it is essential to incorporate nursing theory into practice. Patricia Benner, through her work, “has provided essential understanding of how knowledge and skills are acquired and directly applied to nursing practice, education, research and administration” (Altmann, 2007, p. 114). According to Benner’s model of skill acquisition, “the nurse passes through five stages of career development, novice, advanced beginner, competent, proficient and expert” (English, 1993, p.387). Specific patterns of behavior, thinking, and performance is present in each stage. The most experience is associated with the expert nurse and the least experience is possessed by the novice nurse (Benjamin, 2007). This model is based on ascending level of proficiency and the key concepts of this model are: competence, skill attainment, experience, clinical knowledge and practical knowledge

I am not new to the role of nurse or educator, but to the role of nursing educator. My motivation to teach future generations of nurses prompted my transition from a clinical nurse to an academic nurse educator. My interest in teaching comes from my own positive experiences as an undergraduate student and from a love of learning. My educational philosophy is a work in progress as I continue to grow as a nurse, educator, and scholar of nursing education. As a novice nursing educator today, I plan on progressing to the path of an expert. The purpose of this paper is to express my educational philosophy in terms of teaching and learning, teaching and learning strategies, student learning goals, and the learning environment.

"Brenner (1984) described the 5 stages of development for the professional nurse. The stages are (1) Novice (2) Advance Beginner (3) Competent practitioner (4) Proficient practitioner (5) Expert Practitioner. The stages progress from a nursing student to the professional practitioner through growth and knowledge." (Lopez-Boyd, 1997, p. 41) Nursing is a profession. Look around you, you see competent, caring individuals