Introduction
Distance education offers students a convenient path to education. It is a way of learning that does not require a face-to-face interaction. The course curriculum for distance education can be given to the learner in two forms. Instruction can either be totally distance or hybrid which can be a combination of classroom and distance learning. There are issues that can affect this type of education such as technology and communication. This discussion will further examine the issue regarding the use of technology and its impact on distance education for nursing educators.
Nurse Educators
Nursing educators have the ability to fill a unique role in the nursing profession. Nursing and education are two separate disciplines yet they
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The student’s information is at risk each time a file from a message, hyperlink or image is accessed. To address such a challenge the instructor needs to make sure that all communication is on a secured hypertext transport protocol site. This authentication is provided by the institution that the educator is affiliated with and it ensures that communication between the student and the instructor is on a secured network regardless of the browsers and servers used.
A second challenge is the knowing the information technology proficiency level of the student. The instructor designs a high quality curriculum but is unable to fully gauge how successful the student will be able to navigate through the course content and internet search engines. One way to overcome this challenge is to use an assessment tool on students at the beginning of the course. One such tool is the new technology and nursing students learning styles. “The tool was designed and developed to identify digital literacy and learning preferences it is a literature based, researcher developed instrument that assesses students' learning preferences and style in relation to emerging technologies” (Christodoulou,
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(2015). The test - retest reliability and pilot testing of the "new technology and nursing students' learning styles" questionnaire. International Journal of Caring Sciences, 8(3), 567-576. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.cuw.ezproxy.switchinc.org/docview/1732805929?accountid=10249
Hall, N., & Mast, M. (2015). We want you: Nurse Educators. Nurse Education in Practice, 15(5), 339-340. doi:http://dx.doi.org.cuw.ezproxy.switchinc.org/10.1016/j.nepr.2015.05.003
Levey, J. A. (2016). Measuring nurse educators’ willingness to adopt inclusive teaching strategies. Nursing Education Perspectives, 37(4), 215-220. doi:http://dx.doi.org.cuw.ezproxy.switchinc.org/10.1097/01.NEP.0000000000000
Merrill, Earlene B, EdD, RN, PNP, C.N.E., C.D.E. (2015). Integrating technology into nursing education. ABNF Journal, 26(4), 72-73. Retrieved from
Lord, M. (14/5/2002). Making a difference: The implcations for nurse education. Available: http://www.nursingtimes.net/making-a-difference-the-implications-for-nurse-education/206457.article. Last accessed 17/12/2013.
The careers that fall under the nurse educator specialty offer a wide array of occupational settings, a secure and expansive occupational outlook, substantial financial benefits, and the personal fulfillment of contributing to the future of nursing practice and quality patient care. All aspiring nurses who possess the disposition, communication skills, and desire to instruct should consider the possibility of the greatly beneficial and rewarding specialty of nurse educator.
In his article, “Can You Be Education from a Distance?”, James Barszcz effectively weighs the pros and cons of online education compared to the traditional method, while effectively supporting his position with factual information and statistics. While distance education proves to be convenient for students, Barszcz asserts that it eliminates valuable experiences necessary in order to get the most out of the material being learned.
Because nurses are the largest group of healthcare providers, they are in the best position to improve patient safety and quality of care. While teaching and preparing students to become nurses, nurse educators have a very important role in helping to develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes of upcoming nurses related to patient safety. Healthcare professionals, such as nurses, are highly skilled and well educated, but the healthcare system continues to be disrupted by quality and safety issues.
According to the author, nursing practice needs to stay current with technological advances while keeping its identity as a patient focused profession. Nurses use technology to improve care from a patient?s perspective, both in quality of care and cost. At the same time, nurses must learn to balance technological knowledge with personal skills, thus providing optimum clinical care while maintaining a person-focused relationship with the patient.
Nurses have always been an undervalued asset to the health care industry; however, there is always a great need for them. With more uninsured Americans requiring safe, affordable medical care, the pressing issue of nursing education is not a priority (Aiken, 2011). Recently, there have been modifications taken place toward the current nursing shortage, the decrease of nursing graduates, a workforce that is becoming older, and other factors that influence nurse educator shortage (Baker, Fitzpatrick, & Griffin, 2011). Nurse educators are required to advise students, complete research, and perform committee work all while teaching (Baker, Fitzpatrick, & Griffin, 2011). They also have multiple jobs outside of practicing nursing and teaching. Nurse educators have stressful roles that hold many expectations, yet there is no independence in making their own decisions concerning things. Aiken (2011) suggests that the best way to begin combatting this shortage should include increasing the number of nurses who hold a bachelor’s degree in nursing from 50% to 80% by 2020 (p. 196). Forty-eight percent of nurse instructors are expected to be aged 55 and older and are predicted to retire by this time. (Baker, Fitzpatrick, & Griffin, 2011).
Nursing has come a long way in the last decade with computer technology and the ever changing patient technology. Nurses who are not on board with the changes can fall behind. The nurses who are infatuated and excited for technological changes always want to participate in research
The College of Nurses of Ontario (CNO) is the governing body of all registered nurses in Ontario and is regulated. The CNO provides expectations and guidelines to follow, which need to be met by each Registered Practical Nurse (RPN) individually. As a nursing student, I am taught about the CNO and the importance of referring back to the guidelines while caring for patients. While gaining experiencing in the nursing field through my clinical settings, I have realized as a nursing student there are areas I need further development in. In this paper, I will address two of my learning needs and my goal for each. I will also discuss the plan I created in order to successfully meet my learning needs prior to becoming an RPN, and
Transitioning the nursing education from the hospital training to the university settings led to the creation of many nursing theories. A body of knowledge, distinguishable from medicine, produced by nurses had to be decided as the standard nursing curricula. Fortunately, in 1955, Alligood (2014) narrated that the federal funds were allocated to support nurse scientists and educators to advance the nursing profession. Thus, King and Levine’s theory were among the many theories introduced at the time when nursing had to be clearly defined in its concepts and practice to guide the future generation of nurses. The following paragraphs will expound the relevance of King, Levine, and Roger’s theory
Guillaume, A., Gordon, R., Harwood, C., Hunt, B. (2006). Effectiveness of intermediate-fidelity training technology in undergraduate nursing education. Issues and Innovations in Nursing Education.
The QSEN has initiated a taskforce to focus on nursing research to improve the quality of nursing education. Since Nursing Excellence is to promote holistic patient centered care, quality and innovation, education, evidence-based practice, and nursing research, QSEN plays a pivotal role in teaching new nurses these competencies. It provides educational institutes and educators with resources and training needed for producing well-trained nurses for future (QSEN Institute, 2014). The QSEN consultants are available throughout the country for nursing schools to guide them in improving quality and safety education. I am a clinical nurse educator and am very passionate about teaching. I would support QSEN as a nurse and as an educator. In future, I would seek out volunteer opportunities and attend conferences offered by QSEN to improve quality and safety education for current and future nurses.
Not only can adults learn content through technology, they can also learn about technology itself (Merriam ad Brockett 1997) and develop the skills to use it competently. An example of the technology as curriculum approach is the course, "Exploring the Internet." Offered by the Georgia Center for Continuing Education, the 10-hour, noncredit evening course is designed to provide adults with the concepts and skills for using Internet applications such as e-mail and the Web (Cahoon 1998). The benefits of this approach include the opportunity to address each aspect of the technology in a clear, structured manner; little or no distraction from peripheral learning issues or goals beyond those of learning the technology; and efficiency in acquiring a discrete set of technology skills that can be applied in different settings. The major limitation of the approach is the narrow focus on the technology and the skills to use it. When technology skills are acquired in an isolated environment, they may not be easily transferred and applied by the learner in meaningful ways. In addition, if the learner lacks an opportunity for practice, the skills may deteriorate (Ginsburg 1998).
Information Systems/Technology and patient care technology for the improvement and transformation of health care is an important part of the DNP. Technology has transformed every aspect of human life in positive ways. Technology brought efficiency and improved healthcare deliverance system. Healthcare technologies enabled practitioners to better understand disease process and how to implement best treatment plan. DNP programs across the country embrace information systems and technology in their nursing curriculum because, it prepares nursing students to be innovative and deliver best care (AACN, 2006). DNP graduates must have the ability to use technology to analyze and disseminate critical information to find solutions that
Distance learning, sometimes called e-learning, is a formalized teaching and learning system specifically designed to be carried out remotely by using electronic communication. People could find out distance learning on the internet or searching form the school, sometimes teachers would introduce the best or the most credibility distance learning web. Such as class.com and University of Phoenix, etc. Distance learning is less expensive and is not constrained by geographic considerations; it offers opportunities in situations where traditional education has difficulty operating. Students with scheduling or distance problems can benefit, as can employees, because distance education can be more flexible in terms of time and can be delivered virtually anywhere. Under the unified leadership of the distance learning education, the modern distance learning education work gradual increase the number of school has now reached a certain scale. However, not every school or any distance learning education has clear idea for the modern education. Many people have differences understandings and it formed a big deviation. It can be said, for the purpose of developing the distance learning education and the hopes has not formed a consensus, which leads to very often difficult to form in the actual work force.
With the advent of modern technology, a forceful impact of this technology has been observed in nearly all walks of modern day life. With the increasing access to these facilities, the lives of modern-day human beings have changed so dramatically that in many cases a reversal towards the old ways of life seems apparently impossible. Similar is the case with the process of education. In general the concept of e-learning has modified learning modes and behaviors to a much greater extent. It has...