A Letter to My Future Students

The Future of Technology in Nursing

Dear Students,
            As I reflect on the nurse educator I hope to be, I consider everything I have learned and experienced throughout my journey in graduate school. Prior to learning about the role of technology in nursing and education, I imagined teaching the same way I had always been taught. This strategy consisted of instilling knowledge to students through the form of lecture and using technology in a way that was comfortable, through PowerPoint presentations and YouTube videos. After being exposed to the numerous technological tools available, I envision my classroom looking much different from the traditional classroom. In order to help prepare you to enter the nursing profession at a time where technology is leading the way, I will integrate technological teaching strategies into every day classes.

The Role of Technology in Nursing Education

            Teaching strategies will support you in being actively involved in your own learning and encourage you to become innovative, technologically savvy nurses. My courses will comprise of technological activities that will venture far beyond lecture to help you to engage in deeper learning, knowledge development, and the growth of critical thinking skills. In the introduction of new content, I will use presentations such as PowerPoint and Prezi, as well as audio/visual productions through Moovly, PowToon, and Movenote. In addition to my utilization of technology to present new concepts, some of your assignments will incorporate the use of technology as well. To prepare for class, you will be asked to visit websites, read journal articles, and watch videos. As homework assignments, you may be asked to create your own presentations, posters, reflection journals, and videos using technology such as Glogster and Blogger. Furthermore, your learning will be evaluated using other strategies in addition to exams with the purpose of assessing your learning from many different angles. Feedback will be given throughout the course through written, personal, and audio means. In terms of the clinical setting, I will also utilize technology in a manner that will encourage you to think in different ways and go where you may have not gone otherwise through high-fidelity simulation, virtual reality scenarios, and gaming. This will help you to develop a sense of clinical judgement and improve on your decision making abilities.  

            As your teacher, I will help guide you through courses, the nursing curriculum, and your journey to becoming a registered nurse up-to-date with the latest technology in health care. With the use of technological learning and evaluation strategies, you will be exposed to the many technologies available to us and will grow to value the use of informatics in nursing and health care. Since technology is constantly changing, we must ensure that we are engaging in life-long learning so we stay current on the latest technological resources. I am dedicated to this process of continual learning in order to provide you all with the most effective technological, educational opportunities.

 

Nursing Informatics Competencies

            With the recent advancements in technology, the field of nursing informatics has been on the rise. Information management systems such as the electronic medical record as well as technological resources like Accuvein and bladder scanners are utilized by nurses to provide safe, effective, quality care. Nursing students must be exposed to healthcare informatics while they are in school in order to have comfort in accessing, navigating, and utilizing technologies in healthcare.  As an educator, acquiring and maintain competence in nursing informatics is imperative in order provide students with the necessary opportunities involving technology.

   

            Overall, I would consider myself to be at the modifier level in regards to nursing informatics competencies. I have a respect for technology in healthcare and understand the role of informatics in nursing. As a result, I incorporate the use of technological resources into my practice by accessing information from multiple online sources and information management systems and using this information to make well-informed clinical decisions. In addition, I utilize technology to support evidence based practice by locating relevant research articles on online databases. When researching information from other internet sources, I assess the sources for quality and reliability to ensure their safe usability to guide practice and inform nurses and patients. As an eRecord Superuser on my unit, I have some participation in the process of change to improve informatics for nursing practice. In order to advance to the innovator level in nursing informatics, I would need to become more involved in the design and development processes of these technologies. 

            After completing the self-assessment for nursing informatics competencies, I was not surprised to see my results as indicating that I have confidence in the use of computers, value in nursing information technology, and a positive view of the application of technology in healthcare. Before starting this course, I felt fairly comfortable with using computers to access information and had a basic understanding of the importance of its incorporation in nursing practice. However, as I near the end of this course, I realize that I now have a greater understanding of the depth of its significance in providing safe, quality care. Most importantly, this course has given me resources, tools, and strategies for integrating healthcare informatics into the nursing curriculum in order to support students in the development of their technological competence. My role as a technologically savvy nurse educator is to provide my students with opportunities to utilize technology while they are in school so they are prepared and equipped with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes related to informatics when they enter the nursing profession. Since the field of informatics and technology is constantly changing and growing, I challenge myself to stay dedicated to being up-to-date with the latest healthcare technology and its impact on nursing workflow. 

For more information, explore the following resources:

What is nursing informatics?

How do we integrate technology into nursing education? The Deep Dive Workshop describes ways to enhance informatics competencies for nursing students.

Feed Forward and Authentic Assessment

            

            As an educator, assessing teaching strategies and evaluating student learning is an imperative process. There are numerous assessment techniques that can be utilized as either formative or summative evaluation. In my courses, I will use a variety of evaluation strategies so students are able to exhibit their knowledge, skills, and attitudes in many ways. These strategies can take the form of traditional or authentic assessments. In my role as a nurse educator, I will use a combination of these two assessments. By using tests and exams as part of the traditional assessments, I will help students prepare to take the NCLEX examination. However, there needs to be other means of assessing learning and this is where authentic assessment strategies come into play. Authentic assessment assesses student learning in the context of real-world nursing application and the ability to make connections between classroom and clinical experiences. Not only will these assessment strategies serve as another way to prepare students for the NCLEX, but they will also prepare them for their role as a professional nurse. Using authentic assessment in my classroom will give me the ability to measure the student’s retention of knowledge but also their ability to critically think and make clinically sound decisions.

             Examples of Authentic Assessment with Voki 

            Giving and receiving feedback is another essential aspect in the teaching process. In my role as a nurse educator, I will strive to provide continuous feedback that is constructive, timely, and clear. There are many uses for feedback but I strongly believe that one of the main purposes is for improvement. Incorporating formative assessment throughout the course will allow for areas to be identified where students can improve and better themselves. For this reason, feedback must be given in a way that it is useful. In addition to formative assessment being used for student improvement, it is also has a purpose in giving me, as the educator, ideas on how to improve the course. In other words, my course will also integrate feed forward for both students and myself. This type of response has a focus on the future rather than dwelling on the past. It provides suggestions to the student or educator on how they can modify their learning or teaching. Summative evaluation will also be used as a way to identify if students have met the course outcomes or achieved competency in certain areas. Overall, I hope to be an educator that uses multiple methods of evaluating student learning, including authentic assessment, provides feedback that is useful and beneficial to students, and utilizes feedback as a means of course improvement.

Interdisciplinary Learning and Collaboration with Technology

  

            There are many professions that play a large role in providing safe, quality care in order to improve patient health and outcomes. Despite their role, each discipline has the same overarching goal; to promote health and wellness for patients. Although each profession or discipline has their own focus, we all work together to achieve this same goal. The ability to collaborate and communicate with other health professionals is imperative for students entering the nursing profession.

            In order to achieve this competency, students must be provided with opportunities while in school to work together with students from other disciplines. There are a variety of teaching strategies that can be utilized, with technology being a primary method. Integrating technology into teaching strategies used in nursing education can be an effective means of ensuring students develop the skills and attitudes necessary to engage in collaboration. Interdisciplinary education can be addressed through high-fidelity simulation. Students pursuing roles as nurses, physicians, social workers, physical therapists, speech therapists, occupational therapists, chaplains, dietitians, and pharmacists can participate in a simulation experience. In this experience, students work together through a patient scenario to determine the optimal plan of care for the patient. Progressing through this scenario, the students will further develop the QSEN competency of teamwork and collaboration. Furthermore, they will have a better understanding of each discipline’s role in patient care and will value their contribution.

            This simulation experience can also be used for nursing students across each year of study as a means of interdisciplinary collaboration. Nursing students from each year in school can all partake in a simulation together. As a result, the students will recognize their strengths and their individual contribution to the patient care experience as well as the areas in which they need to focus on for improvement. Also, the nursing students will practice their ability to delegate and to act as a leader.   

            In addition to high-fidelity simulation, other technological resources can be used to demonstrate interdisciplinary education. Tools such as Blogger can be used for students to post their reflections, thoughts, and feelings, after a clinical experience. Not only is it helpful for nursing students to read the post of their fellow nursing students, but also the posts of medical students and students in the social work program, to name a few. Reading these reflective posts contribute to the student’s understanding of each discipline’s role, the challenges they face in that role, and their part in providing optimal patient care.

            With the incorporation of more technology in nursing education, we have the capability of using resources that will enhance the learning process for students. These resources will lead to advances in critical thinking, clinical judgement, as well as interdisciplinary collaboration.

For more information, explore the following resources:

Interdisciplinary Education and Practice

Multidisciplinary Team Care

Creative Interactive Use of Technology in the Classroom

            

            As we enter the world of nursing education in the 21^st century, there are numerous technological teaching strategies available to us that we can use to provide optimal opportunities to our students. Educators can use the many technological tools to present content in interesting ways and choose activities to allow students to apply their knowledge and skills. With a variety of assignments, resources, and activities available, teachers are able to address the needs of all students with diverse learning styles.

            Contrary to nursing education in the past, technology will serve as a major part in creating a learning environment that is active, innovative, and meaningful. Students will be more successful if they are engaged in the material and are actively participating in their own learning. In order to develop higher levels of thinking, clinical judgement, and critical thinking, students need to do something with the content they learn. This includes applying the learned content to realistic situations rather than simply listening to a lecture or participating in rote memorization. Technologies can be used as an effective method for student learning and make this application of the material more valuable.

            As I reflect on the educator I am becoming, I know I will focus my teaching approach on the integration of technology. Furthermore, my approach will address the concepts of active, authentic, applied, and experiential learning. In promoting active learning, I will encourage my students to engage in activities which will assist them in their ability to make connections. An example is the use of case studies presented through either PowerPoint or Action Mazes. Glogster could be employed as a teaching strategy for authentic learning as it gives students the opportunity to create a project that can be utilized in the real world. In ensuring the inclusion of applied learning in my teaching, I will use technologies such as high-fidelity simulations and Second Life in order for students to apply their knowledge and skills to real world situations. Lastly, strategies such as Blogger, digital storytelling, and Weebly, endorse experiential learning as students are able to reflect and gain meaning on the application of their knowledge. By utilizing various technological strategies, such as these, throughout my teaching, I will be providing a learning environment that focuses on active, authentic, applied, and experiential learning. Additionally, these strategies demonstrate how I will make learning real for the students and how I will consider their needs and learning styles in choosing the strategies to be used.   

My Role As An Emerging Nurse Educator in the 21st Century Age of Technology

              Becoming a nurse educator in this century is an exciting experience as new innovative ways to help students develop deeper learning are being explored and implemented into practice. This transformation in approach to education is the result of the ever-changing health care field, the nursing profession, educational ideologies, and the explosion of technological advances. Contrary the previous traditional classroom, an educator in the 21^st century serves as a facilitator, guiding students on their path to learning. This involves providing the content and activities to assist students in their knowledge development and ensuring these activities are centered on the students. Creating a classroom that encourages active learning as opposed to passive will allow students to become more engaged with the material leading to improved critical thinking, retention, and deeper learning.

            Students, today, have been exposed to technology throughout their lives. They are often comfortable with navigating these tools and are more apt to actively participate in the learner activities when a form of technology is used. Therefore, as an educator I plan to utilize teaching strategies in my classroom with a technology element. As it is still important to base teaching off of the educational theories and principles, I will incorporate these into the technologies used. With the use of online databases and search engines, students will have easy access to materials and resources to contribute to their knowledge. Growing up in a technology era, students are accustomed to immediate feedback and communication. In order to maintain this concept, I will provide continuous formative feedback and provide multiple avenues for communication such as email, phone, and skype. As I utilize technology in teaching strategies, I will choose activities that address each of the six competencies identified by the QSEN project. As a result, students will graduate with the knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary to provide high quality, safe nursing care. 

This video presents the innovative, technological teaching strategy of a virtual clinical simulation. These are web-based simulations where students work through a virtual case study and choose how to proceed. Similar to case studies and simulation experiences, this virtual clinical simulation improves students’ critical thinking and clinical judgement.

Here are additional resources:

Various technological tools for learning

Open educational resources