Week 3 Reflection

 Technology and Interprofessional Education

    As a nursing educator, interdisciplinary education and interprofessional collaboration are two key components that should be taught in nursing education. Nursing is not a stand-alone profession, but instead one cog of an intricate wheel that requires cohesive teamwork with other professions in order to provide safe and quality care to our patients. 

    Communication and collaboration among disciplines is an essential skill students need to succeed. This website provides educators tips to help students learn communication and collaboration. To best prepare our nursing students for real-world practice, educators should provide experiences with interdisciplinary education and interprofessional collaboration.

     This topic excited me because I am currently immersed in teaching interprofessional collaboration through live simulations at Roberts involving our senior nursing students in conjunction with the social work department students. Due to Covid restrictions, our usual IPE (interprofessional education) simulation had to be sized-back. This usually is a HUGE all-day event that spans across our entire lab/sim facility, using over 20 human actors portraying a bursting emergency room with each patient having complicated social situations and legal complications. This IPE usually involves both the social work department and the criminal justice department. It is a great way for our nursing students to apply their understanding about social work referrals and when police need to get involved due to patient and/or staff safety. We hope that by next spring we can proceed back to our "normal" IPE, but I am enjoying being a part of the lower-scale experience we are currently presenting. I have been playing the role of a DV victim who's husband I bring to the ED after he overdoses. While our nursing students are running his code, I am in a room being interviewed by SW students who help me commit to relocating to a shelter with my two children for our safety. This experience has been eye-opening to our students and we have received positive feedback about the IEP and their interaction with the SW department.

    In order to provide students with the best possible realistic scenarios, technology should be used in these learning experiences. The electronic health record (EHR), high tech patient simulation (HTPS), barcode scanning, QR codes, and other technology should be emphasized to enhance learning. Students report walking away from IPE simulation experiences with better understanding why interdisciplinary collaboration is important to patient safety and quality of care. As educators, we need to prepare 21st century nurses with the tools they need to apply this knowledge to their future careers in various clinical settings.

    This website by the University of New Mexico is focused on Interprofessional Education and is a great resource for innovative educators. Take a moment to explore the site and enjoy the YouTube video below to learn more about IPE!

Week 2 Reflection

Authentic and Experiential Learning 

in the Classroom

    Each day, we encounter technology interwoven in every aspect of our lives. It's hard to fathom current life without this integral part of our everyday norm. As educators, we should be using the latest technology in the classroom consistently. This will facilitate that becoming the new norm for learning. Our students deserve better than to sit in front of a PowerPoint and be lectured to!

    When I consider the various learning strategies available to use, it is conceivable to see how active and authentic learning should be occurring in the classroom. As a new educator, I will be taking what I have learned in these last few courses and apply it to my lesson planning. It is well known that students learn best through hands-on experiences, and those should not be limited to clinical hours only. Having active learning strategies through use of technology within the classroom will reinforce the concepts being taught and create an experiential learning environment. This website is a great resource for educators about experiential education.

    Authentic learning is a life skill and not just applicable to nursing school. Our students should be equipped with this ability so when they encounter real-life situations, they have the tools to problem solve a solution. This article on authentic learning offers educators great advice. I love that the author says there is no set formula on how to design authentic learning classrooms and educators should use our personal judgement as our guide. As I grow in my understanding and experience as an educator, I will apply that personal judgement through modifying my teaching strategies for my classroom as necessary. Adjustments will need to be made as modern technology advances to further enhance student learning.

Week 1 Reflection

Nursing Education in the 21st Century Age of Technology

            As an emerging nurse educator in the 21st century, it is my duty to be up-to-date with not only the latest evidence-based-practice, but also with the current technology trends and informatics advancement.  Just a week ago, I had thought of myself as pretty tech-savvy due to being immersed with technology while growing up.  I thought I had a pretty good grasp on how to incorporate technology within a classroom.  Now, between what I learned in the previous course about various learning strategies and in this course about so many technological options I didn't know existed, I feel way out of my conform zone!
    The one thing I learned so far that really blew my mind is about Virtual Reality/Augmented Reality/Mixed Reality and its use in healthcare.  We have only just begun to see the tip of the iceberg when it comes to VR/AR/MR.  As the quote above suggests, this advanced technology feels like magic.  I have a strong feeling that this technology is where medicine, and subsequently nursing, is headed.  This method of instruction is entirely learner-centered and a great hands-on way to have students actively engage with learning.  Can you just imagine being able to see the inside parts of the human body as a 3D MR experience?  Being able to take vital signs and perform a head-to-toe assessment on a patient in the MR platform would be an incredible experience that I hope becomes a reality in my future.
    As an educator and a nurse, it might be quite a few more years before that kind of tech comes to my doorstep, but I am fascinated by it and would love to keep track if its advancement.  Did you know there is a website specifically for educators in VR?  Below is the link to that website, an article about VR in nursing education, and two YouTube videos that demonstrate current VR use.  I am so excited to watch and learn more about this technology and other tech that I can use in my classroom to develop me into an effective 21st century educator.

Educators in VR Website

VR in Nursing Education Article