21st Century Education Environment

Are you a Nurse Educator, Nurse Administrator, a Nurse or an aspiring Nurse? If you happen to fall in either of those categories or maybe just someone who likes to read, I believe you’re in the right place. I trust that as I consider the role of nurse educators in this 21^st century environment, the possible challenges ahead and reflect at my nursing education in the past, that you may find this helpful in whatever sphere you might be.

DISCLAIMER: This by no means is an attack any person, Organization or Government but it’s rather me reflecting upon my kind of training that I received and looking at the role of the Nurse Educator in this 21^st Century of Nursing Education. Reading to the end will give you the correct perspective of this reflection. 

The Classroom that I sat in during my three years of professional training

Brief Synopsis of my era of Nursing Education

When I began my nursing training in the year 2008, the above picture is what my classroom looked like. I must attest to the fact that during those 3 years of my training I’ve written the most in my life. Some classroom sessions entailed rigorous note taking and if you missed a word, you’d be better off if you skip a few spaces on your page and continue along. To this date, I can hardly recall some of the work that I had done in my Sociology class. In those three months which I took the course, it was just about getting the information over to the students and having them regurgitate it on an exam sheet. Besides the quantity of writing that was done, the large textbooks that you had to carry on a daily basis was a real task. Then there were numerous sessions where myself and other colleagues had sometimes fell asleep during some class sessions that I would not mention. In fairness, baring majority of the practical sessions, learning was rather teacher centered rather than student/learner centered. Nevertheless, I felt as if much more could have been done to enhance the entire learning process by having students involved in more active learning activities. Excessive note taking, reading large textbooks from cover to cover and carrying out artistic works of different anatomical structures does not provide the best learning outcomes.

This does not discredit the teaching ability of my past lecturers because it’s as a result of their timely contribution to nursing education that I am currently here. However, given the expectation of students in this 21^st century environment, this will not be the best practice going forward. Teaching that is student-centered and captivating to the different classes of learners will provide an interest in learning and concretize the entire process¹. 

21^st Century Nursing Education Goals and Challenges

Where do we go from here? While reviewing the Partnership for 21^st Century Learning (Coalition P21) strategy, it was observed that the goal of learning process is for persons develop creativity, critical thinking skills, good communication techniques and collaboration with others¹. These traits of course should not be a separate module but rather an overarching guide for every course and lesson that is thought. As such, learning will always be student centered rather than teacher centered. 

The other important attribute to be adopted by nurse educator in the era of nursing is the capability of utilizing technology. This shift now requires that nurse educators themselves become computer literate and more knowledgeable of technology in this new generation. They are not only to be knowledge of these things but they must be willing to use them as means of enhancing the learning process. The fact that this generation of students are well adept to the use of technology, the role of teachers is not to show students how to use it but rather how it can be utilized in ensuring the best possible learning outcome^1,2.  

Why this shift? As more studies are done to test different learning modes, learning styles, what is effective and what’s not; it is important that the results aid in bringing about a change for the better. According to the World Health Organization, nurse educators must constantly utilize evidence and research to facilitate the best possible outcomes³. However, a culture of research has not been fully embraced in the nursing fraternity. A possible reason for this, can be the fact that nursing in Guyana is still being done at the diploma level and not at the Baccalaureate level as the entry level. 

The next pivotal role of the nurse educator in the 21^st century is commitment. One season educator emphasized on the need for educators to be committed to the interest of students’ learning. He stressed the fact that in providing student centered learning the teacher must have the best of the students at heart⁴. This notion brings to memory, a very committed and dedicated nursing educator who would been instrumental to myself and many of my colleagues today. Despite she hadn’t all the necessary that are now available to educators, she used the little that was present to do a good job. As such, I must highlight that fact that nurse educators in this era need to be resourceful and flexible to adapt to different situations while meeting the different learning styles of students⁵. 

An image of a dedicated and devoted Nurse Educator 
that I have encountered: Javitri Eugene

Meeting the Challenges

The overarching element to meet and address the challenges posed by this 21^st century environment is to be actively involved in research while correctly applying the principles garner form these studies. This be a guide to providing student centered and age appropriate teaching and learning activities. Moreover, the efficacy of a well-constructed lesson plan cannot be underestimated. The first and foremost point is to understand who are your students, what are their expectations, their learning styles and how you can best meet their needs. This help educators to design lessons that will encourage the best learning outcome that are adaptable to different classes of learners⁶. 

Additionally, a well-prepared lesson plan helps to guide educators and prevent them from “going overboard” when presenting a lesson. Here they can set timely, realistic, measurable, specific and achievable objectives for students. These objectives will direct nurse educators in developing the ideal teaching strategies to best achieve the specific objectives that are set. Furthermore, when educators know their learners, and develop their objectives, they can now determine the method(s) for delivering instructions. As shown in recent studies, andragogy learning will often times provides a firmer learning experience among adults⁷. 

As shown in the picture below, this was a portion of Pre-Registration BSc nursing students that I had done Anatomy and Physiology with at the University of the West Indies School of Nursing. Here we were enhancing the learning experience from the classroom in the medical lab. The students were very happy to participate, ask questions and even touch the wet specimen. I must add also that this experience was as beneficial to me as to the students. As the students would have questions to ask, I was required to do my own research and be well prepared for the session. 

At the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex 
Hospital Medical Lab with nursing students

In a country like Guyana, that is often plagued by financial limitations, there will be continued challenges toward meeting the training needs of a 21^st century body of students. Nevertheless, as was highlighted before, there is need for efficiency to utilize that which is available to get the best possible results. Also, from a more direct standpoint, educators must have an understanding of instructional contexts (external factors that influences the teaching/learning process) and should be able to develop and follow robust lesson plans.

If you have a deep interest in Nursing Education and you consider it important in moving forward, I encourage you to take a look at the youTube video below by Patricia Thomas.

References

1.        Driscoll M. EDUCATION IN THE 21st CENTURY. Think Strateg Sch. 2018. https://thinkstrategicforschools.com/education-21st-century/. Accessed June 25, 2019.

2.        Thomas P. Revolutionizing Nursing Education.; 2013. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQcLErz1iHE.

3.        WHO. Nurse educator core competencies. Who. 2016:1-30. doi:5g0086 [pii]

4.        Ruhl J. Teaching Methods for Inspiring Students for the Future. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCFg9bcW7Bk.

5.        Anonymous. Overview of learning styles. https://www.learning-styles-online.com/overview/. Published 2016. Accessed June 25, 2019.

6.        Khalil MK, Elkhider IA. Applying learning theories and instructional design models for effective instruction. Adv Physiol Educ. 2016;40(2):147-156. doi:10.1152/advan.00138.2015

7.        Storey VA, Wang VCX. Critical Friends Protocol: Andragogy and Learning in a Graduate Classroom. Adult Learn. 2017;28(3):107-114. doi:10.1177/1045159516674705