Biography:

Audrey E. Nelson has expertise in teaching and promotion of students’ critical thinking development. She has worked with student for more than 20 years to help the students be successful on course exams and NCLEX licensure exams. She developed an independent technology course for promote study skills, time management, and test taking strategies. She was inducted into the first cohort of the UNMC Interprofessional Education Academy in 2016

Abstract:

Statement of Problem:  Nursing students must learn how to critically think. Nursing’s CT definition evolved from the 1990 CT consensus statement developed by experts from education, social sciences, physical sciences, and philosophy disciplines. The critical thinking in nursing consensus statement (CTNCS) consists of two categories: habits of the mind and cognitive skills. The behavior dimensions in habits of the mind (HM) are perseverance, open-mindedness, flexibility, confidence, creativity, inquisitiveness, reflection, intellectual integrity, intuition, and contextual perspective. Cognitive skills (CS) dimensions are information seeking, discriminating, analyzing, transforming knowledge, predicting, applying standards, and logical reasoning. Through active learning students develop a knowledge base examine relationships between concepts and make patient-centered health care decisions. Purpose: describe educational approaches faculty can use to facilitate students’ CT development with application of CTNCS. Methodology and Theoretical Orientation: education pedagogy and adult learning. Findings: Six course areas where faculty maximize students’ CT in nursing with application of CTNCS include: 1. written learner-centered course and lesson objectives 2. select essential reading assignments, 3. provision of lesson slides before class, 4. course delivery methods of blended-learning method or flipped-classroom approach, 5. learning activities of in-class quizzes, case study discussion or team-based learning groups, and simulation, and 6. application of CT knowledge on examinations. All CS dimensions are applicable in each of the six areas while HM dimensions vary with the area where students are expected to use critical thinking. Conclusion: Faculty are responsible for creating a learning environment that encourages students’ CT development. Nursing educators need to develop CT assessment tools in nursing based on the 17 dimensions to verify best practice evidence of CT development.

Biography:

Mary Bourke is an expert in Concept Based Curriculum and Concept Based Clinical Curriculum. She is Assistant Dean of graduate programs and teaches Curriculum in nursing, teaching with Technology, Informatics, Measurement, and Data Analysis in the MSN program.

Abstract:

Statement of the problem: Globally, nursing students are frustrated

because of the amount of reading, memorization, failures, and content processing required in traditional nursing curriculum. A growing body of literature suggest that management of curricular content is one of the key challenges in nursing education. The body of knowledge and skills required for nursing practice today has dramatically changed in the last thirty years, but the teaching methodology and curriculum has not.

 

The result has been coined “Content Saturation’’. A contributing factor includes Knowledge and skills necessary for practice today has grown exponentially due to technology, advances in medicine, and changes in practice. Another contributing factor is a teacher-centered pedagogy, which has been the traditional format in nursing education. This type of pedagogy reinforces that content not covered, students will not learn. The enormity of nursing Content that exists today makes this impossible, thus faculty fail. The solution is a Conceptual pedagogy that emphasizes concepts across contexts, the life span, and the health-illness continuum.

 

Concepts provide the organizational framework and structure for the curriculum and courses. Teaching becomes student centered using instructional strategies focused on conceptual learning. However, after planning and implementation, leadership does not know how to help faculty teach in a concept-based curriculum. The reason a concept based curriculum has difficulty is because faculty do not understand student centered pedagogy and how to teach concepts at an introductory, application and mastery level in layers of complexity across the curriculum. The purpose of this presentation is to introduce a “Guide to Teaching in a Concept Based Curriculum”.

Biography:

Althea Mighten holds a Doctorate in  Education from  NOVA Southeastern University and a Doctorate of Nurisng Practice from New York University.  Dr. Mighten’s clinical background incorporates medical/surgical, emergency medicine, orthopedic and psychiatric mental health nursing.  She has served as faculty at Medgar Evers College/School of Nursing (Brooklyn) and at SUNY Downstate College of Nursing (Brooklyn).  Dr. Althea Mighten is currently in the role of Director of Nursing Education/Recruitment and Coordinator for Professional Practice in Nursing. Additional expertise lies in the areas of adult learning, professional practice, evidence-based practice and quality improvement.

Abstract:

There is a distinct and proven link between nursing leadership, nurse development and patient outcomes. Creating structures that empowers the nurses to engage and develop professionally will be essential to higher quality patient care and the levels of certification.

One empowering structure developed was the shared governance councils system. These councils recognized the professional responsibility of the registered nurse to achieve a highest level of competency that was exemplified by certification.  The recruitment and retention council utilized education fairs to promote certification. Other structure developed was recognition strategies that included wall plaques on each unit of those certified, awards during nurse’s week and involvement in the professional practice program, and financial incentives.

Certification rate is interwoven into the structures of the Professional Practice Model (Shared Decision Making, Reward and Recognition, Professional Relationships, and Care Delivery).  As part of the Nursing Strategic Plan a structure standard was created to support and encourage a culture of excellence by having a nurse specialty certification.  This included monetary incentives and reward recognition program including professional practice program or “clinical ladder”.
Outcomes:The relationship between structural empowerment and certification within the shared governance structure has been effective in raising certification rates to 46.6% which represents a 50% increase in 6 years. 28.8% of those who are certified have more than one certification in a nursing specialty. An exemplar was received on initial Magnet Designation. The 2014 NDNQI RN satisfaction survey for professional development was 67.5% and professional status was 69.6%, both were above the mean.