Explorez tous les épisodes du podcast Nurse Educator Tips for Teaching

The use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools to prepare health professions admissions applications is increasing. These tools can improve writing but raise ethical concerns about application authenticity. Drs. Jill Brennan-Cook and Stephanie Gedzyk-Nieman share the results of their scoping review on the use of AI by applicants applying to nursing and other health professions programs and by admission reviewers. AI tools can enhance the efficiency of the admissions review process, but clear guidelines are needed by schools to address ethical issues.

A school of nursing employed a nurse informaticist in its simulation laboratory to address the complexities of technology usage and aid in data analytics. Mr. Eric Hall describes his role as an informaticist in the simulation setting. Eric and Dr. Jo Ellen Holt share benefits and outcomes of this new role in simulation. Read more in their article. 

The End-of-Life Nursing Education Consortium (ELNEC) provides an online course to develop graduate-student competencies related to palliative care. In this podcast, four graduate-level nurse educators (Drs. Theresa Jizba, Elena Prendergast, Carrie Cormack, and Lindsay Iverson) describe how the ELNEC curriculum improved self-perceptions of confidence in essential communication and symptom management skills in practice. In the authors’ article and this podcast, you will learn more about how you can implement the ELNEC course in nursing program curricula and help students develop competence and improve their self-confidence in palliative care.

The introduction of generative artificial intelligence (genAI) has had significant implications for nursing education. The role of AI extends beyond teaching strategies to preparing students to critically engage with these technologies in their practice. Dr. Emily Tomlinson discusses the need for clear guidelines on implementing genAI tools in nursing curricula and explains how the faculty in her School of Nursing embedded genAI-based learning activities across each year of the nursing program. These activities were designed to support students’ development of AI literacy. Details about learning outcomes for students related to AI are provided in their article.

Simulation has grown exponentially in nursing to help students and nurses in practice engage in teamwork to think critically, problem-solve, and enhance clinical proficiency and patient care within a safe environment. Low-fidelity manikins have been integral to nursing education for many years. The emergence of high-fidelity manikins and complex technologies in the past 20 years has enabled educators to engage students in complex scenarios and prepare them for practice. Nurse Educator has published many articles on simulation that address diverse educational and clinical contexts. Today’s podcast on virtual reality with Greta Mitzova-Vladinov, DNP, CRNA, CHSE, APRN, celebrates simulation as a high-impact teaching strategy and the educators who prepare the scenarios.

Expert modeling videos (EMVs) have shown promise in improving students’ performance in simulation. Using a quasi-experimental design, students in a medical surgical nursing course (n = 160) viewed either an expert model demonstration video (experimental) or expert model discussion video (control). Students who viewed the demonstration video performed at a higher level of competency in 11 of the 18 behaviors on the Creighton Competency Evaluation Instrument. Dr. Tracy Dodson shares the results of this study and discusses implications for teaching in nursing.

Nursing programs strain to develop instructional tools that are efficient and effective, without undo time commitments by faculty. One way to enhance clinical reasoning skill development is to create case-based learning events that focus on developing and measuring clinical judgment skills. In this podcast and teaching tip, Dr. Bev Wilgenbusch presents a teaching tool that faculty can use to promote critical thinking, clinical reasoning, and clinical judgment in their students.

Varying the situational context in a patient case scenario allows nursing students to demonstrate critical thinking during a routine skills demonstration. In this podcast, you’ll hear how a team of nurse educators (Drs. Amy Jauch, Sandy Mulholland, and Jennifer Nieves) used video recordings to capture observable evidence of undergraduate students’ critical thinking processes. The instructors used the videos to provide students with opportunities to reflect on their performance of skills in different patient-care scenarios and articulate the reasoning behind their actions. Read the article describing how you can use a similar strategy to assess psychomotor skills and clinical judgment while guiding student reflection on their learning progress.

Technology is pivotal in nursing education, but persistent barriers hinder technology’s full integration in nursing programs. Drs. Will Brewer and Ann-Marie Irons discuss barriers and facilitators to the use of technology in nursing education. They surveyed 1,761 nursing faculty members in prelicensure programs about their views on technology, barriers, training needs, and importance of technology in the classroom and simulation. Faculty highlighted financial support, commitment, and administrative support as critical for technology adoption. Additionally, time in the classroom was noted as a significant barrier. Overcoming financial constraints and enhancing faculty buy-in are essential for successful technology integration. Learn more about their survey and methodology in their article.

A Clinical Assistant Program at West Virginia University School of Nursing helps prepare senior-level BSN students for leadership in nursing and increases nursing students’ awareness of the rewards inherent in the nurse-educator role. In this podcast, four faculty members (Dr. Stacy Huber, Amanda Kitzmiller, Tonya Thompson, and Amber Ziese) describe the design and implementation of their Clinical Assistant Program in which senior nursing students work side-by-side with a clinical nurse educators who are instructing sophomore-level students. The authors explain how the program was developed and share the feedback they received from the clinical educators and students. Find resources to support sound design of a Clinical Assistant Program in their article.

Dr. Heather Hawk and Michael Coriasco describe an innovative guided learning activity they developed in which students used a chatbot to answer a clinical question. An analysis of student reflections demonstrated 4 themes: surprisingly familiar, the importance of critical thinking and external validation, a good summary but lacking depth and nuance, and cautious optimism. Two subthemes were also identified: validation is time-consuming and a new perspective. Learning activities using AI influence students’ knowledge and attitudes and instill critical awareness of the advantages and limitations of this technology. Learn more about this learning activity and study findings in their article.

A nurse educator (Miriam Abbott) and a Psychology major at Kansas State University (Wyatt Abbott) explain what prompted them to study word patterns in AI-generated text to find out whether they could recognize similar patterns in writing submissions by nursing students. Their findings suggest that the presence or absence of specific words may provide clues to whether a student writing submission was generated by AI. Listen to the presenters as they discuss concerns many nurse educators share about the evolving AI landscape, and learn more about their perspectives on issues related to academic integrity in this podcast and their article.

When nurse educators foster a growth mindset, they help students understand that mindset and attitudes are developed through dedication and practice, rather than fixed traits. One strategy to address this challenge is to modify our language to use words that foster continuous growth. In assessments where students are at the practice level, the terminology of pass or fail can be replaced with pass or practice. By using this terminology, students view practice as a constructive avenue for growth instead of inadequacy. In this podcast and teaching tip, Dr. Alison Hamner discusses how she promotes growth mindset in her courses.

Artificial intelligence (AI) pedagogies are increasingly common in health care education, but limited information guides their application in didactic nursing environments. Drs. Michele Gerdes, Andrew Bayne, Jennifer Wessol, Ellen Stephenson King, Kristina Henry, and Professor Allison Vance describe the current state of AI–based pedagogies used in didactic nursing education. Based on their scoping review, most articles addressed use of generative AI and pairing AI with other pedagogical strategies. You can learn more about this review in their article.

Drs. Tomeka Dowling and Crystal Toll discuss the need to integrate concepts of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and social determinants of health (SDOH) into nursing curricula. RN to BSN students were surveyed to assess their perceptions of DEI-SDOH curricular threads and impact on nursing practice. Students indicated that DEI-SDOH curricula promoted self-examination, critical analysis of health care systems, and development of DEI-SDOH competence. You can learn more about their curriculum development process and assessment in their article.

Nursing students experience significantly more stress compared to non-nursing peers, which increases their risk for poor mental health and academic outcomes. MINDSTRONG, an evidence-based cognitive behavioral program focused on resiliency, prepares students to cope with stressors and adopt healthy lifestyles. Dr. Jacqueline Hoying describes the MINDSTRONG program and findings from her study on outcomes in undergraduate nursing students who completed the program (learn more in her article). She shares information with listeners about how to access program resources for implementation in this podcast.

Faculty should provide guidance to help new students embrace challenges and adapt to the rigor of the nursing curriculum. Mindset training may be a key to increase academic success. Dr. Ashley Carter developed a series of 10 lessons as 5-minute pearls throughout a semester-long introductory nursing course using short video clips. These lessons introduce the concepts of fixed versus growth mindset, neuroplasticity, and self-efficacy and include evidence-based strategies to support students’ success and role development. You will enjoy this podcast and learn more in her teaching tips article.

Dr. Cathleen Evans created 3 tabletop board games as formative assessments for prelicensure students to develop their situational decision-making skillls: Ready Responder, Clinical Case Competency, and Decisions at the Point of Care. The games, adaptable to specific client types, care environments, and contexts, have vetted multiple-choice and client case answer keys. In this podcast and article, you will learn how she developed and uses these games for formative assessments.

Durable learning reflects the teaching/learning methods that result in retained knowledge that can be transferred to practice. There is limited research on durable learning in nursing education. Dr. Crista Reaves explored how nursing students acquired and retained knowledge. Thematic analysis revealed (1) learner- and instructor-initiated techniques that promoted durable learning and (2) techniques that were not effective in the classroom, clinical practice, and simulation. Learn about the research in their article.

Self-reflection is a key component of simulation debriefing that helps students describe their development of clinical judgment skills. Drs. Michelle Bussard and Lisa Jacobs asked students what they learned about themselves and what changes they plan to make to their nursing practice based on observation of their own performance during simulation in a video recording. Their qualitative study revealed findings about communication, body language, safety, and other AACN essential competencies that might have been overlooked in traditional methods of assessment in simulation. Learn more about how video-recorded simulations help students get the most out of debriefing after simulation in their article.

Student course evaluations are the primary way faculty receive feedback on their teaching. The challenge is in getting meaningful, actionable feedback from students that can be used to make improvements to instruction. Drs. Michelle Stubbs and Julie Reis share their recommendations for improving the quality of feedback students provide, including use of continuous feedback processes that go beyond surveys and Likert scales. In this podcast, you’ll hear specific steps you can take to collect meaningful feedback and implement a dynamic and responsive instructional improvement cycle. Learn more about their work in their article.

Dr. Leigh Montejo used Taboo AI to create an engaging, interactive, and effective online learning environment for students. Gaming supports active learning and increases learner engagement. Learn more about Taboo AI in this podcast and Article and how to use it in your course.

The need for learners to engage in deep learning and develop a spirit of inquiry to lead change requires RN to BSN programs to create new models to prepare learners for new or expanded practice roles. In this podcast with Ms. LaNeigh Harkness, Dr. Ellarene Duis Sanders, and Dr. Patricia Francis-Johnson, you will learn how the faculty reinvigorated their RN-to-BSN program, preparing learners for expanded roles. They developed an innovative Application Practice Model to enhance learners’ critical thinking, problem solving, self-direction, and communication skills to address practice issues needing improvement. Also read their article.

Faculty workload models related to DNP projects have not kept pace with increasing enrollment and program expectations. Dr. Sara Hubbell explains a new faculty workload that was developed related to DNP projects to reflect a more equitable and realistic model. The faculty developed the Collaborative Section-Based Faculty Workload Model that resulted in increases in faculty satisfaction, retention, and student mentorship, while maintaining DNP project rigor. You can learn more about this new Workload Model in their article.

A diverse nursing faculty is critical to recruiting, educating, and supporting a diverse nursing workforce. Dr. Kumhee Ro and Dr. Joshua Villarreal present their BOLD Framework, which was derived from a series of qualitative semistructured interviews from nursing Faculty of Color (FOC). The BOLD framework begins with an assessment of the institution’s organizational culture, capacity for critical reflection, and perceptions of FOC as individuals. These areas of assessment are visualized as encircling the 4 steps that guide administration through opportunities to engage faculty: Be genuine, be Open to the art of inquiring, Listen deeply to the voices from our culture, and Do by lending action to words. Having completed the 4 steps the final action, Facilitate the Power of Networks, provides ongoing sustained support for FOC. Learn more in their article.

In this podcast and article, Dr. Erica Sciarra, Dr. John Patro, and Cristianna Cardinale describe an interdisciplinary pilot project that provided faculty with strategies to create a supportive and engaging learning environment while reinforcing psychological and physical wellness. Faculty were provided with an interactive Prezi™ presentation, which contained teaching strategies to promote engagement and increase wellness, and approaches to develop relationships among faculty and peers.

Educational institutions often struggle to access faculties from different health care fields for interprofessional simulations. Nursing and paramedicine educators from a university and a community college collaborated on a simulation on the management of immunization anaphylaxis in the community. Dr. Janet Loo and Ms. Tammie Muise describe the simulation, its development, and students’ learning outcomes. They also discuss the challenges they encountered in implementing this simulation (e.g., coordinating schedules, space, and training of facilitators) and how they addressed these. If you are interested in offering community based interprofessional simulations, be sure to read their article.

The flipped classroom is a pedagogical approach to create active learning experiences in the nursing classroom. Dr. Blumenstock developed the DIET-RX acronym for a series of steps faculty can use when teaching with a flipped classroom approach. Learn more about DIET RX in this podcast and her article.

Dr. Shira Birnbaum describes a full-semester writing course she developed and strategies for improving student writing. Students identify problems in early drafts of their work, which they subsequently learn to resolve. She emphasizes that writing, like clinical learning, requires an investment of time and labor far beyond what is typical in didactic approaches to classroom-based graduate education. Students reflect on their learning in the accompanying article. 

High-quality video productions integrating 360° simulations of real-life nursing scenarios have shown promise in enriching learning experiences and refining students’ competencies, attitudes, and knowledge. Dr. Patrícia Freire de Vasconcelos describes the development of a 360° video simulation scenario for teaching medication safety in nursing. The methodological framework comprised 3 key stages: (1) crafting the script; (2) evaluating the script’s validity by expert judges in medication administration; and (3) developing the set, filming scenes, and refining the video using a 360° camera. The 360° video was tailored for utilization with virtual reality glasses, rendering it accessible for integration into nursing education curricula. The final version consisted of a continuous scene that ended with a question that prompted the identification of errors.

Learn more in their article.

Adjunct clinical faculty play a vital role in ensuring an adequate number of instructors for nursing students. Dr. Bryce Catarelli and Professor Karen Schofield describe a clinical bingo game they developed for first-semester nursing students and clinical faculty to serve as a guide for the hospital experience. Each space on the bingo card is a skill practiced in laboratory/simulation or an action that is appropriate for students' ability and level of education. Each skill is signed off on completion, creating a log of skills/actions performed by the student. Their article provides additional details about their bingo game.

In this podcast, Dr. Kaitlyn Kolcun and Dr. Kelly Sullivan explain their rationale and process for transforming traditional prebriefing and debriefing experiences for a virtual-reality simulation to an online asynchronous format. Learn more about how they developed and implemented asynchronous prebriefing and debriefing activities and assessed student learning outcomes. Drs. Kolcun and Sullivan also describe the interesting subjective feedback students provided about the asynchronous virtual simulation experience.

Read more about this in their teaching tip.

Nursing students’ perceived usability toward a technology application affects their learning experience. Few studies have investigated immersive virtual reality (IVR) simulation for learning fundamental nursing skills. Dr. Wong and her research team explored the usability of IVR simulations with first-year nursing students and their perspectives on this learning modality. In this podcast and article (which is Open Access), Dr. Wong describes their mixed-methods study using surveys and focus groups. The findings demonstrated students’ positive inclinations toward IVR simulation learning. Two areas emerged: using IVR simulation as a complementary modality for learning fundamental nursing skills and barriers affecting students’ usability of this technology. By addressing concerns about usability, IVR simulation can be an important complementary modality for skills learning.

Read the article and share with colleagues.

Although the numbers of nurses from historically underrepresented ethnic and racial populations are increasing in the workforce, the distribution of nurses in the US is still not representative of the population. In this podcast and article, Dr. Joanne Noone and Ms. Adriana Valenzuela Martinez present their program that improved the underrepresented nursing student population from 11% to 33%.

Unfolding case studies help students apply their knowledge to real life patient scenarios. Traditional methods of presenting case studies in asynchronous online courses often include using written or video discussion boards, which require waiting for instructor feedback. This podcast with Dr. Michelle Neuman presents an innovative strategy to engage students in critical thinking and problem-solving activities using unfolding case studies in an asynchronous online learning environment. You can learn more about this strategy in her article.

Dr. Erika Janssen and Dr. Lindsay Morgan explain the Dunning-Kruger effect and how it influences self-assessment of cultural competence in nursing students. Their research revealed that students with no direct care experience in LGBTQ+ communities were more confident in their communication skills and culturally congruent care than those who had been exposed to sexual minorities in clinical settings. In this podcast, learn more about how knowledge of the Dunning-Kruger effect can help nurse educators continuously improve curricula and guide students to develop greater self-awareness of gaps in competency in delivering culturally congruent care.

Learn more about this research in their article.

In this podcast, Dr. Karen Mihelich describes the impetus behind development and implementation of experiential education focused on food insecurity in her local community. She integrated community-engaged service, implicit bias education, teamwork and communication, budget management, and essential DNP competencies into a community-engaged practicum and service project. Listen to her story and learn how her students and community partners responded, and find out how she and her students and colleagues sustained this community project.

Dr. Mihelich provides more details in her article.

Exposure to workplace violence (WPV) is common in health care, and little is known about nurse practitioner (NP) students’ experiences during their graduate nursing clinical education. In this podcast, Drs. Kristin Gigli and John Gonzalez describe the findings from their study on WPV experienced by NP students. A total of 334 NPs responded. More than a quarter (27%) of these students experienced WPV during their graduate program: preceptors were the most reported perpetrators (44%). In this podcast, the authors describe relevant federal policies and share strategies that schools of nursing can use to reduce student exposure to WPV.

Read the full study in their article.

Faculty in a Family Nurse Practitioner program integrated entrustable professional activities (EPAs) that aligned with the American Association of Colleges of Nursing Essentials and National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties Core NP Competencies into their clinical assessment tool. Student performance expectations at different points in the program were outlined. Students documented each time they performed an EPA during clinical experiences. Drs. Angel Anthamatten and Courtney Pitts discuss this initiative and outcomes in the podcast.

Read the full article (it is open access).

The integration of generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools like  ChatGPT into nursing education marks a transformative advance in personalized learning and interactive engagement. Variability in faculty’s experience with AI outputs highlights the need for well-crafted prompts that align with educational objectives, maximize learning outcomes, and ensure contextual relevance. Effective prompting is a key to eliciting accurate, relevant responses from AI, fostering a dynamic learning environment that bolsters student comprehension of complex topics. Learn more about prompt engineering in this podcast with an expert, Dr. Grace Sun. She explains this further with many other examples in her article.

Nursing students should learn how to communicate effectively in their written assignments. Good writing skills are an indication of how the student processes information. Poor writing skills may impact patient care. This podcast with Miriam Bowers-Abbott discusses ways nurse educators can improve interrater reliability in the evaluation of students’ written work. Learn more about using Minimum Standards in her article.

Metacognitive exam review tools, also called exam wrappers, are a promising intervention to address the problem of poor exam performance. Tools of this kind have been shown to positively impact student learning, confidence, and exam performance across multiple disciplines and levels of education, but little is known about the use of exam wrappers in nursing education. In this podcast, Jessica Gay presents the results of a research study about the efficacy of exam wrappers as a student success strategy. Be sure to read their article too.

Dr. Kateryna Metersky uses poetry as a teaching strategy in her courses.  She describes the process she uses to teach through poetry, strategies for implementing poetry in a variety of nursing courses, and positive outcomes of this teaching approach. She also shares challenges she has encountered. A special part of this podcast is Dr. Metersky reading her own poetic expression for listeners.

For many undergraduate nursing students (64%), burnout begins during their educational program. Resilience is a known protective factor to buffer against stress exposure that leads to burnout, but a lack of formal resilience training for undergraduate nursing students persists. Equine-assisted learning interventions promote resilience and decrease stress and burnout in a diversity of populations. In this podcast (and article), Dr. Shannon Burleson describes an equine-assisted learning intervention to reduce students’ stress in school and practice after graduation.

Moral distress is a phenomenon with known negative effects for health care professionals, including nurses. Moral distress is thought to occur when an individual knows the morally right thing to do but is unable to do it, based on internal and external constraints. This podcast with Dr. Kathy Forte (and their article) presents a simulation experience for prelicensure students to help them experience a real-life ethical scenario from an ethical perspective.

Dr. Lisa Bailey and Ms. Jourdan Scoggins explain the core idea behind the “Declare Yourself” leadership process and how it builds trust between students and educators. They use the “Declare Yourself” process in their clinical courses and share their experiences. Learn more about this strategy and how you can use it in your courses in this podcast and article.

Health inequities across the United States, particularly in rural and medically underserved communities, are fueled by disparities in education, poverty, and social determinants. The shortage of accessible primary care providers exacerbates health inequities, leading to adverse outcomes and perpetuating disparities. Drs. Jannyse Tapp and Shannon Cole discuss a partnership model to prepare nurse practitioners to reduce health disparities in rural underserved communities. Read their article (it is Open Access) and share it with your colleagues.

The FNP program includes a series of clinical courses: Primary Care I, II, and III, with Primary Care III occurring the semester of graduation. Dr. Elizabeth Phenneger and other FNP faculty incorporated a self-evaluation for students taking Primary Care III at the end of the semester and identified gaps in students’ competencies. Faculty created an improvement plan tailored to address these deficits that included : (1) a 7-hour in-person clinical skills intensive day incorporating multiple case-based learning activities, standardized patient case simulations, clinical skills practice on task trainers, and unfolding case studies, and (2) a series of physiology cascade assignments threaded throughout the course. Surveys and faculty assessment revealed significant improvement in students’ competencies.

Incivility in undergraduate nursing education is a complex, multifaceted issue. Student-to-faculty incivility can be characterized by behaviors that negatively impact the faculty’s ability to perform and enjoy their job. This podcast with Rebecca Weaver (and article) discuss the need for targeted interventions and institutional strategies to address incivility in the academic setting.

The authors developed a guided writing method for an undergraduate nursing course by incorporating 3 active learning strategies: in-class writing workshops, guided worksheets, and real-time collaboration using peer-review teams. By providing students with dedicated time for in-class writing, students avoid procrastination, reduce reliance on AI, and are encouraged to access available resources such as the library and writing and tutoring center. The course was redesigned so that 50% of class time is workshop-based. Drs. Cibele Webb and Nicole Mentag describe this innovation in this podcast and article.