Revisiting Student and Faculty Needs with Effective Learning Tools

Revisiting Student and Faculty Needs with Effective Learning Tools

As we approach the end of the year, we understand that nurse educators are facing various challenges. Your program might have had to make adjustments due to the pandemic to find clinical sites. Moreover, the Next Generation NCLEX (NGN) is approaching quickly, with the upcoming year being the final chance to prepare RN and PN programs before the changes take effect.

Throughout all of this, the main objective remains constant: ensuring that students are ready to pass the NCLEX and start their careers as safe nurses. While strengthening clinical judgment is a significant part of this, and making sure students have the critical thinking skills to act as nurses, there’s more to it than that.

How to Use NGN Content in Sherpath with EAQ

In my paper, “Completing the Circle with the Bucket Strategy,” I discuss these shifts and the necessity to effectively use digital tools to design a program that aligns with today’s nursing standards. With an increased focus on clinical judgment, this can expand to include additional teaching approaches that can foster the crucial nursing skills for safe patient care.

Consider these three essential queries for your program:

– How will students develop their knowledge?
– How will students apply and enhance their clinical judgment abilities?
– How are you evaluating students’ knowledge and clinical judgment skills?

Is your program ready in all these aspects? Teaching students how to apply clinical judgment is a main goal in nursing education, but it’s just one piece of the puzzle. Clinical judgment matters at every stage of a nursing student’s journey. Having the right tools to support this can make a significant impact. This could involve using case studies in Sherpath linked to textbooks and key nursing concepts, incorporating screen-based simulations like Shadow Health for a secure practice environment, or testing their knowledge through adaptive quizzing and HESI assessments featuring NGN-like questions. These digital tools will help ensure students are well-prepared and ahead of the curve.
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These changes are important not just for faculty to keep their students updated and simplify their work, but also for nursing program leadership to consider. In a webinar I co-hosted recently, titled “Overcoming Digital Implementation Challenges,” we had two program leaders from different nursing programs—Dr. Kathleen Kelley from Caldwell University and Dr. Julie Kelly from The Christ College of Nursing & Health Sciences. As they shared their viewpoints on successful digital implementation, a few things were clear:

– Faculty often feel apprehensive or unprepared for change, especially when it comes to digital tools. Faculty fatigue is a real concern, and adding new tools might seem like another thing to learn.
– Ensuring that all faculty members are aligned makes a significant difference—this could involve regular meetings or streamlining procedures with organized resources.
– Both students and faculty can benefit from digital tools—students get to engage with new digital tools that aid their learning and link to the textbook. Faculty can easily monitor their progress or simplify assignments.
– Taking your time and acknowledging that change is a challenge can reassure faculty that it’s a collaborative effort to get on track and work towards shared goals.

If you’re a faculty member feeling this way, you’re not alone! Embracing digital learning tools not only equips students with the foundation to provide patient care post-graduation, but it also helps faculty get ready for the forthcoming changes.