Nursing is a scientific discipline concerned with human health and wellness. The subject is guided by different theories which explain human behavior and other relevant activities. In turn, focus is often given towards the interrelationship between environment, health, and care. The goals are to achieve optimal patient wellbeing, minimize illness, reduce the possibility of a given disease, and meet the client’s needs (Nursing License Map, 2021). Theories are founded on effective research and evidence, forming the basis of comprehensive decision-making in service provision. They are significant in nursing education as they form part of a holistic syllabus. It should have well-designed course objectives, learning activities, assignments, resources, and assessments outlined below.
Enabling Knowledge and Priority
The students should have the basic knowledge of nursing, including the roles, rationale, and objectives in choosing a career in nursing. They should also be able to understand how the profession differs from other related disciplines such as medicine. It is also important that learners know some of the vocabularies such as philosophy, theory, concept, models, paradigms, conceptual framework, and domain. Mostly, some people wrongly use the words interchangeably. The other essential information is about the history and development of nursing theories. The priority knowledge is to understand the way different models show the interconnection between health, people, environment, and nursing practice. However, it is also helpful for the classifications and levels of frameworks.
Learning Objectives
Learning objective 1: Students should be able to find out the clinical tasks essential to the knowledge of the fundamental principles of nursing theory. Nurses must carry out many clinical activities and act as patient advocates. They should have skills from professional nursing to provide evidence-based nursing care. Nurses will be able to communicate with the patient and their families, and other medical teams.
Learning objective 2: They should discover the importance of technology as a critical factor in the nursing industry. High technology in nursing allows for obtaining faster lab results and increases patient safety. Comprehensive skills enable critical thinking in the nursing career. Nursing skills are essential for safe nursing practice.
Learning objective 3: The learners should discover the improvements and trends in practice that keep on changing. Professional nursing necessitates continuous learning to keep the nurse updated on the global changes in the industry. This equips them with skills that allow problem-solving abilities in their career. Nurses will address ethical issues they will meet during patient care.
Learning Activities
The quality of service and care given to clients by nurses is highly influenced by the theoretical framework being used. The health care worker and the patient should work together and coordinate activities to ensure a good relationship (Kitson, 2018, p. 99-107). Notably, they should maintain an environment-friendly atmosphere and integrate all theoretical aspects for the patient’s welfare, their families, and caregivers. Learners should tailor each activity to the client’s unique needs and abilities. In the first objective, learners have to find out the important clinical tasks during practice to understand the fundamental principles of nursing theory and the professional skills in evidence-based practice.
Activities such as lecture notes, question and answer sessions, and critical thinking will enable them to view the information gained from a different perspective. For the students to understand where the unit is headed and why; after providing them with notes orally, which are supported by slides, a question will be asked to them. This will require them to explain and apply the information that has been just presented. The first student will respond, and another will be called upon to confirm the answer, for instance, by asking, “Do you agree with the first answer?” This also ensures that the students are hooked from the beginning and remain active and attentive to the end of the lesson.
Group discussions will be essential in facilitating skills acquisition and knowledge enhancement. Students will understand the importance of technology in the nursing practice and the latest trends with their influence on patient care and service provision. Discussions foster social cohesion and provide learning opportunities that improve the possibilities of achieving the learning outcomes (University of Tasmania, 2021). They will also be vital in ensuring students engage in problem-solving activities and debates, and dialogues about ethical dilemmas in nursing care and the global changes in the industry. The time-bound discussions will keep them active during the lesson allowing them to explore the diversities in evidence-based nursing (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005, p. 206). Students’ prior experiences are also brought into the learning environment giving room for practical real-time talks.
The lecture notes and group sessions, and the question-and-answer activity increase Interaction among students. Hence, adequate room to focus on the course content fosters knowledge acquisition and achievement of the objectives. This also allows for meaningful student connections and the exchange of learning information (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005, p. 208-209). They are equipped for performance and the ability to add on to tasks at hand during lessons and in their Interaction with clients.
Learning Resources
Resources are important to the instructor in ensuring that the teaching of students is effective and comprehensive. They influence the quality and delivery of information to learners providing that each issue is touched as per the required standards and should be able to support the complexities and interactions of learning (Lau et al., 2018, p. 10-24). The learning resources used will include textbooks, online videos, films, lectures, pictures, and images, as well as performance recordings with relevant reading materials.
Learning Assignments
To assist students and engage them in ideas and concepts that will deepen their learning, they are given processes that enhance this. An oral or written summary and a four-minute paper will improve the conceptualization of concepts learned and clarity in comprehending finer details (University of Tasmania, 2021). Each student will be given a specific aspect of a given topic and expected to give an explanation within four minutes orally or in written form. This will be vital in providing areas that the student has not understood hence better planning for future learning activities.
During the lecture, learners can also be given a four-minute paper where they are supposed to answer the questions of a given topic within four minutes, providing room for thorough evaluation and understanding of a given issue. The learners will be divided into groups during the semester and given case studies each. A scenario shall be described, and they will be expected to analyze the case, propose a solution, and come up with recommendations for that particular incident. For instance, to understand the changes and current trends in nursing, a group is required to evaluate the technological advancements at the state hospital, explaining their advantages and which changes have been in place since their introduction.
Role-playing and simulations will effectively enhance the learning and understanding of theoretical principles and skills. Students will be expected to interact with each other, exchanging roles of provider and patient, and transferring knowledge and information amongst each other. They will then reflect on their actions and choices with their consequences. This improves their skills in patient management, especially with the application of the relevant skills and techniques of the various nursing theories (University of Tasmania, 2021). This monitors the students’ progress, ensuring that effective learning is taking place, thus knowledge acquisition.
Learning Assessments
Assessments are important in teaching to ensure quality standards of learning to students and reflection of the work done and effort put in place. They are important in confirming that the learning objectives are met. During the lessons, quick questions can be posted directly to learners requiring immediate answers to assess attentiveness and understanding of the concept (Gunner, 2019). Their nodding and eye contact, writing of important aspects during lectures, and asking questions are among the formative assessment methods applied during the learning process.
The final examination will be given to learners to assess their understanding of the instructions and knowledge presented in the middle and end of the semester. This will include written papers done individually and one done as a group. They will also participate in a self-reflection exercise where they are expected to write about the quality of their learning, if expectations have been met and what they would love differently. They ought to copy approaches that worked well for them. This makes their learning meaningful, ensuring cognitive, social, and emotional development.
The syllabus will allow direct application of knowledge and skills acquired during the learning process in assessments and practical activities with clients. Students are equipped with the necessary tools and given a chance to revise their work and reflect on them. They have room for reflection on individual talents through group discussions tailored to their individual needs. The learner is able to gain critical thinking, nursing, communication, and problem solving skills hence meeting the required objectives.
References
Gunner, J. (2019). Common formative assessments examples. Example Articles & Resources | Your Dictionary. Web.
Kitson A.L. (2018). The fundamentals of care framework as a point of care nursing theory. Nursing Research, 67(2), 99-107.
Lau, K. H., Lam, T., Kam, B. H., Nkhoma, M., Richardson, J., & Thomas, S. (2018). the role of textbook learning resources in e learning. a taxonomic study: computers and education, 118, 10-24. The role of textbook learning resources in e-learning: A taxonomic study. Computers & Education, 118, 10-24
Nursing License Map. (2021). Introduction to nursing theories. Web.
University of Tasmania (2021). Examples of learning activities. Web.
Wiggins, G. P., & McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by design. Association for Supervision & Curriculum Deveopment.