Analysis of Academic Nurse Educator (ANE) Roles
B1. Description of Role, Population, Courses, and Environment
Prepared at master’s or doctoral level, nurse educators assume different roles in hospitals, hospital-based schools, and technical institutions. In schools, the advanced nurse educator (ANE) is involved in the development of curricula and developing courses. The ANE identifies the learning needs of students and works closely to provide mentorship and guidance for the achievement of excellence. The interviewed nurse educator teaches at State College Florida, an institution with over 11,000 students. The population taught includes both undergraduate and post-graduate graduate students from diverse ethnic and racial backgrounds. The nurse educator explained that she specializes in midwifery where she teaches courses related to reproductive and maternal health. Regarding the teaching and learning environment, the ANE explained that she mostly prefers face-to-face learning to promote direct interaction with students. However, the use of online learning is widely practiced today because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
B2. Summary of Responsibilities
Nurse educators uphold and improve the systems and structures upon which nursing education rests. As the facilitator of learning, the ANE guides and assists students to learn in diverse environments. The ANE facilitates learning by equipping students with skills, knowledge, and expertise to handle the various needs of patients. Through the utilization of traditional classroom and online learning environments, the ANE helps students to adapt to modern learning and the use of technology in nursing education (Mthiyane & Habedi, 2018). Lastly, the ANE facilitates education by providing students with learning materials and references that help deepen their understanding of courses taught.
Communication and collaboration are crucial roles of nurse educators during their practice. The ANE communicates the objectives and learning outcomes during teaching to ensure students are prepared to pursue the course. The nurse educator also communicates the student’s concerns to the administrators and provides feedback appropriately. As a collaborator, the ANE works with colleagues and the administrators to design curricula and modify teaching to suit the needs of the students. During clinical areas, the ANE collaborates with registered nurses and other nurse leaders to identify the learning needs of students. Collaborative practice in the clinical area can also be observed during routine assessment and evaluation of students.
Professional development involves learning or training to earn or maintain professionalism in a given field. The ANE explained that she actively participates in training and continuing education activities for professional development. Secondly, participation in professional nursing organizations has helped in shaping the nursing profession. The ANE also ensures students get to develop professionally through the organization of seminars and inviting external speakers to address various concerns among students.
Another crucial role of the nurse educator involves leadership to bring about change in the nursing profession. As a change leader, the ANE actively participates in research to identify new ways that can promote teaching and learning in the classroom and clinical areas (Mthiyane & Habedi, 2018). The ANE analyzes the needs of students and proposes strategies that can be used to promote education and training for diverse student populations. Additionally, the ANE brings about change by pushing for reforms and participating in professional organizations that help change the nursing profession.
The last part describes the nurse educator as an educational advocate. The American Nurses Association (ANA) believes that advocacy is a pillar of nursing and nurses should instinctively advocate for their patients, in their workplaces and communities. As an educational advocate, the ANE ensures that institutional policies are up to standard to prevent the exploitation of students. Secondly, the ANE participates in professional organizations to advocate for policies in nursing education and practice in hospitals.
B3. Perception of Academic Nurse Educator Role
From a global perspective, the nurse educator community is responsible for ensuring that nurses have adequate information, skills, and attitudes to effectively provide care to patients. The interview with the ANE has broadened my understanding of the roles and responsibilities of nurse educators both in classroom and clinical areas. I now fully understand that nurse educators help in designing curricula used for learning in diverse environments. Secondly, I now have a new perspective of the roles of ANEs regarding advocacy. Participation in professional organizations, involvement in research, and collaboration with other professionals enables the nurse educators to advocate for the profession. Lastly, to adapt to the changing healthcare environment, I now understand that nurse educators are life-long learners who engage in continuing education and other forms of professional development.
C1. Roles and Responsibilities
Healthcare quality and safety are deeply connected aspects that define the care given to patients. While practicing in the teaching and clinical environments, nurse educators can play part in ensuring quality and safe patient care. In the academic setting, the nurse educator teaches students how to interact with communities and effective communication strategies that can promote quality care (Christensen & Simmons, 2019). Educating students about the ethical considerations in nursing ensures that students can provide safe patient care. In the clinical environment, the nurse educator guides students on how to communicate, collaborate and provide safe patient care while considering the preferences and choices of populations served. The use of assessments and follow-up services ensures that students are adequately prepared to offer quality services to patients.
C2. Functioning within the Parent Institution
Many nurse educators have a hybrid role that combines nursing practice and teaching. Irrespective of the working environment, nurse educators continue to provide patient care while teaching students to become better nurses. The interviewed nurse educator works at State College Florida and teaches RNs, LPNs, and CNAs. The primary role of the nurse in the parent institution is to provide teaching to students and evaluating learning. Apart from teaching, the nurse provides training for students as a preparation for their clinicals. The ANE also participates in meetings and collaborates with other players to design policies that help shape the future of nursing in the facility.
C3. External stakeholders
External stakeholders vital to the roles and responsibilities of the nurse educator include professional organizations like the Association of Practical Nurse Educators of Florida (APNEF) and the college hospital used for instruction of nursing students.
C3a. Communication Strategies
The first strategy to facilitate communication with the stakeholders will involve the selection of the most suitable communication channels. For instance, communication with APNEF can be best done through email and other online platforms. Using other means of communication like letters may be ineffective in maintaining strong relationships with the organization because it will delay communication. To communicate effectively with the college hospital used for instruction, the use of meetings and face-to-face channels can best help to maintain good relationships. The second strategy to facilitate communication with the stakeholders will involve the timely provision of feedback on how their interests and issues are resolved. Providing regular updates through emails, phone calls, and short meetings can help to maintain good relationships with the external stakeholders.
C4. Interprofessional Collaboration
Interprofessional collaboration involves two or more disciplines working together with intention, mutual respect, and commitment to solving a common problem. Advanced nurse educators can promote interprofessional collaboration by educating students on the importance of collaborative practice. The nurse educator enables the students to understand that collaboration is directly linked to quality outcomes in clinical practice. Apart from the students, the ANE can offer education to registered nurses, doctors, and other healthcare teams on the importance of interprofessional collaboration. Another strategy to promote Interprofessional collaboration is through research (Christensen & Simmons, 2019). The ANE engages in research to identify evidence-based practices that can be used to foster Interprofessional collaboration and teamwork. Lastly, the use of follow-up services can help promote Interprofessional collaboration in the clinical learning environment. For example, the nurse educator can plan for clinical rotations that involve students from diverse fields. During the evaluation, the ANE should determine that students worked together in teams to address patient concerns and other health issues.
- Challenge Summary
The nurse educator today has at their disposal a goldmine of techniques, curricula, simulators and models, and technologies that make it possible to provide education in diverse environments. Additionally, the healthcare environment today is characterized by more informed patients that require highly trained personnel to satisfy their needs. Because of these changes, the traditional learning and teaching strategies cannot offer the most appropriate preparation for students to deal with the changing needs of populations. The result is a modification of the educational curricula to suit the demands of patients while considering technological advancements and the needs of students (Oermann, 2019). It is challenging for nurse educators to regularly assess, modify, and put into practice new curricula that fit the current demands of the healthcare industry.
D1. Impact of Identified Challenge
Nursing education is rapidly changing as healthcare itself and it must advance to prepare future nurses for effective and collaborative clinical practice. While focusing on the new change, adapting to the new ways of education can be challenging for nurse educators. For instance, nursing educators must advance their education to understand what education to offer to students today (Oermann, 2019). The incorporation of technologies such as electronic health record systems means that the nurses have to learn and understand the systems to teach the students. Secondly, more capital is required to cope up with the new changes including continuing education for the nurse educators.
D2. Scholarly Sources
Nursing education is an ever-changing field that has seen the transition from the classroom to web-based clinical instruction. To effectively manage the new educational system, nurse educators should regularly audit and alter the educational syllabuses and programs. A study conducted to identify challenges facing nursing education identified curriculum enhancement to align with the practice environment to be among the greatest challenges today (Fawaz et al., 2018). According to the study, the utilization of technology in schools and clinical areas requires adequate preparation of students. To cope with the new change, nurse educators, registered nurses, and managers must widen their skills and proficiencies that will enable the delivery of highly competent education to students.
Healthcare reforms alter the environment in which nurses and other healthcare workers practice. The incorporation of new learning and teaching approaches to healthcare has pushed for constant alliteration of curricula in different disciplines. For instance, the use of web-based learning has seen changes in nursing education especially the alteration of the curriculum to meet the needs of the students. Nurse educators have to develop curricula that are oriented towards the use of evidence-based practice and technology (Myrkas et al., 2016). The findings from this research are consistent with another study that discusses the profound changes in 21st-century nursing. The study identifies that today’s nursing is practical and involves the use of technology to provide patient care (Baron, 2017). To align with its requirements, nursing educators are faced with the challenge of developing and changing new curricula that can adequately prepare students for the new nursing world.
D3. Opportunities and Barriers
There is much flexibility in how nursing curricula can be designed to meet the program outcomes across various institutions. The first strategy to deal with the identified issue is to employ more nurse educators to reduce the burden of dealing with many students. More nurse educators will be available to assess the needs of the patients, students and to propose changes that can well serve the needs of these groups. Additionally, the availability of more nurse educators will give the profession enough manpower to quickly review the curriculum and make changes that can take effect immediately. The second approach that is proposed by many is the use of simulation that forms the future of nursing. While working on altering the curricula, it is proposed that simulation can be a powerful education strategy to enhance patient outcomes while utilizing appropriate technology (Fawaz et al., 2018). The use of computer systems can serve to add to the current curricula because they can adequately prepare students for real-life experiences in clinical areas.
E1. Teaching Scholarship and Service
Faculty roles are defined by achieving the right balance between teaching, scholarship, and service. In my transition to the ANE role, I will incorporate teaching through the use of collaborative approaches to inform student learning. I will design strategies that will improve both classroom and web-based learning while utilizing technology. Scholarship can be defined as a project carried out to completion that includes some kind of public presentation and is subject to peer review (Christensen & Simmons, 2019). To incorporate scholarship, I will engage students in designing projects while using collaborative approaches. These projects will help students develop their skills and enable students to realize their potential in various areas of nursing practice. Lastly, I will incorporate service by offering to educate and teach junior students on ways to best perform in nursing practice. For example, first-year initiative programs will serve to support new students who find it difficult to adjust to the course requirements.
E2. Ethics, Values and Cultural Norms
To adhere to the ethics, values, and cultural norms of nursing practice I will perform a self-assessment to deeply understand my values, strengths, and weaknesses. This approach will ensure that I will get to identify areas that require more attention as I transition to become a nurse educator. For instance, nurse educators possess instructional, leadership, critical thinking, management, and interpersonal skills. Understanding these will help me to adjust accordingly and work towards adhering to the morals of the profession. Another approach that will greatly help will involve seeking mentorship to familiarize myself with the profession. Through mentorship, I will get to understand the ethics of the profession and what it takes to become a successful nurse educator.
E3. Academic Environment Type
Learning environment refers to the educational approach, cultural context, or physical setting in which teaching and learning occur. I believe the clinical area learning environment will best suit my transition to the role of ANE. The clinical environment is one area that has students that require guidance, education, and training to offer quality services to patients. This environment will offer an opportunity to closely interact with students, qualified nurses, and other professional teams. I believe I will be able to grow as a nurse educator by offering practical education to students and directly assessing their understanding in the clinical area.
References
Baron K. A. (2017). Changing to Concept-Based Curricula: The Process for Nurse Educators. The Open Nursing Journal, 11, 277–287. https://doi.org/10.2174/1874434601711010277
Christensen, L., & Simmons, L. E. (2019). The Academic Clinical Nurse Educator. Nursing Education Perspectives, 40(3), 196. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.NEP.0000000000000509
Fawaz, M. A., Hamdan-Mansour, A. M., & Tassi, A. (2018). Challenges facing nursing education in the advanced healthcare environment. International Journal of Africa Nursing Sciences, 9, 105-110.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijans.2018.10.005
Mthiyane, G. N., & Habedi, D. S. (2018). The experiences of nurse educators in implementing evidence-based practice in teaching and learning. Health SA = SA Gesondheid, 23, 1177. https://doi.org/10.4102/hsag.v23i0.1177
Oermann M. H. (2019). Curriculum Revision: Making Informed Decisions. Nurse Educator, 44(1), 1. https://doi.org/10.1097/NNE.0000000000000630
