Essay Example on Role of Academic Nurse Educator: Teaching & Clinical Proficiency

Part 1: The Role of Academic Nurse Educator

Academic nurse educators practice both passion for teaching and clinical proficiency into worthwhile professions. They are accountable for creating an environment in a laboratory classroom and clinical venue to increase students learning and attainment of anticipated affective, psychomotor, and cognitive outcomes. Nurse educators are accountable for the training of well-equipped nursing professionals (Bindon, 2017). They are responsible for determining standards and curriculum and preparation of students to transition out of university successfully, encourage new nurses, and refining the systems maintaining nurse education. The role of Academic Clinical Nurse Educator is to enhance excellence in nursing education to construct a diverse and robust nursing workforce to promote the health of the global community and the nation at large. Clinical nurse educators also are accountable for advancement and training responsibilities present in the healthcare facility. An academic clinical nurse educator is responsible for the direct observation of student apprentices in the clinical situation.

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Scope and standards illustrate what nurses do, tasks they take part in, and results for their practice. Registered nurses at the national and international levels take part in regulatory, legal education, administrative and research activities, value possibility, and standard documents. The documents assist in continuous understanding and recognition of various influences of nurses professionally. It also consists of standards of professional nursing practice, powerful statements of obligations of all registered nurses, despite their role, population and department are required to perform proficiently.

Specialty organizations give their members CME, proficient growth, and networking prospects encouragement to support the profession and a chance to give back to the occupation through volunteer ship. Nurses want to set their professional objectives and to have a choice in making strategies within their area of nursing expertise (Bindon, 2017). Participating and belonging to a specific specialty organization in the field of specialization can help in accomplishing the set professional goals.

Specialty organizations can aid in refining patient care and practice by encouraging participants to continue learning innovative and better approaches to patient care. They also provide purposeful programs and endorse study for all nurses by giving self-assessment and constant education and publications in education. Most specialty organizations provide certification that where many hospitals require their nurses to be certified. Accreditation is a higher ladder in one's career as it also leads to the gaining of bonuses and an increase in salary. Also, they provide for a larger view of the chosen area in nursing, matters affecting nursing, and how nursing fits into health care.

Moreover, it caters to personal and professional growth. It entails networking, advancement in one's career, and taking up leadership duties. In such organizations, one gains growth in confidence, visibility, and an opportunity to nourish leadership and communication skills. It provides a chance to stay connected to what is going on in institutions around your area. It further leads to a better chance of knowing when a vacancy rises if one is looking for a job.

Part 2: The Role of the Nursing Professional Development Practitioner

The role of a nursing professional development practitioner is to promote professional role establishment by recognizing and emerging with strategies to enable a consistent progression of maturation through lifelong learning. NPD practitioners can participate in any responsibilities simultaneously as they assist learners towards a particular desired outcome (Bindon, 2017). Results consist of the acquisition of new knowledge, change, and professional role in proficiency and growth, which contribute to ideal care, health, and definitive safeguard of the public.

The scope of practice supports the varying scene in health care. The range elaborates what, who, where, when, why, and how to drive nursing professional development practice. Standards of professional practice consist of an explanation of the standard followed by numerous statements that act as an indication for submission to the standard (Fitzgerald, Kantrowitz-Gordon & Hirsch, 2012). NPD is divided into different two types of standards of professional performance and standards of practice. Standards of practice shape the educational planning process. They include, valuation of practice gaps, describing how NPD professionals gather data and information to authenticate an acknowledged professional gap. It summarizes how NDP practitioners like recognizes an expected result in the education plan, outlines how NDP practitioners institute a plan to achieve projected results. Some examples of standards of professional performance include summarizing how practitioners assimilate morals in most aspects. Its emphasis on the superiority of NPD exercise and how they enhance the value and efficiency of NPD practice and how practitioners partner with interprofessional leaders, stakeholders, and other teams to improve nursing exercise and positive effects.

Specialty organizations provide opportunities like keeping one updated with changes and news in the nursing profession and enhancing one to develop a broader view. It also enables practitioners to access continuing education at discounted rates, and even some organizations have official journals that consist of peer revised clinical training and investigations (Finnell et al., 2015). Moreover, it paves the way for networking opportunities like online platforms, local meetings, and annual conventions. The organizations in their specialty also provide certification. Members also gain access to discounted products and resources like newsletters and certification of review materials.

Part 3: Comparison of the Specialties

Similarities

Education-wise, both nurse educators and nurse practitioners have the same level of education where both are required to obtain a master's degree. Moreover, they all needed to have a heavy focus on subjects like physiology, anatomy, pharmacology, and direct patient care (Finnell et al., 2015). Both career paths are suitable for nurses that want to enhance their leadership skills as both careers offer a great chance and offer nursing professionals with the ability to handle tasks favorable for their skill set.

Differences

Nurse educator duties include the teaching of nursing students at all levels and also can work in diploma and degree programs preparing students into a nursing career. In contrast, a nurse practitioner is a clinical expert in the management of patients who need many physician tasks. A nurse practitioner has access to patients by the execution of environmental analysis to get diagnostic tests like x-rays. Also, nurses with their professional interest in the academic environment are best for becoming a nurse educator while those interested in administrative angle can turn to nurse administrator. Essential skills required by a nurse educator include mentorship, someone his or her students can emulate when going into a profession, and needs to be able to gather research. Besides, essential skills for a nurse practitioner include critical thinking and problem solving; this is evidenced by problem-solving through quick thinking and using tools at their disposal. Also, a nurse practitioner needs to have analytical thinking when it comes to handling facts and figures to get the right conclusion.

Advantages

Both nurse educators and nurse practitioners give positive feedback to the learners and the patients, respectively. Nurse educators have clients in colleges and universities as tutors and consultants on health issues, while nurse practitioners have clients like family members of the client. They have to provide feedback that will positively influence the other person without causing misunderstandings.

Both keep life interesting because one will never encounter a similar scenario twice. It brings the solution to new challenges, satisfaction, and an opportunity to learn and even manage stress and frustrations as one is always engaged. It also creates a chance to explore one's potential once induced to a specific condition like a problem that requires rational thinking.

Disadvantages

Both NPD practitioners and academic nursing educators are subjects of personal challenges such as the monotony and that of achieving a balance that originates from both the public and the health care industry. Boredom causes redundancy in one's career path. Boredom causes one to be unable to cope up with the ever-changing nursing profession. It also creates an imbalance between one's career and family life.

Additionally, both the NPD practitioner and academic nurse educators are faced with the scope of practice restrictions. It originates from state corporations, licensing boards, and self-governing health firms, which demands their legal rights of practice. These restrictions hinder a practitioner or an educator from providing health services when you own a private health facility.

References

Bindon, S. (2017). Professional development strategies to enhance nurses' knowledge and maintain safe practice. AORN Journal, 106(2), 99-110. doi: 10.1016/j.aorn.2017.06.002

Finnell, D., Thomas, E., Nehring, W., McLoughlin, K., Bickford, C., (May 31, 2015) "Best practices for developing specialty nursing scope and standards of practice" OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 20(2), Manuscript 1.

Fitzgerald, C., Kantrowitz-Gordon, I., Katz, J., & Hirsch, A. (2012). advanced practice nursing education: Challenges and strategies. Nursing Research and Practice, 2012, 1-8. doi: 10.1155/2012/854918

Nurse Educator or Nurse Administrator: Choose your path. (2020). Retrieved February 23, 2020, from https://online.stmary.edu/msn/resources/nurse-educator-or-nurse-administrator