Nurse Educator Philosophy Statement Paper Example

Introduction

A nurse educator philosophy refers to the values that a nursing educator create to guide their practice. An educator philosophy provides a framework and basis for the approach used to deliver nursing knowledge and experience (Ali, 2014). Through the creation of a philosophy it creates self-awareness on the educator which is used to direct approaches of knowledge delivery to nursing students and the goals of the respective education. Philosophies can be used to influence the discourse as well as the procedures that a nurse educator use to impart knowledge. Nurse educators require a foundation of thinking which can be improved and defined by the nurse educator philosophy (Ali, 2014). This admission essay will assess the importance of a nursing educator having a philosophy and different elements that should be considered in the development of a nursing educator philosophy.

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Nurse Educator Philosophy

Evidence based practice in nursing learning to promote and sustain effective care plans that are informed by practice and research.

Health care providers such as nurses have to continuously pursue education to take account of changes in nursing practice as well as identify new knowledge and discovery. A nurse educator should be aware of the need of tailoring adult learning based on the education and skills needs of a practitioner nurse (Felicilda-Reynaldo & Utley, 2015). Adult learning should integrate the previous experiences of practice nurses to be able to incorporate new knowledge. Through an evidence based practice nursing philosophy a nurse educator is able to adopt information that is based on research and that seek to improve a nurse practitioner already acquired skills. Adult learners are motivated by the creation of the need for certain information. In this case, the EBP informed nurse educator philosophy identifies the need for nurses to practice evidence based care which necessitates education and acquisition of new knowledge (Felicilda-Reynaldo & Utley, 2015). Besides, the EBP informed nurse education philosophy promotes practical knowledge, it is goal oriented and it is self-directed which are characteristics of adult learning and can be used to facilitate and motivate practicing nurses to pursue further education.

The learning environment is under constant change which necessitates the creation of values that can be used to guide research. An EBP informed nurse educator philosophy can help to complement the ever changing nursing learning environment (Felicilda-Reynaldo & Utley, 2015). The need for evidence based practice in nursing practice has a significant role in shaping nursing education which can be used in adult learning environment to encourage further learning. EBP nursing education philosophy helps to develop teaching strategies that seek to improve the learner's practical knowledge that is based on research. Practical lessons such as nursing practice can be used to achieve an EBP nursing education philosophy because it encourages the practice of learned knowledge (Felicilda-Reynaldo & Utley, 2015). Learning theories can be used to promote the EBP informed nursing educator philosophy such as the role modeling theory which require the learners to be influenced by other people research which is a significant instrument and framework for adult learning (Adelman-Mullally et al., 2013).

Philosophy Statement Application in Tripartite Model Roles

Teaching

The EBP nurse educator philosophy can play a significant role in informing teaching approach to ensure that nurses are able to grasp competent skills. The nurse educator philosophy creates values which inform the types of materials that will be used in teaching and also the theories that will be applied to ensure that the goals behind the philosophy created are achieved. Nurse educators should be able to develop a philosophy informed teaching practice which stands for specific values and goals for adult learning situations. Evidence based practice is an important approach through which health care providers in adult learning situations to improve care especially for the practicing nurses who seek to improve their healthcare competency through adult learning (Russell, 2006). Teaching materials should be aligned with the philosophy statement. A nurse educator should choose teaching materials and approaches that promote the assimilation of evidence based care practices. For instance, the use of a research intensive teaching approach can help to meet the EBP values developed by the nurse education philosophy. A research intensive teaching method helps learners to be able to pursue self-directed learning which is necessary in evidence based practice. The ignorance of the learners towards individual research reduces the ability to assimilate EBP in already practicing nurses (Russell, 2006). Learner center education curriculum should be informed by the EBP philosophy which ensures promotion of values and approaches that help adult learners to develop EBP competency.

Scholarship

Scholarship is a nurse educator contribution to nursing education through research articles and journals that can contribute towards solving problems that face nurse practitioners. The EBP based nurse educator philosophy can help to create an informed approach on the content of the scholarship products that a nurse educator develops. As such, the scholarship contributions should be poised to provide evidence based solutions as well as encourage nurse practitioners to seek evidence based solutions when they are providing care (Adelman-Mullally et al., 2013). Scholarship is a significant opportunity through which nurse educators can be able to contribute towards evidence based practice by highlighting approaches of developing and improving evidence based care by nurse practitioners.

Service

Service is the ability of the nurse educator to contribute and volunteer towards provision of service in the community health center or the institution clinic. A nurse educator should be able to provide evidence based care which is a significant approach to lead by example. A nurse educator having an EBP based philosophy should provide leadership in the local health care institutions which can significantly contribute towards evidence based care adoption which can improve service delivery (Adelman-Mullally et al., 2013).

Historical Events that has Shaped EBP Philosophy

Evidence based practice has significantly been based by evidence based medicine through primitive experiments which has assessed the effectiveness of different practices of nursing. In 1972, Archie Cochrane pointed out the importance of assessing the effectiveness of health care approaches with the aim of promoting care quality and safety. Cochrane arguments emphasized on the use of randomized controlled studies that can be able to provide evidence for the most appropriate and effective care strategies. In 1992, Guyatt et al emphasized the need to shift nursing decision making from intuition and clinical experience to clinical research which promotes evidence based practice. In 2009, Satterfield et al developed an EBP model known as the transdisciplinary model of evidence based care that establishes the major competencies required in EBP practice. Today, EBP can be used to improve care outcomes and improve patient safety.

Essential Nurse Educator Competencies

Leadership

Leadership is the primary competency that is required in the promotion of EBP nurse educator philosophy. Leadership skills help nurse educators to prepare nursing students to meet the challenges in the modern healthcare environment (Patterson & Krouse, 2015). Advancing EBP requires nurse educators to show high leadership skills by planning and implementing intervention approaches that can be adopted by students.

Critical Thinking

Thinking critically enables nurse educators to be able to solve nursing problems and creatively create nursing interventions that care providers can easily adopt to advance their respective philosophies (Patterson & Krouse, 2015). Therefore, nurse educators should be critical thinkers which helps in the deliberation of nursing solutions because adult learners look up to them to create solutions.

Summary

Nurse educator philosophy helps to create values and principles that guide decision making and the teaching approach of the nurse educators. As such, an EBP nurse educator philosophy calls for evidence based care values integration in care and can help a nurse educator to transform adult learners to be able to provide evidence based care. The tripartite model can be used to plan and inform the nurse educator strategic role in adult learning environments by identifying the roles of the nurse educators towards promoting learning and knowledge. Leadership and critical thinking are important competencies that every nurse educator should be aware of to help implement the nurse educator philosophy.

References

Adelman-Mullally, T., Mulder, C. K., McCarter-Spalding, D. E., Hagler, D. A., Gaberson, K. B., Hanner, M. B., ... & Young, P. K. (2013). The clinical nurse educator as leader. Nurse education in practice, 13(1), 29-34.

Ali, N. A. (2014). Teaching Philosophy of a Novice Educator. International Journal of Nursing Education, 6(2), 122-124.

Felicilda-Reynaldo, R. F. D., & Utley, R. (2015). Reflections of evidence-based practice in Nurse educators' teaching philosophy statements. Nursing education perspectives, 36(2), 89-95.

Hutzler, Y. S. (2011). Evidence-based practice and research: A challenge to the development of adapted physical activity. Adapted Physical Activity Quarterly, 28(3), 189-209.

Patterson, B. J., & Krouse, A. M. (2015). Competencies for leaders in nursing education. Nursing education perspectives, 36(2), 76-82.

Russell, S. S. (2006). An overview of adult-learning processes. Urologic nursing, 26(5), 349-352.

Satterfield, J. M., Spring, B., Brownson, R. C., Mullen, E. J., Newhouse, R. P., Walker, B. B., & Whitlock, E. P. (2009). Toward a transdisciplinary model of evidencebased practice. The Milbank Quarterly, 87(2), 368-390.