Learning and Teaching
As I think about my philosophy on teaching, I had to review what the dictionary states about learning which is acquiring knowledge and teaching entails sharing information with others according to Merriam-Webster’s dictionary (Merriam-Webster, 2017). Therefore, my philosophy for teaching does not only involve my ability to teach others about my profession but is also an opportunity for me to continue building my knowledge base. As a nursing instructor, I assist others to succeed in the program by helping them to learn how to care for patients and families while striving to obtain his or her educational goals. My role is to help students become the best and to reach their fullest potential in this profession. It is important to help students obtain skills and knowledge needed to provide patient care as well as “teaching about the rational and mental skills to include moral, spiritual and communicative values while taking care of patients”. Instructing students about being ethically competent can help them to learn the importance of being committed to providing high quality patient care (Borhani, Alhani, Mohammadi & Abbaszadeh, 2010, p. 1).
One of my assets in educating students is through continued work in the profession to maintain my own knowledge and skills and then sharing experiences with students. Staying active with patient care helps me to keep up with evidence-based practice and ensure that I am guiding students correctly. This also allows me to stay current with processes and procedures currently used in practice so that I can feel comfortable and confident in what I am teaching students. I found that maintaining my nursing practice has been beneficial to students who appreciate learning about situations from actual patient experiences.
Goals
One of the goals that I have for students is for them to not only learn about skills needed to care for patients but to understand why specific skills and/or tasks are performed. I encourage the students to use critical thinking and problem solving skills to work through situations that are new or unfamiliar to them during the clinical experience and by guiding the student to work through the situation, it allows them to learn and apply the necessary skills to resolve the issue. I also believe that as an instructor, I must practice what I preach so that when I am performing tasks or procedures, I ensure to perform them as I expect the student to perform and lead by example. I treat the clinical and learning experience as an opportunity to mentor future nurses into the profession.
Implementation and Professional Growth
In order to strive as an instructor, some skills required include “strong medical and clinical knowledge, clinical competence, a positive and supportive relationship with students, good communication skills, enthusiasm and patience” (Joshi, 2014). It is also important that the instructor has passion about teaching. I work to maintain those skills by keeping my license updated, continue to practice, and being open to suggestions on other ways to get the job done as a nurse in a safe, effective and evidence based method. Personal and professional growth for me includes completing the doctorate of nursing practice and obtaining additional certifications such as becoming a certified nurse educator.
Conclusion
Being an educator in my opinion is a rewarding and excellent opportunity to help the profession of nursing to grow. I find that it is extremely important that I am competent with my skills and abilities and am passionate about not only providing direct patient care through current practice but have the ability to help others become successful nurses. Being an educator definitely consists of learning how to help others succeed and then taking that knowledge to teach them what is required to become successful.
References
Borhani, F., Alhani, F., Mohammadi, E., & Abbaszadeh, A. (2010). Professional ethical competence in nursing: The role of nursing instructors. Journal of Medical Ethics and History of Medicine, 3(3).
Joshi, N. (2014). What makes a good clinical educator? Retrieved from https://www.aliem.com/2014/05/makes-good-clinical-educator/.
Merriam-Webster (2017). Learning. Retrieved from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/learning.
Merriam-Webster (2017). Teaching. Retrieved from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/teaching.