c. Serve in the role of educator/executive and role model when working with students, staff, peers, and other constituencies.
I recently began my journey as a nurse educator and role model as the lead preceptor for the Children’s Emergency Department and also an undergraduate nursing tutor for Nebraska Methodist College. As a lead preceptor, I am responsible for instructing new employees and nursing students on assessments and delegation skills, various tasks and nursing processes, and effective communication. My enthusiastic approach to educating new employees has positively impacted them, as evidenced by the retention and success they have had in the ED, as well as multiple recognitions from my supervisor and fellow employees. As a student tutor, I have the ability to interact with current students at an accredited nursing college and share my experiences and knowledge to prepare them for classroom experiences and their future careers. This interaction with students further motivates me to pursue my dream of becoming a nurse educator. I am eager to share my expertise with nursing students in the future and serve as a professional influence that will affect the quality of care provided by our future nurses.
Upon starting my career as the nurse educator in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, I started my education role my looking at the current needs of staff. I noted a need for a comprehensive, purposefully structured orientation process. Learning experiences can be overwhelming when the focus is on procedures that require critical thinking, resuscitation, or life-saving interventions. Carefully structured, supportive orientation process was needed to prevent stress on new employees. New nurses need to be taught how to apply critical thinking skills and the ability to act immediately and know how to utilize resources. As an educator I focused on teaching nurses clinical reasoning and good clinical judgment, which is the ability to take into account all circumstances and connect them with the patient and family. Trends are captured with clinical reasoning. In the development of the new orientation process, I included components to encourage critical thinking and sound clinical judgment. The components include
-
Clinical bedside learning with preceptor
-
High-fidelity simulation
-
Computer learning (CHEX)- staggered approach
-
Case studies/Learning packets
-
Interactive Classroom Topics
-
Competency evaluation with Final Eval at the end of orientation and after classroom topics throughout orientation
-
Progress evaluations with Educator/Manager
-
Follow STAT RN for focus on skills
-
Buddy week
Finally, the attached artifact is an example of an interactive classroom topic where I participated as the educator. The schedule for the initial orientation process for new staff is also included.
