Nursing 645

NURS 645: Practicum in Nursing Education

Prerequisites: Graduate standing

Credit Hours: (3)

This course is designed to provide practical experience in the facets of the role of nurse educator including teaching in the classroom, laboratory, and clinical setting. Other responsibilities of the nurse educator will be explored including contributions to the development and/or monitoring of curriculum, and functioning as a faculty member on committees that contribute to the effectiveness of a nursing program and the larger unit of which the school is a part (college/university).

Detailed Description of Content of the Course

Topical Outline

I. The Faculty Role: Rights and Responsibilities

            A. Facets of a faculty appointment including tenure/non-tenure, full-time/part-time, rank and promotion
            B. Expectations of a faculty appointment in relation to teaching, scholarship (including practice), and contributions to the unit and/or institution

II. Structure of the Nursing Unit

            A. Committee Structure in Relation to the Mission of the Unit
            B. The Faculty Role in Relation to the Nursing Curriculum

III. Implementing Curriculum

            A. Relating classroom, laboratory, and clinical experiences to expected learning outcomes
            B. Planning activities to meet the learning needs of a group of students as well as the unique needs of individual students
            C. Evaluation of student learning, formative and summative

IV. Faculty Development

            A. Self-Evaluation
            B. Balancing various aspects of the nurse educator role

V. Legal and Ethical Issues

            A. Academic Policies
            B. Academic Freedom
            C. Documentation
            D. Students with Disabilities
            E. Other Current Issues

Detailed Description of Conduct of Course

This three credit course will consist of six hours of practicum/week and five three hour seminars over the semester. Seminars will be implemented by a faculty member with preparation in nursing education. Students will be assigned to a faculty mentor and, with that mentor, will practice teaching undergraduate students in the classroom, laboratory and clinical settings; the majority of practice will occur in laboratory and clinical settings. In addition, the student will have the opportunity to explore other aspects of the faculty role, for example, participating on the Curriculum Committee over the semester.

Goals and Objectives of the Course

On completion of this course the student will be able to:

1. Participate in curriculum development and monitoring activities.
2. Apply learning theory in creating learning activities for students in the classroom, laboratory, or clinical setting.
3. Develop learning expereinces for a group of students based on an analysis of each individual student's unique learning needs.
4. Implement the teaching role of the nurse educator with a group of students to include activities in the classroom, laboratory and/or clinical settings.
5. Provide oral and written clinical evaluations based on expected outcomes for students supervised in the laboratory or clinical setting.
6. Evaluate the effectiveness of one's own teaching in a variety of settings including classroom, laboratory, and/or clinical settings.
7. Examine legal and ethical issues in clinical teaching.
8. Explore expectations of a nurse educator in a faculty position.

Assessment Measures

A variety of measures will be used to evaluate learning including, but not limited to, both faculty and self-assessment of teaching in the classroom, laboratory and clinical settings, projects and presentations.