NURS FPX 6226 Assessment 5 Description of Practicum Hours

NURS FPX 6226 Assessment 5 Description of Practicum Hours

Student Name
Capella University

NURS-FPX6226
Professor Name

Submission Date

 Description of Practicum Hours

The 50 hour practicum experience was provided at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, MD in the nursing education department. The practicum experience concentrated on planning, implementing and critically assessing educational activities for the nursing personnel in a clinical area. The primary objective of the practicum was to build upon the skills of nursing education, staff development, evidence-based teaching, and professional communication.

Observation was done as part of the practicum pertaining to planning and implementing educational sessions for Registered Nurses, newly hired staff, and nursing students to observe the nurse educator’s role in the educational process. These activities comprised review of orientation documents and assistance in the preparation of teaching materials, observing competency-based training, and discussions about training needs in clinical learning. The practicum also helped to gain insight into how nurses start to educate other nurses when they identify gaps in knowledge in order to enhance patient safety and quality of care.

One large component of the experience was working on the development of educational material regarding infection prevention, medication safety, patient communication, documentation standards and evidence-based nursing practice. These topics were chosen as key ones that are necessary to enhance clinical performance and minimize avoidable errors. The teaching methods adopted were short presentations, discussion around the case, demonstration of skills, and Question and Answer. These approaches facilitated active learning and motivated the nurses to make links between theoretical learning and practical scenarios.

Practicum also involved involving with staff education planning sessions. This was accomplished during these meetings, which facilitated an understanding of the collaborative efforts of nurse educators with nurse managers, quality improvement teams, and bedside nurses. As part of this partnership, the educational needs, changes in policies, patient outcomes, and organizational objectives were prioritized. This experience revealed that the role of the nurse educator extends beyond the teaching function and includes leadership, communication, mentoring, evaluation, and continuous improvement.

One of the other significant factors in the practicum was evaluation. To determine the extent to which learning goals were achieved, feedback forms, verbal responses, and informal observation were employed. The experience helped to illustrate the need to assess the educational outcomes of teaching to learn whether it is effective or not. It also emphasized that it is a need for a nurse educator to change his/her teaching style depending on the level of experience, learning needs, and duties the learner is at.

The 50 practicum hours, overall, were a good exposure to the nurse educator position in a large health care organization. The experience enhanced the knowledge of curriculum planning of curriculum, staff development, professionalization of education, and evidence-based teaching. It also enhanced communication, leadership, critical thinking, and instructional design skills. This practicum was beneficial for professional development in the field of nursing education, as well as providing an understanding of the role of the nurse educator in providing safe, competent, and quality patient care.