C922 Emerging Trends and Challenges in 21st Century Nursing Education

C922 Emerging Trends and Challenges in 21st Century Nursing Education Nursing education has undergone a paradigm shift to integrate and implement technology to revolutionize the delivery of higher education to enhance the learning experience, ensure learner success, and improve learning outcomes. Technology in nursing education provides numerous advantages to the classroom setting including ease of access to course content, flexibility to review material from any location that has internet services and provide learners ample amount of resources to develop critical thinking, autonomy, and a higher order of thinking. The introduction of technology into nursing education has modernized the modes of instruction by standardizing curriculum which is tailored to benefit all learning styles to ensure competency, success, and enhancement of the future of nursing practice. A precisely organized and methodical curricular needs assessment was performed to determine the differences in current practice or knowledge and current evidence-based best practices related to the implementation of nursing education via survey of stakeholders and critical evaluation of current and prior learning activities for baseline information. Findings suggested that the introduction of a curricular technology change, namely, the Lippincott Solution platform, to the curriculum will be beneficial to learner success, institution reputation, and enhance the overall infrastructure of nursing education within this institution. Stakeholder alignment with the implementation of the Lippincott Solution platform was obtained with the interest of providing learners with the best possible chance of success through streamlined, standardized, and evidence-based modalities of teaching that assists learners with superior skill acquisition, development of critical thinking, and higher order cognitive functioning to prepare them to translate theory to practice. Literature Review Credible Sources Refer to Appendix A: Table 1. Literature Review Summary Table. Summary of Sources Nursing education has undergone a paradigm shift from the traditional classroom setting to a blended model of learning which incorporates not only textbooks and lectures, but also technology-based methods to assist nurse educators in providing excellent learning experiences for all learners across the spectrum. According to Raoufi, Manoochehri, Zarifsanaiey, & Nikravanmofrad (2020), the introduction of technology-based methods to nursing education has revolutionized higher education through the incorporation of Electronic Learning (e-learning). E- learning shifts the focus on to the learners, and how they interact with the classroom, nurse educators, and educational setting through the internet and handheld devices such as laptops, tablets, or even cellphones. Benefits of utilizing an e-learning modality include the easy access to educational materials through online libraries, flexibility to complete education in a blended setting, or completely online, reduced resources related to travel and commute costs, and positive performance outcomes for learners. Qiu (2019) and Voutilainen, Saaranen, & Sormunen (2017) concur that e-learning and mobile application platforms “have been found to have primarily positive cognitive impacts, have revolutionized nursing education,” and have resulted in better learning outcomes versus the conventional learning approach for nursing education’s millennial group. E-learning can provide learners an opportunity to continuously revisit course content either in their educational institution’s library, or the comfort and convenience of their own home. For example, if the nurse educator performs a particular skill in the skills lab, utilization of e-learning in to nursing curriculum can allow learners to view videos on nursing skills remotely with their laptops, mobile phones, or tablets, where they may be able to make more meaningful connections with the material, and take the time to write down steps to a procedure. Essentially, having course content available to all learners with the click of a button can be advantageous to student learning outcomes and the future of nursing practice as a whole. E-learning can be advantageous to nursing curriculum because information can quickly and seamlessly be provided to learners in real time, and while on the go. It is no myth that nursing textbooks can be quite cumbersome to carry around due to the sheer size of each individual book. Fox (2019) purports that providing learners with an e-learning platform gives learners the flexibility to access course content, since education has undergone the paradigm shift which now encourages a blended learning environment, to provide learners with a plethora of learning opportunities that are engaging, thought provoking, and fosters an environment that encourages growth as a student nurse. With the ushering in of technological advances in nursing education, nurse educators can continuously assess current curriculum and adjust lesson plans, course content, and learning objectives based on the needs of the entire class. For example, e-learning provides a rich environment for all learning styles to engage and flourish in with the use of videos, audio recordings, online articles, and visual aids. Fox (2019) and Elbasuony, Gangadharan, Janula, Shylaja, & Gaber (2018) concur that current trends in a technologically advanced educational environment, caters to all learning styles, and in actuality, has shaped nursing into a noble profession, which ultimately impacts the quality and safety of patient care. The new millennium of nursing students are inevitably exposed to technological advances, and nursing education should therefore capitalize on these advances, to provide learners with situations which utilize evolving technologies that promote the best opportunities for learners’ overall growth, success, and competency. Knowledge Gaps The paradigm shift to incorporate technology into nursing curriculum provides learners with more creative and innovative learning opportunities and promotes evidence-based practices with easy access to materials and up-to-date information. This shift is revolutionizing how nurse educators design, develop, and deliver nursing education. However, as the nurse educator’s pedagogical designs of teaching continue to evolve, nurse educators and learners alike may experience gaps in the use of the new emerging technology. Nurse educators and learners will have to adapt to the different knowledge gaps, skill gaps, or practice gaps that accompany the new technological advances. The current gap in the community health course is that there is no e- learning or mobile learning instruction present in the current curriculum to ensure all learners obtain a successful and meaningful grasp of community and public health nursing material. Raoufi et al., (2020) purport that knowledge, skill, or practice gaps from the implementation of technology in to nursing curricula may require more seasoned nurse educators who may not have incorporated technology into their instructional arsenal may have to essentially relearn how to create new and innovative modalities of teaching. Fox (2019) concurs that a learning curve may present itself as an opportunity for seasoned nurse educators to bridge the knowledge, skill, or practice gaps that accompany the technological advances by incorporating the use of web-based learning activities, online learning materials, and an online classroom portal. Voutilainen et al., (2017) assert that not only nurse educators may be subjected to the knowledge, skills, and practice gaps which follow the implementation of technology in to nursing curriculum. Learners may also experience a learning curve to the use of technology if they were not raised during the era of technological advances (Voutilainen et al., 2017). Younger generations of nursing learners who grew up during the time of computer instruction in school, smart mobile phones, and smart cars may be more adept at utilizing technology while in school. However, the educational settings have also taken a paradigm shift to include the adult learner who may be re-specializing in to nursing as a second career and may not be as comfortable with the use of a computer or online classes. ..........