Health Professions Education In Nursing

 Nursing Education and Health Professions Education

Health Professions Education In Nursing Education,Professional Education and Patient Care,Professionalism In Health Education,Role of Nursing Faculty.

Health Professions Education In Nursing Education

    Health professions education is a team approach to preparing health professions from a range of health care disciplines, including nursing. In health professions education there is an emphasis on providing care through a team approach. The team consists of varied health care professionals with the patient at the center. Care is provided in an inter-professional environment, with an emphasis on evidence based practice, quality improvement, and informatics.

Professional Education and Patient Care

    Within the care delivery environment there has been an emphasis on family and patient centered care, evidence based practice, and inter-professional collaboration. This emphasis has evolved from the work done by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) and various commissions developed to evaluate all aspects of the American and global health care systems (Frenk, 2011; Greiner & Knebel, 2003). Within this framework of care delivery, there is also an emphasis on interdependence among the health professions in education and on trans-formative learning (Frenk, 2011). 

    Trans formative learning is the process of effecting change in a frame of reference (Cranton, 1994; Mezirow, 1991).The IOM committee on health professions education delineated five core competencies that all clinicians should possess regardless of their discipline (Hundert. Hafferty, & Christakis, 1996). These five core competencies are: 

(a) provide patient-centered care

(b) work in inter-professional teams

(c) evidence of employ based practice

(d) apply quality improvement

(e) utilize informatics.

Professionalism In Health Education

    There is an emphasis on three key points when considering the education of the health professions: 

(a) the five core competencies defined by the IOM education summit committee 

(b) a global outlook as it pertains to health care and education (Frenk, 2011)

(c) trans-formative learning (Frenk, 2011)

    Providing patient centered care mates respect, cultural differences, and relief of pain and suffering. Listening, informing, communicating educating, shared 1 decision making, and wellness and disease prevention are the guideposts. Working in inter-professional teams fosters cooperation, collaboration, and communication, and integration of care ensures continuity and reliability. Employing evidence based practice integrates research, clinical expertise and patient values to provide the best care. 

    Applying quality improvement helps health care professionals to identify errors, implement safety design principles, and measure quality of care and outcomes that are patient and community centered. Utilizing informatics helps to improve communication, increase knowledge, prevent errors, and support decision making. Each discipline of the health professions has unique contributions to make. Those contributions will be best delivered when the professionals are in clinical settings that value inter-professional care

Role of Nursing Faculty

    Nurses are uniquely prepared to take care of patients, paying particular attention to the patient and family as an entity. The education of nurses is centered on knowing the cultural background, treating the patient as a whole being, and navigating between nursing and medical diagnoses as well as promoting an environment of health promotion and wellness. Nursing education now needs to focus on collaboration and team building. Thus, nurses can assume a unique and important role in the inter-professional management and care of patients and families. Cranton, P. (1994) Understanding and promoting transformative learning A guide for educators of adults. San Francisco, CA: Jossey Bass.