Use Technology for Professional Development in Nursing

Professional Development in Nursing and Use Technology

Technology for Professional Development in Nursing,Workforce Training/Staff Development and Role of Technology,Technology Approaches In E-Learning In Health Care,Nurses Educator Role In Use of Technology In Evaluation,Distance Education and Role of E Learning In Nursing Education,Principles of high Quality Education In Use of Technology In Nursing.

Technology for Professional Development in Nursing

    From worksite training to higher education, technology is making professional education more accessible and more meaningful for nurses. As a result, it is no longer necessary for nurses to quit working or to relocate to earn a higher degree. Technology has contributed to the growth of distance education programs at all levels in nursing. 

    Likewise, technology is making it possible for nurses in the workplace to engage in a variety of continuing education activities designed to keep their practice current, to provide career mobility, and to enhance professional development. 

Workforce Training/Staff Development and Role of Technology

    Technology has had such an impact on workforce training that it has given birth to a new industry and a new set of buzzwords that define a contemporary approach to staff education, Professional development and training organizations have capitalized on the power of computer technology to provide businesses with learning solutions referred to as e-learning, an abbreviation for electronic learning.

    Although no consensus has been reached on a precise definition of e-learning, there is some agreement that it involves the use of technology-based tools and processes to provide for customized learning anytime or anywhere. Although the term e-learning can be applied to any learning that is delivered via technology, it is most commonly used to describe professional development and training programs. 

    Higher education typically uses the term distance learning to describe academic programs delivered via computers.The emphasis on e-learning in industry is on outcomes, with the goal of providing an individual with the information or practice opportunities required to perform a task or solve a problem at the point of need. 

    E-learning in nursing has the potential to deliver training programs that are efficient and cost effective, promote positive patient outcomes, and lead to nursing staff satisfaction (Erin, 2015). The nature of the work of health care makes nursing workforce training a critical issue, and e-learning appears to have provided a solution to the problem of keeping staff current in a world where new treatments and new techniques are always on the horizon.

    What is the e-learning approach to workforce training in nursing? First and foremost, it provides learning opportunities at the point of need. In healthcare professions such as nursing, this statement means that training is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Because the point of need in health care is often related to patient care, e-learning must be structured in a way that it can be delivered to nurses on a clinical unit. 

    Point-of-need training also must be efficient. In this era of nursing shortages and increasing complexity of care, such training must be provided in a way that fits into the busy schedules of nurses.

    Finally, e-learning in health care must be distributed so that it can be made available to nursing staff across any number of environments and situations. Many healthcare organizations employ staff in a wide range of settings and locations. A centralized approach to training will not work well if it means that nurses must travel to the staff education office for all training programs. 

Technology Approaches In E-Learning In Health Care

    Multiple approaches to e-learning in health care are possible. Examples of some features of e-learning products that have proven attractive to healthcare organizations are as follows : 

• E-learning training modules can be delivered via the World Wide Web. Web-based products are attractive because they are easily accessed in a variety of environments and situations. A computer workstation can easily fit into a clinical unit, and laptops can be carried into the field.
• E-learning can be delivered in small modules that can be completed in as little as 15 minutes. Many nurses are unable to leave their work area for long periods of time. However, most can find 15 to 30 minutes in any given day to engage in continuing education, particularly if they do not have to leave the unit. Time permitting, staff can complete several modules in one sitting. 
•     E -learning programs can be customized at a variety of levels: the organization, the staff position, and the individual. Customization personalizes the program and helps to make it relevant to the individual and to the organization. For example, e-learning programs can accommodate a learner's need to move quickly or slowly through a program and can be repeated as many times as necessary. E-learning programs can track completion and create a performance report for individual staff members.
• E-learning modules are interactive and reality based. For example, a patient simulation that allows the participant to manage the care of a virtual patient can be created.

Nurses Educator Role In Use of Technology In Evaluation

    Nurses have many potential roles in the development and implementation of an e-learning program within an institution. As content experts, they may be hired by e-learning companies to create products designed to meet the needs of practicing nurses. Nurses within a healthcare organization may be able to work with the e-learning company by customizing the training package purchased and developing a plan for its implementation. 

    Those who use the e-learning system can contribute to the program by completing the modules offered and submitting thoughtful evaluations of the products used.Staff training programs are important to the individual staff members, to the organization, and to the patients served. Every staff member has a responsibility to do what he or she can to ensure the success of the program. 

Distance Education and Role of E Learning In Nursing Education

    Because of technological advances, distance education for nurses is flourishing in the 21st century (Billings, 2007; Lowery & Spector, 2014). This success was not always the case, however. When distance education programs were first introduced, they were quite controversial. For example, when the Regents External Degree Program was first created in 1974, many people believed that a distance model was inappropriate for nursing education. 

    Today, the Regents External Degree Program, now known as Excelsior College, is one of the largest nursing programs in the world, with more than 14,000 nursing students enrolled in its associate, baccalaureate, and master's degree programs (Excelsior College, 2017) . In 1994, another milestone was reached in nursing education when Duquesne University in Pennsylvania opened the first online distance education program leading to a PhD in nursing.

    Today, the Excelsior College and Duquesne University programs represent a small sample of the many distance education programs in nursing currently available in the United States. Distance education programs in nursing are at the associate, baccalaureate, master's, and doctoral levels from a wide range of for profit and not-for-profit institutions of higher education. 

    These distance education programs are offered by online institutions as well as traditional brick and mortar colleges and universities.The term distance learning means different things to different people. Online courses, correspondence courses, independent study, and videoconferencing are just a few of the techniques that can be used to deliver educational programs to students studying at a distance. 

    The diversity of distance education programs in the United States reflects the myriad approaches that can be used to meet the needs of students who are separated from the traditional classroom setting. In all cases, distance education means that the teacher and the learner are separated from each other (Lowery & Spector, 2014).

    A variety of strategies are being used to provide courses to students who are not in the same location as the teacher. However, online courses are growing at such a rapid pace that the Internet is becoming the primary vehicle for delivering distance education (Frith & Clark, 2013). 

    According to the results of a survey of more than 2,500 higher education institutions in the United States, approximately 62% of institutions offer fully online degree programs compared to 32.5% a decade earlier (Sheehy, 2013) and many undergraduate and graduate health profession schools offer online degree programs as well as online courses (US News & World Report. 2017). 

    Some of these courses are totally Internet based, whereas others are hybrid or blended courses that incorporate a mixture of classroom instruction and online discussion.Nursing education has followed a similar pattern, with a wide array of distance options being offered to students. 

    Once considered nontraditional, distance education today is commonplace in the nursing education community. It should be noted that such online education is not restricted to higher education programs, online continuing education programs are also available to nurses from a variety of sources such as their own professional organizations,

    Research has shown that distance education provides much more than a flexible approach to learning. Comparisons of students from distance education courses and from traditional classrooms have repeatedly shown that distance education can be a very effective mode for delivering education (Billings, Dickerson, Greenberg, Wu, & Talley, 2013; Cook et al., 2008). 

    A meta analysis of outcomes in allied health distance education programs indicates that a small but significant positive effect is realized by distance students relative to traditional students (Williams, 2006). Particularly, students with professional experiences have significant learning gains in distance education courses that incorporate elements of social interaction. innovation, and introspection into the learning design (Williams, 2006).

    In discussions of best practice for online teaching, authors have consistently noted that the online environment is simply a tool to facilitate teaching and learning (Abel, 2005; Billings et al., 2013; Dolphy, 2015; Williams, 2006). The technology itself is not what promotes positive student outcomes; Rather, it is the instructional design and techniques within the online classroom that provide for an enriching learning experience.

    Several educational and professional organizations have developed guidelines and standards for distance education to assist faculty and to ensure program quality, including the American Council on Education, the National Education Association, the Commission on Higher Education of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN), and the Western Interstate Commission on Higher Education (Billings, 2007; Billings et al., 2013; NCSBN, 2015). 

Principles of high Quality Education In Use of Technology In Nursing 

    Particularly, the Western Interstate Commission on Higher Education's Principles of Good Practice for Electronically Offered Academic Degree and Certificate Programs has been used as a guide for the creation and provision of high quality higher education online programs since 1995 (Howell & Baker, 2006). These principles fall under seven main areas:

1. A high quality curriculum and instruction

2. An online program consistent with the institution's role and mission

3. Faculty support

4. Resources for learning

5. Students and student services

6. Commitment to supporting faculty and students

7. Evaluation and assessment of students and the program as a whole

    A report by the Alliance for Higher Education Competitiveness (A-HEC) similarly emphasized the importance of an institution's motivation for and commitment to a full online program as a means of delivering high-quality online education. Successful programs work with students and faculty to move beyond technological challenges and focus on a better educational product (Abel, 2005).

    Online educators and students share responsibility for successful learning. Faculty members work to generate innovation in ideas, introspection by students, integration of concepts, building of information, and social interaction among students and instructors to promote a high-quality learning experience (Williams, 2006). 

    Students who are satisfied and successful with their online learning engage in discussion with classmates and instructors, believe their education matches their expectations, are satisfied with student services and supports, feel adequately oriented to their online learning program, and strive for learning outcomes that are useful for their career and professional and academic development (Lorenzo, 2012; Swenson & Bauer, 2012).

    Given the growth and development of online courses, it is likely that this teaching methodology will be incorporated into health and health-care education for the consumer as well. Nurses who are responsible for providing education for patients need to begin thinking about how online courses may fit into their programs. 

    Online courses not only provide learning activities and resources but also facilitate teacher-learner and learner-learner interactions. Internet-based courses might work very well in areas such as parenting and diabetes education where there is an extended program of instruction and the need for group support.

    Teaching with technology is not a new concept. Indeed, nurses and other educators have been using technology to teach patients and students for many years. However, in today's world, technology is advancing so quickly that researchers are struggling to keep up with the new products and technology based strategies that are emerging every day. 

    We live in a world where cars can drive themselves and handheld devices have the capacity to perform computer functions that were only dreamed of in the last century. As we enter the Fourth Industrial Revolution, “the boundaries between the internet, the physical world and people are becoming more blurred by each passing day and the need for education to be place-based is diminishing (Mezied, 2016, para. 4 ) .

    A growing body of research is focusing on the use of technology in patient and professional education. Data suggests that computer and Internet technology has become an integral part of daily life in the United States and other parts of the world. 

    A review of the literature reveals studies covering a broad range of topics, including the use of online support groups, the effectiveness of online education, and the use of computer based programs for patient and professional education in clinical, educational, and home settings. The focus to date has largely been on ways in which technology is being used, the obstacles presented, and learning outcomes. Most of these studies are small in scope.

    Despite a comprehensive body of research on the use of technology in higher education and a growing body of research on patient education, there is much yet to learn, particularly in patient education. Technology is exciting and offers many advantages for both consumers and nurses. 

    However, technology devoid of teaching and learning principles cannot stand alone in consumer or professional education. The challenge for nursing educators is to keep abreast of the best technology and the educational principles that together enable and support a high-quality, enriching consumer learning experience.

    The impact of technology on teachers and learners was addressed, and special considerations for older adults and other client groups were identified. Trends in distance education for nurses were explored.

    Information Age technology has the potential to transform health and healthcare education. This powerful tool must be used thoughtfully and carefully, however. Education is about learning. not technology. Technology is merely a vehicle to deliver educational programs and to promote learning. The benefits of technology based education are numerous, as are the challenges for educators and learners. 

    Nurses have a responsibility to learn to use new tools to promote health and wellness in their patients and professional growth and development in themselves. The future for these teaching-learning approaches looks very bright, and nursing educators can help to shape it by continuing to think creatively about how to use technology in education and by participating in research about its effectiveness.