Friday, February 5, 2010
Alright, it is time to get into to the creative mode! Can you imagine this...You are talking about the respiratory system...How it works...How gases exchange...Why you can hear the breath sounds...What effect the Oxygen (or lack of) has on the body. And you say, as you load a picture of a patient from freenursetutor...Tell me what you want to assess on our patient, remember she has pneumonia and she is having some major breathing issues. Someone yells out, check her lung sounds. You ask them to come and mouseover where they will assess that. They come to the front and mouseover the right, upper, posterior fields and an assessment appears stating that she has crackles, a rate of 30 and rust colored sputum. You ask the class why this could be appearing in this patient. Many answers are given...some good...some not so good. All right you should be seeing where I am going with this. You are giving a chance for application of "stuff" that they are trying to just write in their notes and memorize! They weren't going to that dark and scary place called "critical thinking" after all this is an A&P lecture!
Well, the joke is on them because you then continue to look at the head where you find out that she is confused....hmmmmm...Why is that? Pretty soon you see a lot of students put down their cell phones (which they thought you could not see) and they are looking perplexed at what it happening. Then by the time you get to the pulse rate, which seems a little high, you are starting to get some answers that are starting to show promise! You are feeling quite warm and fuzzy inside...and start to imagine that these students may actually be showing some potential, and it is only the fourth week into the program...They aren't supposed to be thinking like this already, WOW. The amazing thing is that they look so pleased with themselves that they are discovering the hidden meaning to life...that's what it feels like to them because they are taking a little bit of knowledge and experimenting with applying it. You have just empowered your students to think one step further, away from the "safe" place of memorization.
Many times we convey the facts, and then more facts and more facts. At the end of the lecture, if they can give us some of the high points back....Success. But they have those facts in their books, and if we tell them to memorize them, most will. What they need us to do is show them how to process that information in a meaningful "Nursing" way. The more opportunities we give them, the easier it becomes. Clinical and simulated lab time is really not enough. In fact many students are so intimidated in clinicals that they cannot even access what they know. Our task is to find ways to practice the thought process in ways that do not threaten the student. This is one example.
In my next blog, I will give you the recipe for creating a patient that can be used in such a way. You can use this in so many scenarios. You do not have to wait until you have covered the assessment module, let them start to see the importance of what they are learning. They will learn more effectively! So, in the next day I will give you the information that you can use as a recipe card. See you soon.
Well, the joke is on them because you then continue to look at the head where you find out that she is confused....hmmmmm...Why is that? Pretty soon you see a lot of students put down their cell phones (which they thought you could not see) and they are looking perplexed at what it happening. Then by the time you get to the pulse rate, which seems a little high, you are starting to get some answers that are starting to show promise! You are feeling quite warm and fuzzy inside...and start to imagine that these students may actually be showing some potential, and it is only the fourth week into the program...They aren't supposed to be thinking like this already, WOW. The amazing thing is that they look so pleased with themselves that they are discovering the hidden meaning to life...that's what it feels like to them because they are taking a little bit of knowledge and experimenting with applying it. You have just empowered your students to think one step further, away from the "safe" place of memorization.
Many times we convey the facts, and then more facts and more facts. At the end of the lecture, if they can give us some of the high points back....Success. But they have those facts in their books, and if we tell them to memorize them, most will. What they need us to do is show them how to process that information in a meaningful "Nursing" way. The more opportunities we give them, the easier it becomes. Clinical and simulated lab time is really not enough. In fact many students are so intimidated in clinicals that they cannot even access what they know. Our task is to find ways to practice the thought process in ways that do not threaten the student. This is one example.
In my next blog, I will give you the recipe for creating a patient that can be used in such a way. You can use this in so many scenarios. You do not have to wait until you have covered the assessment module, let them start to see the importance of what they are learning. They will learn more effectively! So, in the next day I will give you the information that you can use as a recipe card. See you soon.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I got a little adrenaline rush reading that first part...
ReplyDeleteNice & very informative article. It is very useful for my nursing education.
ReplyDeleteThanks for it !
student of Nursing Programs