Innovative developments allow educators to spend more time with students.
GUEST COLUMN | by Patty Knecht
In my nursing career spanning four decades, including my present role at a learning solutions company for healthcare, I have witnessed a transformative evolution in nursing education.
Now, we are at a crossroads. While nurses continue to play a critical role in healthcare delivery, we have a dangerous shortage of qualified professionals and nursing schools are under immense pressure to educate and graduate more practice-ready nurses. So where do we go from here?
‘… we have a dangerous shortage of qualified professionals and nursing schools are under immense pressure to educate and graduate more practice-ready nurses. So where do we go from here?’
I recently had the opportunity to speak with leaders at some of the top nursing programs across the country and one thing is clear: deep faculty-student relationships and individualized educational connections are critical to student success.
But with a faculty shortage and fiscal constraints leaving many educators overstretched, technology and innovation are making the difference to fill these gaps and help educators better support their students. We must utilize this technology to its full potential. With approximately 60% of nursing schools nationwide reporting vacancies in full-time educator positions, there is less time for the development of student-educator relationships and limitations on program capacity, meaning thousands of qualified students are being turned away. At a time when hospitals, nursing homes, and other health care entities are facing serious staffing shortages, nursing schools must utilize technology to its full potential so we can grow a sustainable pipeline of practice-ready nurses.
Innovative Developments
Innovative developments including screen-based simulation, AI mannequins, and other tools enhance students’ learning experience. Importantly, they help boost faculty efficiency while also focusing on student’s unique needs and preferred approaches to learning by today’s traditional student population. Screen-based simulation is particularly important for developing the clinical judgment skills that are essential to safe practice in year one and provide students a low-stakes opportunity to build confidence and learn from making errors and problem solving accordingly
These tools also allow educators to spend more time with students. During conversations with some of the country’s top nursing schools, all of them attributed their success—in part—to the one-on-one relationships they’re able to build with their students. These tools are particularly important for programs with larger class sizes because they allow faculty to spend more time where it matters most—with their students. With tools like Claire AI, educators can save hundreds of hours on writing exam questions alone and can instead focus on mentoring students, facilitating clinical simulations, and addressing individual academic, social, and emotional concerns.
Preparing Students for a Modernized Workforce
By leveraging the emerging tools and technologies at their disposal, nurse educators can get back to what they do best—teach and coach.
The success stories I’ve heard aren’t isolated, and the impact of these technologies isn’t limited to academic success. They also prepare students for a workforce increasingly reliant on digital tools. These success stories shouldn’t be the exception. They should be the rule. Nursing schools nationwide, regardless of size or resources, must explore how these technologies can modernize and revolutionize their programs. The need is simply too urgent, and the stakes too high, to wait.
At a time when the need for nurses is growing nationwide, we must invest in scalable outcomes-based tools and technologies that will help us prepare more practice-ready nurses.
As a former nurse and nurse educator myself, I’m inspired by the potential of these technologies and what they offer students. By combining the compassion and expertise of nursing educators with the power of technology, we can ensure a future where nursing program graduates are prepared to provide a high standard of quality patient care. It’s a vision we can—and must—achieve together.
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Patty Knecht, Ph.D., RN, ANEF, is the Chief Nursing Officer of Ascend Learning. Connect with Patty on LinkedIn.
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Original Article Published at Edtech Digest
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