Instructional Technology and its Impact on Nursing

Education

Susan M. Gunter, RN BSNThe University of Alabama

Introduction

• How has technology influenced nursing education since 2000?– Nursing courses are accessible anytime, from

anywhere• Why is technology transforming nursing

education?– Current and predicted nursing workforce and faculty

shortages– To increase the number of nurses with advanced

degrees by 80% by 2030 (Institute of Medicine, 2011)• Where has technology impacted the nursing

student ?– Active, engaged learning– Collaboration

Advancements and Innovations in Instructional

Technology since 20001. Distance and online learning

2. High-fidelity Patient Simulation (HFPS)with RFID integration

3. Handheld devices

Identified Themes from Literature

1. Increase the amount of nurses with advanced practice degrees

a) New technologies encourage baccalaureate prepared nurses to further their education (Institute of Medicine, Future of Nursing, 2011)

2. Meet and exceed the healthcare needs of society

a) Aging population and population based health care

b) Advance clinical specialties in geriatrics and rural healthcare

3. Increase the nursing workforce

a) Predicted nursing shortages through 2030 (American Journal of Medical Quality, 2012)

b) Aging nursing faculty and staff

Distance and Online Learning

Distance and Online Learning

• Expansion from correspondence courses to wireless Internet

• Learning Management System (LMS)– Blackboard– eLearning

• Collaborative Learning– Virtual classrooms– Accessibility and flexibility

Learning Management System

Infrastructure

Platform (Operating System)

Discussion

Boards

Dropboxes

Course Email

Assignment

Reminders

Course Managem

ent

Instructors

Limited breakdown of Distance and Online Learning.

Document

Storage

Virtual Classroo

m

Chat Rooms

Calendar

Alerts

Proctored

Exams

Server or Cloud

Interfaces

Students

Distance

Learning

Courses

http://www.mobilemag.com/2010/06/28/1-7-million-iphone-4-units-sold-since-launch/

Distance LearningPositives

• Attracts motivated distance and online learners

• Provides access to information anytime, anywhere

• Supports adult-learner flexibility

• Demands autonomy• Enables collaboration

Negatives

• Infrastructure incapable of supporting platform

• Lack of Information System (IS) experts (SMEs)

• Recurring high costs of updates, additional storage, servers, and interfaces

• Computer knowledge deficits

• Isolates the distance student

• Faculty resistance to additional education

High-fidelity Patient Simulation

with RFID Integration

http://www.laerdal.com/us/doc/85/SimMan-3G#/Images

High-fidelity Patient Simulation

with RFID Integration• HFPS

– Complex skills practice and clinical-decision support based technology

• RFID– Integrated Radio Frequency Identification

(RFID) technology for medication recognition– Utilized to reduce medication errors in

practice• Laerdal Medical, Inc.

– SimMan Essential– SimMan 3G-wireless with RFID http://youtu.be/wk728vFJUJA

High-fidelity Patient Simulation

Positives

• Simulation Cost • $66,500-->$135,000 • Budget limitations

and increased tuition costs

• Increased need for technical maintenance and Information Systems (IS) management

Negatives

• Availability of federal, corporate, private grants, and loans to assist with costs

• Share interdepartmental financial resources

• Strengthens clinical decision support (CDS)

• Meeting QSEN competencies (Safety & Informatics)

• Meeting IOM, Future of Nursing Proposals

Handheld Devices

Handheld Devices

• Laptops, tablets, and smartphones

• Multiple platforms, Apple iOS, Google Android, Windows

• Wireless data services

• Platform enabled applications

http://youtu.be/9_25_fQdxAghttp://www.epocrates.com/who/milestones http://www.apple.com/iphone/ http://www.uptodate.com/home/uptodate-mobile-access http://www.android.com/

Handheld DevicesPositives

• Enables immediate access to course and stored information

• Allows “just-in-time” retrieval of data from clinical reference applications

• Computer in hand• Supports online

collaboration software

Negatives

• Connectivity issues and incompatible platforms

• Rapid device model upgrades

• Application availability between models and plan carriers

• Isolates a student• Security of data

EXISTING KNOWLEDGE

Theoretical ApplicationsConstructivism

Teacher-Centered

Passive Learning

Information

Dissemination20

00

2015

STUDENT-CENTERED

Active Learning

Experiential

Learning

COLLABORATION

Knowledge Acquisition

Inst

ructi

on

al

Tech

nolo

gy

Conclusion

• How has technology influenced nursing education since 2000?– Accessible anytime, anywhere

• Why is technology transforming nursing education?– Nursing workforce and faculty shortages– To increase the number of nurses with

advanced degrees by 80% by 2030 (Institute of Medicine, 2011)

• Where has technology impacted the nursing student ?– Active, engaged learning– Collaboration