Clinical Teaching Strategies in Nursing
Kathleen B. Gaberson and Marilyn H. Oermann. Springer Publishing Company, New York, NY, 2010, 442 pages, paperbound. US$60.00. ISBN: 978-082610581-3
*Reviewed by:
Alma McColl, MSN, RN
Instructor, South University
Tampa, Florida
(e-mail: [email protected])
The authors discuss, in 16 chapters, strategies used in the clinical teaching of nursing students. The first six chapters give an insight to what an essential curriculum is, the desired outcomes, the preparation for clinical activities, the process of evaluation, and the ethical and legal issues in clinical teaching.
Some of the strategies mentioned include self-directed learning activities, clinical simulation, case studies, and discussion. The book also describes the use of preceptors and written assignments and the process of clinical evaluation and grading.
This book serves as a guide to anyone who is involved in clinical teaching. It is informative, easy to read, and a good resource for all clinical educators. It also contains the outline for the current Certified Nurse Educator examination core competencies that will assist anyone who is reviewing for the examination.
The examples of teaching tools, including the clinical competencies, glossary of terms, question classification, and observation forms, are all very useful. The authors also discuss clinical education for graduate nursing students and the use of a regional clinical coordinator. This information may be helpful for any university looking for placements for its graduate nursing students. The book describes the need for more advanced practice nurses to help mentor students in graduate programs.
The book is written in an appropriate style and language for its intended audience. The table of contents, index, and references are very helpful. The scope of the book is comprehensive, covering many strategies implemented by clinical educators. It also covers use of virtual reality and game-based clinical education, which is increasing in popularity. The book's relevance is related to clinical education planning and use of evaluation tools.
I have enjoyed reading this book, and I am passing it on to other faculty members. I was particularly interested in Chapter 11 (Discussion and Clinical Conference), as I am fairly new in my position and am trying to make postconferences more meaningful. The authors' suggestion of letting the students express their ideas and the teacher serving as a resource by asking open-ended questions to promote expression is well taken. I agree with the authors that taking care of patients is really not synonymous with learning. It is difficult to focus on clinical objectives when the students are involved in patient care. However, it is important to keep in mind that patient needs should be met and, as guests in the clinical facility, both faculty and students need to compromise.
I recommend this book as an introduction to new educators involved in clinical teaching. The only recommendation I have is to include a chapter on documentation, specifically electronic documentation. The students are counting on the clinical instructors to access electronic charts and to be proficient in bar-coding while administering medications.
Providing a summary of the history and use of electronic documentation would be a good addition to this book.
Disclaimer: The author has disclosed that she has no significant relationships with, or financial interest in, any commercial companies pertaining to this review.
Religion, Religious Ethics, and Nursing
M.D. Fowker, S. Reimer-Kirkham, R. Sawatzky and E. Johnston Taylor (Eds.). Springer Publishing, New York, NY, 2012, 406 pages, paperback. US$65.00. ISBN: 978-0-8261-0663-6
*Reviewed by:
Deborah Giedosh, EdD, RN
Director of Nursing, Alaska Career
College, Anchorage
(e-mail: [email protected])
The text examines the confluence of religion and the science of nursing from historical to contemporary perspectives. It is organized to provide the reader with an opportunity to appreciate the woven "threads" of religion, ethics, culture, health, gender, power, and health policy as a rich tapestry of contemporary healthcare practice. It further supports that one's beliefs hold a significant influence on the lens through which patient and practitioner view the concepts of wellness toward a better patient outcome.
Although it is a common belief that nursing has deep roots in religion, modern nursing, determined to establish itself as an authentic profession, has consciously moved from the concept of nursing as an art to a science, squeezing the religious construct out of professional parameters. Evidence of this movement can be seen through the examination of contemporary curricula at all educational levels in nursing. The authors remind readers that understanding religion helps nurses to better understand the rationale behind patients' motivation toward action, inaction, reaction, and decision making. The text also offers opportunities for nurses to examine their religious worldview and bias that influence how we "see" patients and our role.
The development of critical thinking skills in practitioners coupled with solid reasoning abilities requires an educational process that is inclusive of all aspects of health care, with religion as an important consideration of holistic care. Striving to assist patients to derive meaning for their health when science is mute means nursing should support an approach to the potential complexity of religious ideas as an ethical consideration toward greater compassion and social justice in practice. Understanding the triad of "health, illness, and the human person" means we better understand ourselves and the patients who touch our daily lives, and in turn this understanding makes us more effective in our work.
The text attempts to describe the major religions of the world and can at times be overwhelming for the reader at the undergraduate level. However, using the text as a resource in a case study format means students can focus on a particular patient and engage in a dialogue during patient care to reinforce the need to incorporate religion as an ethical consideration. The text is better suited to graduate education.
The strength of the text is the ethical consideration of religion as a social construct to provide credence for inclusion within nursing education. Its weakness is the complexity of information that could be confusing to students who are not religious scholars.
Disclaimer: The author has disclosed that she has no significant relationships with, or financial interest in, any commercial companies pertaining to this review.
Precepting in Nursing: Developing an Effective Workforce
Susan Ullrich and Ann Haffer. Jones and Bartlett Publishers, Sudbury, MA, 2009, 236 pages, softcover. US$54.00. IBSN-13: 978-0-7637-5845-5
*Reviewed by:
Cathy Colley, MEd, BSN, RN-BC
Director of Nursing Education
CHRISTUS Spohn Health System
Corpus Christi, TX
The purpose of this workbook is listed as "a resource for nurses about to embark on a precepting journey" but is more geared toward leading a nursing education department in the process of setting up a preceptor program. Each chapter follows the same format and starts with an introduction, learning objectives, and questions to guide learning. The chapter then presents the focus of the chapter, preceptor strategies, summary, reflection exercises, and references. This book also suggests strategies to use when precepting a student, a newly graduated nurse, or an experienced nurse. Finally, each chapter includes tools to assist the precepting process, planning guides, examples of reflective journals, skills checklists, and progressive evaluations.
The book describes the roles and responsibilities of the preceptor, coach, teacher, facilitator, manager, and evaluator; the legal and regulatory considerations; initial experience planning; how to work with a beginner nurse; time management; adult learning styles; motivational strategies; diversity; and assessing and tracking progress. The book ends with three appendices that answer the review questions and provide templates for agency and student nurse contracts.
The content of the book leans more to the precepting of nursing students than working with nurses new to a facility. The book has many ideas for a preceptor program but is lacking in "real world" strategies to help manage a preceptor program. For example, in the definition of the manager role, there was no mention of how the manager supports the process other than to select the preceptors, make certain preceptees visit other departments, and evaluate the total program at the end of the term. The diversity chapter does include information on how to best precept an internationally educated nurse and nurses of different generations. It does not mention how to handle gender differences or how to manage a relationship when cultural, gender, or generational issues arise between the preceptor and preceptee.
The nursing professional development specialist could use this book if the institution has never had a preceptor program; however, most institutions put these types of programs in place years ago. This workbook could be used as a resource for evaluating and updating a current program's tools or forms, but otherwise it may just be an additional reference on the topic of precepting.
Disclaimer: The author has disclosed that she has no significant relationships with, or financial interest in, any commercial companies pertaining to this review.