Holism as a nurse educator - Essay Example

Holism in being a Nurse Educator Holism in being a Nurse Educator Holism or doing things in a holistic manner has been defined as an important part of teaching and passing on information, since there is an emphasis on analyzing situations or conditions using as many perspectives as possible and thereby allows persons to gain better skills in critical thinking, execution of ideas, among others (Utley, 2011). In the case of nursing education, being a holistic teacher of nursing education is relevant since working in actual medical settings can be very daunting if students were only to rely solely on books or in classroom lectures and discussions.

As a nurse educator, it is essential that students are given greater access to ideas mostly taught in the class, such as the process of caring, communicating, having professionalism, and other traits since these would be considered as the main core values when dealing with actual patients in various medical settings. Thus, if a nurse education is not able to give a kind of multi-perspective or holistic kind of teaching to students, they may not be able to learn the core values they will need in order to become successful and effective in their profession (Utley, 2011).

In giving students a chance to learn the fundamentals of nursing through multiple perspectives, it is essential that the instructors themselves are able to handle this need by having the traits effective and holistic nurse educators have. For this purpose, the National League for Nursing (NLN) released a guide which lists the eight core competencies that are needed from nurse educators in assuring that they will have students which embody the traits of holism in their careers. These eight competencies are the following: 1.

Facilitates learning (e.g. uses learning styles and strategies appropriate for students’ skills and abilities); 2. Facilitates learner development and socialization (e.g. encourages students to learn more and to be updated in new technologies and information); 3. Use assessment and evaluation strategies (e.g. guides students in making their goals, and provides them with prompt feedback on their progress); 4. Participate in curriculum design and evaluation of project outcomes (e.g. uses assessment outcomes to check whether the curriculum can still be improved); 5.

Function as change agent and leader (e.g. encourages students to become innovative); 6. Pursue continuous quality improvement in the nurse educator role (e.g. teacher shows a commitment for continuous learning); 7. Engage in scholarship (e.g. uses up-to-date methods to improve teaching methods, much like in evidence-based practices); and 8. Function within the educational environment (e.g. teacher has sufficient knowledge and skills in operating within the school’s goals, mission, and philosophy for their learning program) (NLN, 2005; (Utley, 2011).

Through the use of all eight competencies nurse educators can better integrate both theories and actual or direct experiences to transformation experiences which students can relate to and recall in encountering actual duties and medical situations. Such a process is expected in holistic teaching, and in doing so will enable students to gain skills and abilities in collating experiences, reflecting observations, conceptualization of abstract ideas, and actual experimentation (Utley, 2011). Becoming a holistic nurse educator can be quite challenging since it requires the instructor to have various abilities such as multitasking while applying multiple perspectives in teaching the students.

In addition, these educators must also show their students the importance of executing the conceptual pillars of the field by practicing and doing these themselves. These would include showing patients as well as their own students care and compassion, showing their open and clear methods of communication, instilling professionalism at all times, instigating the process of critical thinking through using a wide variety of situations, and integrating all of these things in performing daily duties.

Allowing the students to have a glimpse of what it takes to be a holistic nurse is crucial because allowing them to see and experience what they learned in the classroom firsthand will initiate them to become holistic nurses themselves (Utley, 2011). Thus the nurse educator’s role of both teaching and modeling the important core values of the profession is essential in developing nurses with a holistic attitude in incorporating improvements to work practice such as the use of evidence-based practices, of instigating changes if necessary, and in executing what they learned while striving for personal growth when performing their daily duties.

ReferencesNational League for Nursing. (2005). Core competencies of nurse educators with task statements. Retrieved from National League for Nursing: http://www.nln.org/profdev/corecompetencies.pdfUtley, R. (2011). Theory and research for academic nurse educators: application to practice. Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.