Nurse as Educator: Principles of Teaching and Learning for Nursing Practice - Book Review

AORN Journal,  August, 2003  by Melisa A. Gantt

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second edition Susan B. Bastable 2003, 571 pp $52.95 paperback

When someone asks what it is that a nurse does, the most common answer is that a nurse is trained and licensed to care for the sick. One aspect of nursing that is performed daily and rarely acknowledged is teaching. Nurses are known for their ingenuity, sixth sense, and ability to do many tasks at once, but they rarely are recognized as educators or given the time or training to take on the large responsibility of educating the public. The author of this book has put together a comprehensive, consolidated view of teaching and learning principles and how nurses can use these concepts in educating nursing students, fellow staff members, and patients and their family members.

The original text was published in 1997. In this new edition, the author "refocuses the teaching-learning process to place primary emphasis on the learner as an active participant and the nurse as the enabler." A second difference in this edition is a fresh look at state-of-the-art technology that is available to aid in educating the public. The last difference between the editions is the increased attention given to evaluating educational outcomes.

The author is an associate professor and chair of the undergraduate program at the College of Nursing, State University of New York, Syracuse. Contributors to the text come from various specialties in the New York area--from case managers to education coordinators to a professor of psychology to a professor of sociology and international relations. The audience that will benefit most from this text are nurses who are preparing for roles as educators, whether in medical facilities or in communities. The text balances theory and application of the educational process and is intended to be a primary resource for senior undergraduate nursing students, graduate students, and professional nurses who are in educational roles.

The book contains 15 chapters that fall into three major categories. The first category, "Perspectives of teaching and learning," gives an overview of education in health care; the ethical, legal, and economic foundations of the educational process; and applying learning theories to health care practice. The second category, "Characteristics of the learner," discusses the various components that affect one's ability to learn, stages in growth and development, disabilities, literacy, gender, socioeconomics, culture, learning styles, and motivation. The last category, "Techniques and strategies for teaching and learning," discusses behavioral objectives, instructional methods and material, technology, settings, and outcome evaluations.

Each chapter begins with a list of the chapter highlights, objectives, and key terms. Each chapter ends with a short summary, review questions to help reinforce what was read, and references. An instructor's manual is available to accompany this edition, and it contains multiple choice and essay questions along with learning activities, and instructional material for each chapter. The text contains two appendices--one contains various methods to test the readability of material, and the other is a resource listing of organizations for special populations. A listing of authors and a glossary of words can be found at the end of the book.

I found the text to be very thorough. It was actually many different courses wrapped into one textbook. It contains a sprinkle of sociology, a dash of health care administration, and a slice of education all mixed into the pot of nursing. Even though this text is recommended for senior undergraduate nursing students, I do not recommend it for this audience because of the overwhelming information on educational theory and the sociological aspect. Undergraduate students should be focusing on their craft--nursing in general. I highly recommend this text for graduate students who are in a nursing education track, however, because it covers most aspects of nursing education and is an excellent resource for graduate students who are in educational clinical rotations.

This book is available from Jones and Bartlett Publishers, 40 Tall Pine Dr, Sudbury, MA 01776; http://www.jbpub.com

MELISA A. GANTT

RN, MSN, CNOR, CLNC, CPT, AN, USA

PERIOPERATIVE NURSE

47TH COMBAT SUPPORT HOSPITAL

CAMP WOLF, KUWAIT

COPYRIGHT 2003 Association of Operating Room Nurses, Inc.
COPYRIGHT 2003 Gale Group