Example Reflection:
Dr. Alteza and Class,
I can’t believe we are in Week 8! I have truly enjoyed this class and I am excited to take some of the things we’ve learned and apply them to my position as a nurse educator in the future.
The first course outcome which I achieved was, “Stimulate critical thinking and clinical judgment in nursing students and nursing staff through well-formed questioning techniques and innovative assignments related to pathophysiology, pharmacology, and physical assessment.” I chose a topic for our assignments that challenged me and helped me become a better nurse in the process. In doing this, I was able to push myself to think critically, which helped me develop the questions and rationales for the assignment in Week 5.
The second course outcome that resonated with me was, “Incorporate person-centered, active-learning education principles teaching pathophysiology, pharmacology, and physical assessment.” During the last project, including the three handouts, I had to challenge myself to consider how nursing students and nursing staff would learn best. Several times throughout this course, we were challenged to create individual care plans and focused assessments for different patients in Second Life. We also found different sites that would help us as educators provide the best interactive learning for the topic at hand. There were several times during this course that I recognized new growth based on the assignments geared towards person-centered and active learning principles.
As a future nurse educator, I plan to work with new graduates, specifically in their nurse residency programs. My practicum will hopefully be working with one of the main educators in that program. Before anything else, obtaining reliable, peer-reviewed, evidence-based information will be most important in developing educational materials and enhancing critical thinking. The concepts in this class will help me to create the essential parts of my final practicum project, although I am not exactly sure what that will entail at this point.