A Book Review: Educating Nurses; A Call for Radical Transformation
Many authors have suggested that, in response to the skills that nurses require to meet the needs of society and the health-care system, nursing education must be transformed. Benner, Sutphen, Leonard and Day go a step further and call for “urgent and radical transformation” of how nurses are educated and how nursing educators are prepared for their teaching role. Benner et al. analyze the results of the Carnegie National Nursing Education study, conducted in 2006, and share their interpretations, insights, and worries in a well-organized and logically flowing book. Fortunately, they also propose solutions in this “must read” for any nurse educator, nursing dean, or health-care …show more content…
Benner et al. caution against the fragmentation of nursing education that arises from the sharp separation of classroom and clinical teaching, conclude that nursing curricula tend to be weak in the natural and social sciences as well as in technology and the humanities, and cite the inadequacy of formal teacher preparation to meet the needs of nursing education today. While the study was conducted in the United States, many nurse educators will be able to identify with the vivid examples offered, especially when the challenges of providing quality clinical education are …show more content…
First, the book acknowledges the complexity of nursing education and will dispel any notion that education a nurse is a simple matter. Second, the authors provide charming “paradigm cases” to illustrate the work of exemplary instructors. These model cases offer hope and are likely to motivate any nursing instructor to deconstruct his or her teaching approach in order to improve its quality. Third, the book will bring solace to those nurse educators who have been struggling to develop their students’ skills in clinical reasoning, critical thinking, and sense of moral agency, as opposed to “covering content,” as in an additive curriculum where it is assumed that if important material is “covered,” then thinking will necessarily follow (Ironside, 2015). The final and “best” aspect of Educating Nurses is its concise and provocative 26-item “agenda” for improving nursing education at the program level. While not all of the items will apply in every country, the recommendations on the entry and pathways to nursing, the student population, the student experience, teaching, entry to practice and national oversight, including accreditation, provide direction that is clearly
Many authors have suggested that, in response to the skills that nurses require to meet the needs of society and the health-care system, nursing education must be transformed. Benner, Sutphen, Leonard and Day go a step further and call for “urgent and radical transformation” of how nurses are educated and how nursing educators are prepared for their teaching role. Benner et al. analyze the results of the Carnegie National Nursing Education study, conducted in 2006, and share their interpretations, insights, and worries in a well-organized and logically flowing book. Fortunately, they also propose solutions in this “must read” for any nurse educator, nursing dean, or health-care …show more content…
Benner et al. caution against the fragmentation of nursing education that arises from the sharp separation of classroom and clinical teaching, conclude that nursing curricula tend to be weak in the natural and social sciences as well as in technology and the humanities, and cite the inadequacy of formal teacher preparation to meet the needs of nursing education today. While the study was conducted in the United States, many nurse educators will be able to identify with the vivid examples offered, especially when the challenges of providing quality clinical education are …show more content…
First, the book acknowledges the complexity of nursing education and will dispel any notion that education a nurse is a simple matter. Second, the authors provide charming “paradigm cases” to illustrate the work of exemplary instructors. These model cases offer hope and are likely to motivate any nursing instructor to deconstruct his or her teaching approach in order to improve its quality. Third, the book will bring solace to those nurse educators who have been struggling to develop their students’ skills in clinical reasoning, critical thinking, and sense of moral agency, as opposed to “covering content,” as in an additive curriculum where it is assumed that if important material is “covered,” then thinking will necessarily follow (Ironside, 2015). The final and “best” aspect of Educating Nurses is its concise and provocative 26-item “agenda” for improving nursing education at the program level. While not all of the items will apply in every country, the recommendations on the entry and pathways to nursing, the student population, the student experience, teaching, entry to practice and national oversight, including accreditation, provide direction that is clearly