ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT: Patient safety is part and parcel of nursing care and is taught throughout nursing education, particularly in core pharmacology, first-semester courses. This timing does not allow for clinical application and fosters a theory-practice gap. Transformational learning theory explains how teachers can engage students in active learning and introduce clinical context into a didactic classroom. To that end, an innovative pharmacology assignment, using a real-time nurse case study, was a structured, in-class activity. Post-class reflection focused on contextualizing learning for nursing students without clinical experience. Students reported transformed thinking regarding the importance of meaningful learning in nursing pharmacology.
Subject(s)
Education, Nursing , Pharmacology , Humans , Education, Nursing/organization & administration , Pharmacology/education , Problem-Based Learning , Students, Nursing/psychology , Organizational Case StudiesABSTRACT
ABSTRACT: Nursing pharmacology is a complex and content-dense course that is often difficult for educators and students. Cognitive load theory explains why utilizing slide decks for instruction overloads the working memory and impedes processing information into long-term memory. An instructional design change in a baccalaureate nursing pharmacology course provided an example of understanding the impact of cognitive load theory. The Pharmacology Phamily Project is a multimodal, multiphase assignment in which students created a case study video about a unique medication and presented it via discussion board for peer feedback and learning. Student investment improved over traditional past semesters, and student-to-instructor feedback was positive.
