Adjunct Faculty, Dedicated Education Unit and Residency as Teaching Model In Clinical Teaching Environment In Nursing Education

 Nursing Education and Adjunct Faculty, Dedicated Education Unit and Residency as Teaching Model In Clinical Teaching Environment

Adjunct Faculty As Teaching Model In Nursing Education, Dedicated Education Units As Teaching Model In Nursing Education, Residency Models As Teaching Model In Nursing Education.

Adjunct Faculty As Teaching Model In Nursing Education

    Adjunct faculty are health care professionals who are employed in the service setting and have a part-time academic appointment. Adjunct faculty may assume various roles, including those of preceptor, CTA, mentor, guest lecturer, and supervisor.

    These individuals may also collaborate on research projects. Faculty who are appointed in an adjunct capacity are registered professional nurses or professionals who are experts in areas such as clinical practice, research, leadership, management, legislation, and law.

Dedicated Education Units As Teaching Model In Nursing Education

   Over the past decade, the dedicated education unit (DEU) model has been implemented at various universities across the country. Moscato, Miller, Logsdon, Weinberg, and Chorpenning (2007) indicate that the “DEU offers a concrete strategy to more closely connect nursing units and education programs” (p. 32). 

    DEUs involve new partnerships among nurse executives, staff nurses, and faculty for transforming patient care units into environments designed to support learning experiences for students and staff nurses while continuing the critical work of providing quality care to acutely ill patients. 

    Mulready Shick, Flannagan, Banister, Mylott, and Curtin (2013) found that the DEU model facilitates stronger relationship building between nurses in academia and practice, and students report significantly more positive learning experience when compared with traditional clinical placement experiences. 

   Universities are implementing this strategy in a variety of ways. One Midwest university uses the term practice education partnership (PEP) units. The PEP unit is a hospital-based unit designed to provide the student with a strong partnership between the practice and education settings. 

    The PEP model differs from the Australian DEU model in that it works to incorporate the culture of the unit and its clinical specialty into the availability of preceptors, level of patient acuity, and other influences on the education of the student. 

    One of the unique aspects of the PEP model is that there is continuity and consistency among preceptors, faculty, and students as they partner to learn and grow together. Preceptors are coached on preceptor competencies by attending a full-day workshop. It is at this time that the partnership between the nurse and the faculty begins. 

    This partnership is developed over time and ultimately the student learns the role of the nurse and together the student and preceptor provide exceptional patient care. The use of DEUs has increased significantly in the last decade (Moscato, Nishioka, & Coe, 2013).

    Research indicates the educational quality and competency development are significant for students receiving clinical instruction in DEUs (Dapremont & Lee, 2013; Mulready-Shick et al., 2013).

Residency Models As Teaching Model In Nursing Education

    Recognizing that prelicensure programs may not be sufficient for preparing nurses for practice in complex health care settings, several studies and commissions (Benner et al., 2010; Institute of Medicine, 2010; Tanner, 2010) report on the need for postgraduate residencies and call for their increased use to improve transition to practice and development of leadership and population management skills. 

    Accreditation and regulatory standards have been developed for this approach to residency. The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) developed a 12-month program designed to facilitate further development of competency and ease the transition into practice. 

    The AACN piloted six programs in 2004 and there are now residency programs in more than 30 states (Barnett, Minnick, & Norman, 2014). The NCSBN developed a model that provides a framework for standardized transition to practice and regulatory guidelines are under consideration (Goode, Lynn, McElroy, Bednash, & Murray, 2013). 

    Several studies have been conducted to examine the outcomes of nurse residency programs (Goode et al., 2013). The findings suggest nurse residency programs increase overall confidence and competence particularly in the ability to organize, prioritize, communicate effectively, and provide leadership (Goode et al., 2013). 

    Residency programs have a statistically positive influence on nurse retention rates (Goode et al., 2013). Further research is needed to determine the influence of postgraduate nurse residency programs on patient outcomes (Barnett et al., 2014)

    In short, several models for clinical education of student nurses exist. Alternative models, collaborative in nature, have evolved because of the increasing complexity of the health care environment. Among these models are preceptorships, the teaching associate model, the paired model, clinical teaching partnerships, and adjunct faculty. 

    The nature of each model dictates the level of student that would benefit most. The paired and clinical associate models have been used for beginning students, whereas the preceptorship model is widely used for students in the upper level of their program and for graduate students. 

    Empirical research on the effectiveness of these models has been sparse; there is a need for further evaluation of and research on these models in terms of their effectiveness on student learning and preparation for the workforce. Clinical teaching involves student–teacher interaction in experiential clinical situations that take place in diverse and often inter professional practice environments. 

    These environments may include laboratory, acute care, transitional, and community sites, including homeless shelters, clinics, schools, camps, and social service agencies. Faculty must have in-depth knowledge of teaching behaviors that facilitate students’ learning and development, and have complete knowledge of the culture of the practice area as well as the health care provider. 

    Effective clinical teachers are able to plan, facilitate, and evaluate experiences using instructive, interpersonal, and evaluative strategies. These strategies facilitate faculty’s acquisition of the knowledge and skills required to become nurses. A variety of teaching methods can be used to enable students to achieve desired outcomes. 

    Patient assignments, clinical conferences, nursing grand rounds, concept-based clinical activities, and written assignments are among these. The skill level of students, patient’s acuity level, number of students, and patient care resource availability will affect the method used. 

    Among the models suggested for educating nursing students are the traditional approach and alternatives to this model, including preceptorships, CTAs, teaching partnerships, and adjunct faculty. Practicum experiences prepare students for working in a health care system that is evidence based and patient centered. 

    Teaching in the practicum setting blends faculty’s clinical expertise with teaching skills to prepare nurses for current and future roles in an ever changing health care system.