Nursing education involves learning a lot of theory about body systems, diseases and modes of treatment. When you teach about these things, it is important to ensure that students understand how this theory relates to actual patient care scenarios. For example, when teaching about the cardiovascular system, get students to practice taking the pulse and measuring blood pressure. When explaining students to read an electrocardiogram (ECG), give them opportunities to practice using ECG samples of patients with angina, myocardial infarction as well as no cardiac problems.
Before launching into an explanation of a topic, find out what the nursing students already know about it. For example, if students have trained in first aid, they may say they already know the basics of cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Ask open-ended questions to find out if the information they possess is accurate. Make the learning process less intimidating for students as they move from a familiar area to more challenging material. For example, when learning about epilepsy, students may find it difficult to understand the description of the different types of seizures. Begin by asking each student to describe a seizure they witnessed, or heard or read about, and correlate this to the types of seizures that can occur.
Show student nurses how to collect information and sort through it to find that which is most relevant to the situation. Explain how to analyze the data they have, and find out what more information is required to arrive at the right conclusions. Provide students with opportunities to think about a topic covered in the theory or practical sessions, and ask "what if" type of questions. Allow students to work on case histories to test their critical thinking skills. Provide objective, honest feedback after clinical sessions, give students opportunities to express their feelings, and work through any barriers that block a student from whole-hearted participation.
Create PowerPoint presentations that contain slides with fewer words and more pictures, videos and animation to teach topics that require students to visualize concepts. Play educative videos and films, and allow students to watch during telemetry nursing sessions. Provide students with details of websites they can browse to learn more about a topic. Encourage them to sign up and interact with other nursing students using social networking on the Internet. Find webinars by subject experts, and arrange for your students to participate in them.