Nursing Educators' Perceptions on the Future of Nursing Education: Implications for Leaders

Neuman, Lois H.

Monday, 31 October 2011: 1:45 PM

Lois H. Neuman, PhD, MS, BSN, RN
Department of Health, Montgomery College, Potomac, MD

Learning Objective 1: 1. Identify at least three educator perceptions of the future of nursing education.

Learning Objective 2: 2. Identify one way leaders can incorporate educator perceptions of the future of nursing education.

Recent release of the extensive Institute of Medicine/Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (2010) report on the future of nursing has nurses examining current practice. In nursing education, one of the many recommendations is for seamless academic progression into higher degree programs. Implementation examples include partnerships between community colleges and universities and between the public and private sector. Several additional noteworthy examples are to restructure costly prelicensure education that relies on direct faculty supervision and further develop technology-infused education. Clearly, this report influences the macro world of education and nursing but what about the micro perspective of educators?

This session will answer “What are the perceptions of educators on strategies and practice?” Based on responses to a survey at five education conferences by 150 attendees, this session will reveal perceptions of the future of nursing education for 2015 and beyond. Examples from the survey: faculty perception of a universal nursing curriculum and e-education including individual and group testing, recordkeeping, efficiency, confidentiality, and designer education.

The session will also address the future of leadership. In recent years, leadership converted to bottom up instead of the traditional top down. Formal leaders tuned in to social networks and listened to the voices of their community. Global links facilitated ease of exchange of ideas, strategies, educators, students, and research. A future challenge will be confronting privacy/confidentiality versus utility/practicality, especially relevant to records. This session will conclude by linking the recommendations from the Institute of Medicine/Robert Wood Johnson Foundation report and the perspectives of nurse educators. Attendees will take home at least one way educators perceive the future and one way leaders can incorporate educator perceptions.

Institute of Medicine/Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (2010). The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health. http://www.iom.edu/Reports/2010.

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