Final Project

For my final project I am re-writing a nursing course. The students that take this course are in their second semester of nursing school. This course is meant to give the students an overall exposure to the magnitude of disease processes and how to care for individuals experiencing cellular imbalances. Currently students learn the material through lectures, case studies, and clinical experiences. Assessments include quizzes and exams. The content and lecture topics will remain the same; the students must be exposed to these topics so they are prepared to care for any type of patient. The delivery and assessment will be different. Quizzes have been removed and students will no longer sit in a lecture hall for 3-4 hours at a time. More time will be spent on the clinical unit and in the community or lab. Students will benefit from hands on learning and actually seeing the disease manifestations on actual patients. Reading the textbook and listening to lectures doesn't put the disease process into perspective as it actually occurs in the real world setting. Multiple choice tests will not be removed from the course as they test the students ability to apply the material. These multiple choice exams also include select all that apply questions, this format reflects the NCLEX exam (the nursing state license exam). There are 15 lecture topics for this course. I will be re-writing the first 4 lecture topics for now.

Topic 1: Leadership
Class will begin with a content expert/guest lecturer: VP of Nursing. She will discuss professionalism and leadership. Following the presentation will be a discussion with the VP of Nursing and the students. A YouTube video will be shown to reinforce the topic and their reading (students will have read Chapter 23 prior to class). The activity following the video will allow the students to apply what they learned demonstrating various leadership roles. Classroom time for this topic will be minimal. To evaluate the students understanding of the topic they will be blogging and posting leadership articles. They will also have the chance to be a nursing leader during their clinical experience the following week. Blogs will be "graded" using a rubric, which will be developed at a later time. For the leadership unit, there will not be exam questions as the students will be assessed as described above.

Topic 2: Immune Response/Allergic Disorders
The immune response and allergic disorders topics were combined. Of the 10 previous objectives only 6 were used which will keep the content relevant to clinical practice. The students will get the information they need without overloading them with facts.The first part of the class will consist of a brief review of the immunity response using basic PowerPoint and lecture. The immunity response is complex and this review will help clarify the material so the students can apply it. To explore the gerontological considerations for this topic, the students will be  using their text as well as an Immunology website to develop teaching plans and information guides promoting optimal wellness and immune function in the elderly. Students may use additional resources and be creative in developing their guides. The format can be whatever the student feels that will best fit their learner. The second part, allergic disorders, students will go to the patient units and perform health and allergy assessments. This activity involves them in patient care while applying what they know as far as how to screen at risk individuals for allergies. YouTube videos will support the content which will appeal to the visual learners. The assessment includes a hands on experience in the simulation lab caring for a patient experiencing anaphylaxis. At this point the student will apply knowledge, assessment skills, and nursing skills to care for this critical patient. The students will be evaluated using a rubric (to be developed at a later date). Aside from this experience the students will spend some time at with an allergist at a clinic to see the community aspect of patient care. They will blog about their experience, reflecting on certain areas. This topic will also be assessed using exam questions to prepare them for NCLEX (described above).

Topic 3: Community Acquired Infections
YouTube videos for tuberculosis and pneumonia will be shown in class. These videos will reinforce their readings and allow time for questions to clarify the material. After each video, their will be a class discussion regarding topics related to the disease based on things they would encounter in nursing practice. Osteomyelitis will be briefly reviewed and then the students will have time to research the websites related to the topic and develop teaching materials for patients diagnosed with this condition. In the hospital setting, people are diagnosed with new conditions all the time and a major component of our job is educating the patient about the disease itself and what to expect next. Assessments for this topic will include exam questions. The students will also watch another YouTube video on tuberculosis and then search nursing journals for topics related to new strains of tuberculosis and drug resistance. This enables them to read evidence based research and see how it is being implemented in actual patient care. Another part of nursing is being a consumer of research. Nursing practice is driven by evidence-based research. In addition, students will read a case study on pneumonia and develop a concept map; this allows the students to pull all of the disease process information together and apply it to a patient situation. The student will read an osteomyelitis case study and develop a teaching plan related to the disease.

Topic 4: Autoimmune Disorders
To begin the presentation on autoimmune disorders, the students will watch YouTube videos on patients actually experiencing AIDS, Lupus, and Rheumatoid Arthritis. This group of diseases are severely life-changing. Hearing a patients actual story puts the disease into perspective and allows the student to conceptualize the information. After viewing the videos, the students will create a blog post  reflecting their feelings towards the videos; this will incorporate the psychosocial aspect of nursing care. Reflecting on your own personal thoughts and feelings decreases biases and stereotyping and allows for optimal patient care. Students will also spend clinical time at an AIDS clinic in the community setting. Disease management in the community is often much different from the hospital setting. Assessments will also include a simulation experience. Simulation patients will be programmed to experience complications related to AIDS, RA, or SLE.This will allow the student to pull all of their knowledge together and apply it to an actual situation.

Overall, I had so many ideas on how I could re-write this course; however it is difficult to pinpoint which activities will provide the most benefit to the students. We are teaching in the 21st century, we have the knowledge and technology to transform how we educate students, the first step is to start with an idea for change.