Overview of the Organization
Masomo Nursing School is a constituent college of Masomo University. The mission of Masomo Nursing School is to advance humanity by bringing education, skills, knowledge and research in nursing to the world. The vision of the nursing school is to pursue and share innovative ideas in nursing education, research and practice with a view of developing caring communities. Masomo Nursing School has a blended management structure. The leaders of Masomo Health System Corporation, Masomo Medical School, Masomo Hospital and Masomo Nursing School came together to create a blended management structure. At the top of the management structure is the Board of Directors. Masomo education and research programs are headed by executive directors. Masomo Nursing School is headed by a dean. Under the dean are department chairs and directors of nursing education, finance and staff affairs. The bottom of the management structure is composed of clinical staff, nurse educators and instructors.
The corporate culture of Masomo Nursing School is that of innovation in nursing education and research. The nursing school is located in Baltimore, the state of Maryland, United States. Masomo Nursing School involves itself with the Baltimore community through a wide range of programs. For instance, its Youth Community Program provides young people in Baltimore with several opportunities, including scholarships, mentorship and summer internships.
The nursing school also runs leadership programs in Baltimore designed to develop future leaders in areas such as mental health, substance abuse, sexually-transmitted infections and urban violence. Masomo Nursing School also partners with local businesses with a goal of promoting social and economic development in Baltimore. The nursing school has a long experience in training through its nursing education, certification and on-job training programs. Its Joint Training Council provides members of staff with several opportunities for learning, training and research. The nursing school has vast resources that support professional development through training and research.
Tasks Requiring Training
A training program for nurse educators in Masomo Nursing School is being developed with a goal of enhancing their skills and knowledge for effective execution of specific tasks. The training program being developed is part of the continuous learning initiative for nurse educators in Masomo Nursing School. The specific tasks requiring training include the design of nursing curriculum, leadership and the use of modern technologies in nursing education and research. Nursing curricula evolve with the development of new models, strategies and interventions in nursing education, research and practice (Keating, 2014). Nurse educators play important roles in designing nursing curricula that are aligned with emerging needs in nursing education and practice.
The main steps in the design of a nursing curriculum include determining the purpose of nursing education, developing the objectives of nursing education, designing and organizing educational strategies and determining how the effectiveness of education processes is to be evaluated (Keating, 2014). Effective design of nursing curriculum is important to Masomo Nursing School as it enables it to adopt innovative educational strategies that support its mission of advancing humanity through nursing education. Integration of the element of innovation into the nursing curriculum will advance nursing education and research in Masomo Nursing School.
Leadership is an important task in nursing education as it allows nurse educators to produce highly competent practitioners and leaders in nursing practice, research and education (Clark & Springer, 2010). The most important steps in nursing education leadership include adopting an appropriate leadership style, motivating followers and influencing organizational change. Nurse educators play important leadership roles such as mentorship, delegation and supporting innovation in nursing education (Clark & Springer, 2010). Leadership is an important element of organizational culture within Masomo Nursing School because it supports its mission of transferring nursing skills and knowledge to the world. Leaders in nursing education transfer their skills to the world through nursing students.
The use of modern technologies in nursing education and research promotes efficiency, communication and participation (Skiba & Barton, 2006). Nurse educators need to develop skills related to the application of modern technologies designed to support nursing education and research. This will allow them to meet the needs of the new generation of learners.
The most important steps in the use of technology in nursing education and research include identification of relevant technological applications and applying them to facilitate communication, collaboration, sharing of resources and evaluation of learning processes (Berry, 2009). The use of technology in nursing education and research advances the practice of nurses as it prepares nursing students for practice within modern health care settings, which are driven by health information systems (Skiba, Connors, & Jeffries, 2008). The adoption and use of modern technologies is aligned with the mission of Masomo Nursing School of advancing nursing education and practice through innovation.
Characteristics of Learners
Masomo Nursing School has a total of 23 nurse educators. It is expected that at least 20 nurse educators will participate in the training program. This is attributed to their increasing interest in the use of technology in nursing education and research. This population of learners is composed of individuals of between 35 and 60 years of age. These adult learners are goal oriented, practical, knowledgeable and autonomous. In addition, they have positive attitudes towards continuous learning and training. The population of nurse educators within Masomo Nursing School is diverse. The target learners include male and female nurse educators from different cultural backgrounds. English is not the native language of half of the learners but all of them are proficient in English. However, their level of familiarity with emerging technologies is generally low.
Self-Directedness of the Learning
The intended audience is highly self-directed. The learners are aware of their interests, desires and needs for learning because they are lifelong learners. They have vast learning experiences as they have engaged in several training programs before. Therefore, the learners are confident of their learning abilities. They are also capable of developing their own learning goals and objectives. Furthermore, the learners are aware of their preferred learning strategies and styles. More importantly, they are highly disciplined, professional and self-motivated in pursuing their learning objectives. Therefore the learners are expected to direct their own learning. On the basis of their ability to implement self-directed learning interventions, it is expected that they will be able to complete the training program.
Theoretical Framework
Andragogy is the theoretical framework that will inform the design and implementation of the training program. The theory was postulated by Malcolm Shepherd Knowles. It provides that the traits of adult learners are grouped into five main categories: self-concept, readiness to learn, motivation to learn, experience and orientation to learning. Knowles suggested that adult learners are self-directed, willing to learn, driven, experienced and practical-oriented (Smith, 2002). Andragogy is the most appropriate theoretical framework for the planned training as it accurately describes the traits of the intended learners. The assumptions of Shepherd Knowles in regard to adult education are applicable in designing learning strategies and interventions for nurse educators because these learners are self-driven, self-directed, experienced, practical-oriented and willing to learn.
Incorporation of Theoretical Model in Training
The assumptions of andragogy will be incorporated into the needs assessment process. On the basis of andragogy, it will be assumed that specific learning needs of nurse educators, such as self-drive, motivation and understanding of learning orientations have already been met. Therefore, the needs assessment process will focus on needs that have not been met, such as the use of technology to support collaboration and communication during learning processes. Focusing on the needs of learners is an effective strategy of improving the efficiency of the learning process in adult education (Smith, 2002). Learners will be allowed to state their learning needs in leadership, the use emerging technologies and the design of nursing curriculum. These needs will then be integrated into the learning process.
Andragogy will also be incorporated into the design and implementation of delivery strategies. For example, the delivery strategies will be designed in a manner that they support self-directed learning. Nurse educators will be allowed to apply their preferred learning styles during training. This will allow them to apply learning styles that had worked best during their previous learning experiences. In addition, the nurse educators will be encouraged to determine appropriate strategies of meeting learning tasks. Furthermore, learning strategies will be designed to include self-directed discussions, presentations and question-answer sessions. This is based on the assumption that the intended learners are able to direct their own learning. Therefore, traditional teaching strategies, such as lectures, will not be included in training processes.
References
Berry, J. (2009). Technology support in nursing education: Clickers in the classroom. Nursing Education Perspectives, 30(5), 295-298.
Clark, C. M., & Springer, P. J. (2010). Academic nurse leaders’ role in fostering a culture of civility in nursing education. Journal of Nursing Education, 49(6), 319-325.
Keating, S. B. (2014). Curriculum development and evaluation in nursing. Springer Publishing Company.
Skiba, D. J., Connors, H. R., & Jeffries, P. R. (2008). Information technologies and the transformation of nursing education. Nursing Outlook, 56(5), 225-230.
Skiba, D., & Barton, A. (2006). Adapting your teaching to accommodate the net generation of learners. Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 11(2).
Smith, M. K. (2002). Malcolm Knowles, informal adult education, self-direction and andragogy. Infed, the Encyclopedia of informal education.