Teaching Plan 1

Teaching Plan:

Nursing Roles and Background

Tiffany Alexander

Jimmeka Batiste

Ashlye Davlin

Charles Johnson

Carlissa Myles

Deidra Myles

Amanda Payne

Megan Westbrook

Britney Williams

Panola College
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Teaching Plan:

Nursing Roles and Background

Nursing is known to be an art and a science. The American Nursing Association defines

nursing as “the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and abilities, prevention of

illness and injury, alleviation of suffering through the diagnosis and treatment of human

response, and advocacy in the care of individuals, families, communities, and population (Potter

and Perry, 2009, p. 2). As a professional nurse, you will play many different roles, such as, a

caregiver, advocate, educator, manager and leader. Nurses in the past have demonstrated how to

deliver these roles artfully by showing compassion and respecting a client’s dignity and

individuality. These topics will be presented to students entering the nursing program by current

first semester students. This paper will discuss the diversity of nursing as a profession, the roles

they have played in society, their impact on the medical field as: caregivers, educators,

advocates, managers and leaders, and methods of teaching the new students this information.

Case Scenario

Students exiting the first level of nursing school will be presenting the different roles of a

nurse and the background of nursing to upcoming first level students. The roles discussed will be

caregiver, advocate, leader, educator, and manager. The presenting students will use a power

point presentation, skits, and questionnaires to inform the upcoming students on nursing roles.

By incorporating different methods of education, the cognitive, affective, and psychomotor

domains of learning will be met. The presenters will be given a set time frame of thirty to sixty

minutes to present and meet all domains of learning.

Subjective and Objective Data

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Subjective data is what is said to the receiver. Objective data is what the receiver

observes. In this case, the presenting students receive and observe data from the new students.

The subjective data received is as follows:

 “They made us attend mandatory orientation, so here we are!”

 “Talk fast so we can go home.”

The objective data observed is as follows:

 Forty students.

 Students of multi-race and gender.

 Scared, anxious, and shaking in their seats.

During an assessment of the upcoming students, this is the data the previous students obtained.

The students use this data to establish a learning need of the incoming students, set goals to meet

need, and implement the goals by teaching.

Barriers to Learning and Learning Needs

The students being introduced to a new situation for the first time is a barrier to meeting

learning needs due to lack of information. The anxiousness observed during the assessment

indicates the students are not sure what to expect. The main learning barrier is that the incoming

students are new to the nursing program. The presenting students will use all researched data and

information from experience to teach the new students about nursing roles and background.

Meeting Learning Needs

After obtaining all subjective and objective data, the previous students established that

the new students have a knowledge deficit related to nursing roles and history, as evidence by

being first level students. The goal is that students will have background knowledge of nursing
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history and an understanding of nursing roles. The students will meet this goal through the

following interventions:

 Lecture on nursing history and nursing roles.

 Role play of a caregiver, advocate, leader, educator, and manager.

 Pass out an evaluative questionnaire.

Potter and Perry (2009) emphasize the importance of the various teaching methods in the

learning process:

Lecturing helps the learner acquire new knowledge and gain comprehension. Role play

actively applies knowledge in a controlled situation. A questionnaire assists in applying

knowledge. ( p. 365)

These interventions vary in order to meet all domains of learning to avoid misinterpretation due

to a learning barrier. The previous students will use visual aids to assist in the intervention

process. By the end of the presentation the new students will be evaluated to determine if the

goal were met or unmet.

Background

Historic Nurses and Events

The first topic presented to the new students will be focused on the history of nursing.

There are many prominent figures that influenced the nursing profession throughout history.

While some are more known than others, it is undeniable the impact Florence Nightingale, Mary

Mahoney, and Clara Barton have made on the roles nurses play. As care givers, these women

overcame adversity to persevere as leaders in the forefront of their fields. Despite the limits

placed on women during this time, these women were able to overcome many obstacles.
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Therefore, the nursing profession evolved, and would undoubtedly not be the same without the

irrefutable strides these women have made.

Nightingale. Florence Nightingale was the first to associate sanitation with disease

prevention. Her primary role focused on caregiving, while cultivating the importance of health

maintenance and restoration to optimize health. After spending time on the battlefield treating

the wounded and sick during the Crimean war, she started the first organized training program

for nurses in London, England. She was often seen carrying her lamp on the battlefields, and

many people during that time referred to her as, “the lady with the lamp”(Potter & Perry, 2009).

Mahoney. Another person who forever changed the course of nursing history as we

know it, and who made an undeniable impact on the nursing profession is Mary Mahoney. She is

personified as the first formally trained African American nurse. Her role as a nurse and ability

to overcome prejudice is remarkable. Her legacy has exemplified the standards and ideals

regarded in the nursing profession today.

Barton. Clara Barton has also played a large role in the history and development of

nursing. She is noted to have started the association of The American Red Cross. On the

battlefield, during World War I, Barton risked her life to rescue wounded soldiers. She organized

teams to treat their wounds, and nourish the soldiers back to health. Collier (2008) notes that

“Barton and other women during those times were often referred to as, ‘angels of the

battlefield’” [sic] (p. 37). Barton embodied the role of a caregiver on the battlefield and beyond.

Today her accomplishments can be remembered with reverence, and should inspire us to excel as

we continue our education.

Nursing Roles
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Caregiver

Caregiving is the process by which you help the client regain health and a maximal level

of independent function through the healing process (Potter & Perry, 2009). This includes

meeting the patient’s physical and mental needs. The emphasis of caregiving is to assist a person

in maintaining an optimal level of health in many areas, including mental, spiritual and

emotional well-being. The nurses can embrace the roll of a caregiver in a number of settings. In

the community based setting the nurse can treat a wide range of people with multiple symptoms

and provide a prime level of care. One-on-one care is individualized, for example, in hospice,

where the approach must be molded to fit each patient. In caregiving it is important to remember

that the provider of care should focus on meeting the needs of both the patient and the family.

(Potter and Perry, 2009)

Advocate

“Client advocacy perhaps is more important today in community based practice because

of the confusion surrounding access to health care services” (Potter and Perry, 2009, p. 40). As a

nurse, you will be assisting patients through their entire process of health care. According to

Wikipedia (2010), health advocacy supports and promotes patient's health care rights as well as

enhance community health and policy initiatives that focus on the availability, safety and quality

of care. As a nurse, you are put in the position to explain to your patient the importance of taking

their medication correctly. You may have a patient that cannot afford an expensive medication

that is needed for their adequate health. It is the nurse that provides the patient with resources in

which the medication can be obtained and assists them in making critical decisions regarding

their care. “Your clients often need someone to help them walk through the system, identify

where to go for services, how to reach individuals with the appropriate authority, what services
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to request, and how to follow through with the information they received” (Potter and Perry,

2009, p. 40). The nurse in theory holds the clients hand through the entire process. “In addition,

it is important for you to support and, at times, defend your clients’ decisions” [sic] (Potter and

Perry, 2009, p. 40).

Educator

Aside from being an advocate, a nurse is an educator. As a nurse, you will gain rapport

with your patients. You will have to educate them on many aspects of health care. For example,

you may have a patient that is required to take insulin. The nurse is the person who not only

explains to the patient the importance of properly self-administering insulin, but also educates

the clients to watch for risk factors that would indicate adverse effects of insulin. Your role as an

educator may go beyond simply teaching the patient, you may have to also teach the patient’s

family members. According to Potter and Perry (2009), “clients have to gain the skills and

knowledge needed to learn how to give care themselves” [sic] (p. 363). You will also have to

become accustomed to the patient’s ability to learn. “Assess your client’s learning needs and

readiness to learn within the context of the individual, the systems the individual interacts with

(e.g., family, business, and school), and the resources available for support” (Potter and Perry,

2009, p. 370). Another important factor in educating a client is establishing a method of

teaching and evaluating client’s progress towards meeting a set goal. “Planning for return

demonstration of skills, using follow-up phone calls, and referring to community support and

self-help groups give you an opportunity to provide continuity of instruction and to reinforce

important instructional topics” (Potter and Perry, 2009, p. 374).

Leader
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It is very important to develop leadership skills while obtaining your nursing degree. As a

nursing student you will not possess leadership skills, but may obtain these qualities through

your nursing staff or instructor’s guidance. In the nursing profession there are many roles in

which a nurse displays leadership such as nurse managers, nurse practitioner, director of nursing

and Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist. “Leaders are those who are able to tolerate

ambiguity and paradox while maintaining a clear focus on the goal and creating positive spaces

for all to participate” [sic][CITATION Har08 \p 22 \l 1033 ]. Other qualities may include clinical care

coordination, clinical decision making, priority setting, organizational skills, use of resources,

time management and evaluation (Potter & Perry, 2009). It is important to develop leadership

skills as a nursing student in order to incorporate them into the nursing profession. Leadership

skills may be portrayed through your role as a nurse manager.

Manager

The final topic discussed by the students will be the role of a nurse manager. A nurse

manager coordinates activities for members of the nursing staff, monitors professional nursing

standards of practice, and establishes and implements quality improvement plans. They also have

personnel policy and budgetary responsibilities for a specific nursing unit or agency (Potter &

Perry, 2008). These are some responsibilities that are not taught in a clinical setting. Therefore,

some nurses struggle with these responsibilities. To overcome the strain of the task, it is

important that nurse managers work to increase their understanding of hospital policies and

improve teamwork among staff. In order to become a nurse manager you must hold at a

minimum of Master’s Degree, work as a clinical nurse to gain experience, and select a program

that is suitable for you[ CITATION Tam08 \l 1033 ]. Nurse Managers are one of the most

challenging fields in the nursing career.

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Conclusion

The goal of this presentation is to show that nursing is more than just client care. As a

nurse you must be able to perform several duties simultaneously and be accountable for each

individual task. In nursing school you learn the different roles and concepts of nursing.

Caregivers, for example, provide both physical and psychosocial care. Educators teach patients

the importance of their medical history, how to administer medications properly, and assess

blood pressures. Advocates defend the patient’s rights to promote better understanding of

medical diagnoses, enhance final decision making, and provide assistance in knowledge deficits.

Leaders are required to be effective and efficient in the patient care they provide, and serve as

role models to their peers. Managers assume the responsibility of maintaining hospital policy, as

well as providing quality patient care. Knowledge of nursing history and the various roles

specified will better prepare prospective nursing students in the expectations of nursing school

and the professional setting. The new students understanding of these topics will be evaluated

through a questionnaire at the end of the presentation.

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References
Health Advocacy. (2010, November 11). Retrieved October 29, 2010, from Wikipedia, The Free
Encyclopedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_advocacy

Bronson, T. (2008). How to become a nurse manager. Retrieved 10 24, 2010, from eHow:
http://www.ehow.com/how_2136226_become-nurse-manager.html

Feldman, H. R. (2008, January 24). Nursing leadership. Retrieved 10 24, 2010, from Springer Pub:
http://www.springerpub.com/samples/9780826102584_chapter.pdf

Perry, P. A. (2009). Fundamentals of Nursing. Missouri: Mosby Elsevier.

Potter, P. &. (2009). St Louis: Mosby Elsvier.