Supporting nurse educators adopting digital learning solutions

According to the Future of Nursing Reportopens in new tab/window, changing demographics and technological advancements will transform nurses’ professional roles in the United States through this decade (2020-2030). These shifts will impact how nurses will interact with patients and adopt patterns of health care delivery and communication to ensure improved outcomes for all. As a result of this forecast, evolutions in nursing school curricula will be at the forefront. Additional changes will be driven by the implementation of Next Generation NCLEX® (NGN) in 2023. 

Elsevier recognizes the complexities of the nursing profession and the transformations that are on the horizon. We strive to empower nursing programs with curricular solutions that are beneficial for cultivating the requisite knowledge, skills, and attitudes for students. Through , we are committed to supporting faculty in incorporating a variety of pedagogical approaches and digital technologies to meet their teaching, learning, and assessment needs. Our educational solutions focus on three primary areas to support students’ knowing, doing, and becoming competent nursing professionals: 

• Building Knowledge: We ensure students master nursing knowledge and develop confidence in their understanding. Our solutions like eBooks, Sherpath courseware offerings, and Elsevier Adaptive Quizzing (EAQ)opens in new tab/window emphasize careful curation of foundational content and students’ active engagement in the learning process throughout the nursing curricula. 

• Applying Clinical Judgment: We situate students’ ability to “think like a nurse” in authentic learning situations where knowledge acquisition and application are tightly integrated. Our offerings like Shadow Healthopens in new tab/window and Simulation Learning System (SLS)opens in new tab/window for high-fidelity simulation-based learning and immersive virtual reality (VR)opens in new tab/window scenarios are crucial for supporting students’ cognitive, social and psychomotor skills. Additionally, technologies like course-based SimChart^® opens in new tab/windowoffer practice with electronic health records (EHR) and case studies that further students’ clinical readiness required to succeed as a nurse. 

• Assessing and Reviewing: We enable assessment of students’ progress throughout the program and offer solutions to improve their learning in target areas. HESI opens in new tab/windowSpecialty Exams, HESI Exit Exams, and HESI Compassopens in new tab/window facilitate knowledge retention and application as students prepare for the NCLEX-RN. 

White paper: Bringing the Bucket Strategy Full Circle

In 2017, the Bucket Strategy was designed to help nursing educators determine the best placement of digital tools in a nursing course. Although it can be difficult to navigate different digital tools, using the Bucket Strategy can help faculty work smarter with the resources available, enhancing students’ ability to learn. When applied throughout a program, and not just individual courses, the outcomes can be even greater.

White paper highlights

• The NCSBN defines clinical judgment as “a process that uses nursing knowledge to observe and assess a presenting situation, identify a prioritized client concern, and generate the best possible evidence-based solutions in order to deliver safe client care” (2019).

• NCSBN’s Clinical Judgment Measurement Model provides an excellent framework to help educators think about how to help students bolster their clinical knowledge as they move through the program.

• In this paper, this strategy has been expanded and comes full circle to ensure students are building strong clinical judgment skills throughout their nursing program to adequately prepare them for today’s complex healthcare environment and the new NGN.