Nursing Task Force Providing Students With New Tools for Learning

The University System of Georgia (USG) Nursing Education Task Force is collaborating with nursing programs System-wide as well as the Georgia Board of Nursing to create a “tool kit” of best practices in nursing education. This year, the committee released two of three planned online learning modules for students.

“Medication Calculations” helps students to calculate dosages by providing basic math remediation, abbreviations, conversions and metric-system measurements. In addition, the learning module provides advice on reading medication labels and using syringes and tests students’ understanding of the material by presenting problem scenarios to solve.

A second learning module, “Managing Scope-of-Practice Issues,” focuses on effective delegation and supervision, patient safety, ethical decision-making and the legal aspects of providing nursing care. A future module will cover “Understanding and Managing Clinical Laboratory Findings.”

“Campuses are encouraged to use these modules as supplemental teaching tools, units for courses, remediation assignments, evaluation measures or independent study,” said Dr. Jean Bartels of Georgia Southern University, who chairs the Nursing Education Task Force’s Curriculum Sub-Group.

Process Took Collaboration

Bartels stressed the extensive collaboration that has gone into developing the “tool kit” of best practices in nursing education. Describing the process used to create a series of online curriculum-development modules now in use throughout the System, she noted that:

• Extensive surveying of the System’s nursing faculty identified areas of critical need;
• Content experts were identified from among System faculty and practice partners and asked to participate in development teams for each module;
• Each team identified relevant content and discussed potential scenarios for each module;
• An instructional designer worked with these experts to create each interactive “learning object” and launch the online modules; and
• Finally, a peer-review process was used to approve each module prior to its release.

“To date, faculty and students from nursing programs throughout the University System of Georgia, the Technical College System of Georgia, and the state’s private schools have used the modules as a resource to enhance student learning,” Bartels said.

Funding to support the development of the “tool kit” modules was provided by the USG Office of Information and Instructional Technology.

Serving on Bartels’ Curriculum Sub-Group are: Julia Gould of the Georgia Board of Nursing; Dr. June Goyne of Columbus State University; Dr. Toni Barnett of North Georgia College & State University; Dr. Barbara Woodring of Georgia State University; Dr. JoEllen Dattilo of Georgia Baptist College of Nursing of Mercer University; and Cecelia Owens of West Central Technical College.