Nursing Education: Historical Foundations and Organizations

Study Notes

Health education has been a standard part of nursing care-giving for a long time.
Patient teaching is recognized as an independent nursing function.
Nursing practice has expanded to include education in the broad concept of health education.

National League of Nursing Education (NLNE) identified health teaching as an important function and then expanded the scope of nursing practice.
American Nurses Association (ANA) established standards and qualifications for practice, including patient teaching.
International Council of Nurses (ICN) endorses health education as an essential component of nursing care delivery.
State Nurse Practice Acts universally include teaching within the scope of nursing practice.
Joint Commission on Accreditation of HealthCare Organization (JCAHO) and American Hospital Association (AHA) ensure patients receive complete and current information.
Pew Health Professions Commissions set forth health profession competencies for the 21st century, with over half of the recommendations pertaining to patient and staff education.

Institute of Medicine (2001) focuses on reinventing the health system to foster innovation and improve care delivery.
Joint Commission requires patient and family education to support their participation in care decisions and care processes.

Social, economical, and political forces affect a nurse's role in teaching.
Growth of managed care increases the need for nurse educators.
Increased attention to health and well-being leads to a greater emphasis on education.
Cost containment measures require education to control healthcare expenses.
Concerns for continuing education as a vehicle to prevent malpractice and incomplete care.

Purpose: to increase the competence and confidence of patients to manage their own self-care and of staff and students to deliver high-quality care.
Benefits of education to patients: increases consumer satisfaction, improves quality of life, ensures continuity of care, reduces illness complications, increases compliance with treatment, decreases anxiety, and maximizes independence.
Benefits of education to staff: enhances job satisfaction, improves therapeutic relationship, increases autonomy in practice, and improves knowledge and skill.
Benefits of preceptor education for nursing students: prepares clinical preceptors, ensures continuity of teaching/learning from the classroom curriculum, and enables evaluation and improvement of students' clinical skills.
Goal: to increase self-care responsibility of clients and to improve the quality of care delivered by nurses.

Definition of terms: education process, teaching/instruction, and learning.
The education process is a systematic, sequential, planned course of action to achieve the outcome of teaching and learning.