Compare and contrast the various ways you can access information delivering professional continuing education. Explore any relationships between technology and learning and evaluate which works best for you

Depending on the nature of the education, a person can choose the most preferred form of information acquisition to help advance in their various academic fields. As a nurse, one can be able to access information either through the ease of technology or by learning from different avenues (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2017). Progress in education is important to improve the understanding of how the nursing sector operates as well as the creation of a positive impact within the healthcare industry.

Relationship Between Technology and Learning

Access to information can be obtained either through the use of technology or other forms of learning. To begin with, technology in terms of access to information can be viewed as a large inventory of different information waiting to be discovered and put into practice. Technology from devices, to software to databases offers an effective way for nurses to access information from different sources in the world with easer and in an affordable manner (Pickering et al., 2017).

Healthcare professionals can make use of technology to impact the quality of care as well as improve their education. Learning on the other hand is the acquisition of education either through theoretical or practical engagement with an educator. A nurse delivering professional care can best use technology for continuing education as it works best and can be conducted at their convenience (Pickering et al., 2017). Learning requires one to be present physically, but technology can be utilized any time and a person can easily schedule their time.

References

McGonigle, D., & Mastrian, K. (2017). Nursing Informatics and the Foundation of Knowledge (4th ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning. ISBN: 978-1284121247.

Pickering, J. D., Henningsohn, L., DeRuiter, M. C., de Jong, P. G., & Reinders, M. E. (2017). Twelve Tips for Developing and Delivering A Massive Open Online Course in Medical Education. Medical Teacher, 39(7), 691-696.

Alternative 1:

EHR and Education

Professional continuing education is a necessity for all nursing staff. This is a requirement by state boards of nursing and the nurse is responsible for maintaining any certificates to prove hours earned for continuing education credit (Moazami et al., 2014). These hours were previously offered in a traditional classroom setting or in a hands-on environment such a simulation lab. However, as technology has advanced and the need for online education has grown, CEUs (Continuing Education Credits) were offered via internet offerings (Moazami et al., 2014).

Many nurses struggle and want an in person education. Others are very technologically savvy and prefer the online environment. The state board here where this nurse is employed offers CEUs online through their nursing portal. Others offer education via webinars or attending virtually to a forum. This nurse previously preferred an in-person education class due to the need for retaining information. As this nurse returned to school and learned more technology, virtual offerings became easier to attend and earn CEUs.

As Covid impacted the healthcare world, nurses needed to attend many different virtual offerings. Many forums such as Dialysis care and post transplant care hosted Zoom conferences to allow more attendance. The entire world learned to be more technologically savvy and utilized webinars, Zoom, Webex and other virtual platforms to allow attendance and still have involvement. As this nurse is nearing completion of her MSN online, she is very grateful for technology and the opportunity to grow in a virtual classroom.

Reference: 

Moazami, F., Bahrampour, E., Azar, M. R., Jahedi, F., & Moattari, M. (2014, March 5). Comparing two methods of education (virtual versus traditional) on learning of Iranian dental students: a posttest only design study. BMC medical education. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3975717/.

Alternative 2:

Learning through technology

Continuing education is delivered in various ways thanks to technology. McGonigle and Mastrian (2018) described simulation, gaming, and virtual reality to educate nurses. Simulation represents real life situations done in person with role play, manikins, or web-based applications. Role play with manikins is great for hands on patient care experience to allow nurses to learn without harming actual patients.

Gaming