NUR 501 MODULE 3 Learning Theories & Principles and Quality Health Care

Nurses acquire knowledge in the classrooms and during everyday interactions with patients and the care environment. Like other disciplines, how people absorb and process information depends on many factors, including learning styles and resources. Learning theories are structured ideas describing how students receive, process, and retain information. Understanding their principles and application is critical for nurses to organize patient education and other activities where learning occurs.

Behaviorism and social learning theories are the most useful learning theories for the advanced practice nurse (APN) in providing clients with high-quality health care. They are handy since their focus areas are behavior change and the instructor’s role in facilitating learning. According to O’Connor et al. (2022), behaviorism theory’s central tenet is that learning involves changing behavior in the desired direction. It can be applied as a framework to implement patient education programs that aim to reinforce desirable behaviors. For instance, an exercise program for older adults to prevent the adverse effects of sedentary living is founded on behaviorism. Social learning theories link learning and the social environment. For instance, social cognitive theory stresses that learning occurs in a social context through a dynamic interaction of the individual, environment, and behavior (Mukhalalati et al., 2022). In this case, APNs can observe and learn from experiences in their practice environments. They also play a pivotal role in modeling or stopping behaviors depending on their impact on patient care.

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NUR 501 MODULE 3 Learning Theories & Principles and Quality Health Care

The most useful learning principles are relevance, readiness, and reinforcement. In learning contexts, the resources, activities, and goals should be meaningful to learners. They should be able to understand and apply it, too. For instance, when teaching patients about lifestyle diseases, the nurse should focus on the patient’s everyday lives and the impacts on their health and well-being. Lee et al. (2023) described readiness to learn as the learners’ willingness and ability, which are impacted by the environment and the value of what is learned. Accordingly, a learner-centered environment where individualized education occurs is essential for high information absorbance. Reinforcement has much to do with strengthening and retaining knowledge and skills. APNs can reinforce behaviors that improve care quality through motivation, teamwork, and continuous support to patients and colleagues.

Learning occurs in different contexts, and APNs should be guided effectively by theories. These learning theories provide the framework to structure patient education and other routine activities where learning occurs. When choosing a theory, APNs should evaluate the one that best guides their professional practice depending on central tenets and suitability (Helou et al., 2022). It is also crucial to examine the framework that would help APNs plan their care according to the nursing process. The other consideration is a theory compatible with a nurse’s values and personal worldview of nursing.

Learning involves absorbing and applying information as appropriate patient care necessitates. Guided by their structure and foundation principles, learning theories describe how knowledge acquisition and retention occur. APNs can learn through observation, as the social learning theory asserts, and reinforce desirable behaviors, as behaviorism theory suggests. These learning theories are the most useful to APNs since they describe their role as learners and learning facilitators in the clinical environment.

References

Helou, N., Aoudé, J., & Sobral, G. (2022). Undergraduate students’ perceptions of learning nursing theories: a descriptive qualitative approach. Nurse Education in Practice, 61, 103325. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nepr.2022.103325

Lee, T., Damiran, D., Konlan, K. D., Ji, Y., Yoon, Y. S., & Ji, H. (2023). Factors related to readiness for practice among undergraduate nursing students: a systematic review. Nurse Education in Practice, 69, 103614. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nepr.2023.103614

Mukhalalati, B., Elshami, S., Eljaam, M., Hussain, F. N., & Bishawi, A. H. (2022). Applications of social theories of learning in health