Developing my Philosophy of Nursing Education

Honestly speaking, this program in just one month's time has made me face some harsh realities. I say harsh, because returning to school has been quite a challenge. I entered this program thinking I just wanted to teach. My preconceptions of teaching of course, were based on my past experiences as a learner in the "old" pedagogical way of teaching and learning. What a surprise I encountered; to realize that I was never going to receive any kind of online "lecture" from my graduate professors. The lack of familiarity with this new style of learning, quickly led me to feeling frustrated and lost. After having learned and explored some very important terminology, theories, and concepts, I am happy to announce that I have now become a self-directed learner that can appreciate the freedom of taking initiative for my own learning.
This experience, as the constructivist say, can now be built upon. My experiences as a learner working towards a Master's in nursing education can all play a part in the development of my philosophy of nursing education. I know who I am as a nurse, and have a vision of what I would like to cultivate in others, but who I am as an educator has yet to be developed. Part of me developing my philosophy has been to learn and guide my understanding of education through theories and concepts. However, I feel that the majority of my philosophy will not be so much of what I can gather from text books, but will be based on my personal experiences, values and beliefs of nursing and education, and as I grow professionally, so too will my philosophy of nursing education.

Why Education?

In almost nine years of nursing experience, I have had the opportunity to work in emergency care, home health, college health, school health and in rehabilitative nursing. No matter what area of nursing I am working in, I find that I always enjoy the teaching aspect of my profession the most. I look forward to helping others learn about nursing, but most importantly I hope to indirectly improve the quality of care patients receive, by enlightening the next generation of nursing students in compassion and caring for others. I am currently enrolled in a nursing education theory course; and hope to learn about education in the nursing profession, as well as familiarize myself with the different types of learners. Ultimately, through this course I hope to set the stage for my career in nursing education, and even identify some theories through which I will be basing my educational methods on. .