Having recently completed her master’s degree in nursing, Sharon has accepted a new role as clinical nurse educator for three adult medicine units in the medical center where she has been employed as a staff nurse for the past six years. Eager to put her education to practice in a manner that would benefit both patients and staff, Sharon meets with the nurse managers of the three units to learn what they view as priority issues on which she should focus. All three managers agree that their primary concern is teaching their staff how to better prepare patients with type 2 diabetes to care for themselves after they are discharged home. One of the managers comments, “Half of my nurses are new graduates. I’m not even certain that they know much about type 2 diabetes—how on earth can they teach the patients?” The other two managers nod, agreeing with the first, and chime in: “The patients aren’t being taught what they need to know, they don’t believe what they’re hearing, or they don’t understand what they’re hearing. As a result, I’m being told by ambulatory service nurses that our discharged patients aren’t taking their medications, aren’t making any changes in diet or life style, and seem unconcerned about their hyperglycemia.”
1: Which type of evaluation is being conducted every year when the nurses review the program and complete the cognitive test?
2: Which type(s) of evaluation would be most relevant to the nurse manager’s concerns?
3: Putting yourself into Sharon’s place, describe in detail an evaluation that you would conduct with the patients as a primary audience.
4: If evaluation is so crucial to healthcare education, what are some of the reasons why evaluation seems often an afterthought or is even overlooked entirely by the educator?
700 word min…. APA format ….min 5 references
How to Solve Having recently completed her master’s degree in nursing, Sharon has accepted a new role as clinical nurse educator for three adult medicine units in the medical center where she has been employed as Nursing Assignment Help
Introduction:
As a medical professor in charge of creating college assignments and answers for medical college students, I am well aware of the importance of evaluation in any healthcare education program. In the given scenario, Sharon, a clinical nurse educator, is faced with a challenge of teaching diabetic patients to care for themselves after they are discharged from the hospital. The nurse managers of the three adult medicine units where Sharon is appointed as a clinical nurse educator have expressed their concern regarding the knowledge and training of their staff and the lack of patient compliance in self-care. In this answer, I will address the questions related to the evaluation of the program and the patients in the given scenario.
Answer 1:
The type of evaluation being conducted every year when the nurses review the program and complete the cognitive test is known as formative evaluation. Formative evaluation is an ongoing process that is utilized to monitor and improve a program while it is still in progress. It is a useful way to ensure that the program is on track and meeting the desired outcomes. In the given scenario, the program is being evaluated every year to identify any deficiencies, and the cognitive test is being used to assess the knowledge of the nurses. Formative evaluation helps to determine whether the program is achieving its objectives and whether any changes are necessary to improve the program’s effectiveness.
Answer 2:
The type(s) of evaluation that would be most relevant to the nurse manager’s concerns are summative evaluation and needs assessment. Summative evaluation is conducted at the end of a program to assess its effectiveness and determine whether the program has achieved its objectives. It involves measuring the outcomes of the program and comparing them to the desired outcomes. In the given scenario, summative evaluation would help to determine whether the program has been effective in preparing patients with type 2 diabetes for self-care after discharge.
Needs assessment is another type of evaluation that would be relevant to the nurse manager’s concerns. Needs assessment involves identifying the needs of the target audience and using that information to develop effective educational programs. In the given scenario, needs assessment would help to identify the knowledge and skill gaps among the nurses and patients regarding the care of type 2 diabetes patients. It would also help to identify the barriers that prevent patients from complying with self-care, which could be addressed through educational interventions.
Answer 3:
As a clinical nurse educator, I would conduct a patient-centered evaluation that focuses on assessing the patient’s knowledge, skills, and self-efficacy regarding the care of type 2 diabetes. The evaluation would involve the use of standardized patient education materials, such as brochures, videos, and online resources. I would also use a self-efficacy questionnaire to assess the patient’s confidence in their ability to manage their diabetes after discharge.
The evaluation would be conducted in a group setting, where patients can learn from each other and share their experiences. I would use role-playing and case studies to simulate real-life situations and teach patients how to manage their diabetes effectively. The evaluation would also involve the use of motivational interviewing techniques to elicit patients’ concerns and fears about the care of diabetes and address them through education.
Answer 4:
Evaluation is crucial to healthcare education because it helps to determine whether the educational programs are effective in achieving their objectives. However, evaluation is often an afterthought or overlooked entirely by educators due to several reasons. One of the primary reasons is the lack of time, resources, and expertise to conduct thorough evaluations. Educators may also be more focused on the process of teaching rather than the outcomes of the programs, leading to a lack of motivation to evaluate program effectiveness. Additionally, evaluation can be challenging to conduct in healthcare settings due to patient privacy and confidentiality issues.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, evaluation is an essential component of any healthcare education program, as it helps to determine whether the program is effective in achieving its objectives. In the given scenario, formative evaluation, summative evaluation, and needs assessment would help to determine the effectiveness of the program, identify the knowledge and skill gaps among the nurses and patients, and improve the educational interventions. A patient-centered evaluation would also help to assess the patients’ knowledge, skills, and self-efficacy regarding the care of type 2 diabetes, which could be targeted through educational interventions to improve self-care compliance after discharge.
