MKP2: Emerging Technology & Nursing Education
Student Name (First, Middle Initial, and Last)
Emerging Trends and Challenges in 21st Century Nursing Education
Instructor Name
Month XX, 202X
Executive Summary
The literature review summarizes scholarly findings on the topic – impact of VR on nursing education, thus offering an overview of how the technology would influence the teaching-learning process. The needs gap analysis identifies what needs to happen to achieve the targeted goals, and illustrates the effects of incorporating other technologies as well. The force field analysis explores the possible forces that could impact on the implementation of the adopted technology. The section looks at both internal and external factors. The next section examines the most suitable change model to facilitate the implementation of the technology. It shows that the model requires implementers to focus on three critical steps – unfreeze, change, refreeze. The conclusion gives a recap of the proposal’s chief intention while paying considerable attention to the rational and purpose of the proposal, how it fills the gap, and significance.
MKP2: Emerging Technology & Nursing Education
The academic nurse educator plays an important function as a leader and advocate of change within the facility, usually a nursing school. Many of the problems in nursing education are the outcomes of trends, clinical constraints, and advancements in educational technology, especially in higher education in the twenty first century. In the area of nursing education, there are also changing technologies in healthcare, an evolving area of practice, and legal-ethical concerns, which all influence the safety and quality of patient care. It is important to review nursing program as continuously as possible to reflect the adjustments and make sure that graduates from a nursing program are able to competently enter the job market. Incorporating technology in nursing education is important because the feature permits learners to enhance efficiency and handle their operations more appropriately. Whereas some nurses have opposing views regarding new technology, arguing that it deters personal interaction, a significant portion of learners and practitioners are confident that technology adequately impacts on learning practices and patient care (Saab et al., 2021 a). However, the purpose of this report is to integrate an emerging technology into curriculum to be of benefit to academic nursing education program. Specifically, the change will be of benefit “Role of the BSN Nurse in Promoting Community Health”, a course that was formed in the MSNEDU courses.
Literature Review
Scholarly findings by various researchers affirm that incorporating VR in nursing education can have positive effects that may improve how one serves as a nurse. For instance, in the study by Chen et al. (2020) who performs a meta-analysis of literature, the researchers discover that VR can adequately elevate knowledge in nursing education, but was not as effective as other education techniques in areas of confidence, skills, performance time, and satisfaction. Chen et al. (2020) who perform the research with the intention of examining the appropriateness and effects of VR in nursing education in various areas, encompassing performance time, confidence, satisfaction, knowledge, and skills. The study that comprised of various literature is relevant to the proposal because it will help to reaffirm the need to embrace VR in facilitating nursing education. The primary strength in the article is that the authors use tables and images, which improves readers’ memory and makes it easy to know the points in large paragraphs. However, the chief limitation is that some of the analytical components that the researchers use are technical and likely to pose some difficulty for learners who do not understand how the functions work.
Dean et al. (2020) and Lange et al. (2020) provide valuable information concerning the impact of VR on nursing education, which makes it relevant for this task. The text that is based on evidence from summaries of existing systematic reviews and comprises of nursing students in nursing school reveals that VR has the capacity to be transformative in the future nursing workforce, but practitioners need to acquire more knowledge on how technology works. The article is relevant and suitable for the proposal because it will encourage both learners and tutors to consider VR as a possible tool for improving healthcare services and patient outcome. The strength of the article is that the authors use simple-to-understand diction, whereas the limitation is that they hardly incorporate any statistical point to support their argument. Lange et al. (2020), on the other hand, perform a randomized trial with the objective of observing the magnitude of application of VR features by nursing students in Germany. The study that includes comprises of nursing students in a learning institution for teaching and practicing human anatomy reveals that the level to which the application of VR apps in the training of nurses is acceptable is dependent on the measure of personal acceptance, and showed that students have a positive attitude towards the technology. The paper is suitable for the proposal because it will help to show how it is possible to achieve more impressive results when using VR if learners are ready to interact with the technology and use it to facilitate operations. Using charts, figures, and tables are major strengths in the paper, but the paper fails to give direction for future research, which is equally essential.
The articles by Saab et al. (2021) and Saab et al. (2021 a) are also suitable in understanding the impact of VR in nursing education. Saab et al. (2021) who perform a qualitative descriptive research while applying thematic analysis the perspectives of using virtual reality in nursing education while using undergraduate nursing students, and the setting is a public university in Ireland as the sample find that VR technology has the capacity to enhance learning, complement present educational techniques, and offer nurse educators with suitable and engaging ways of delivering content. The article is appropriate for the proposal because it offers the chance to embrace VR in teaching and use it to enhance students’ performance and attitude towards practice. The strength in the article is that the authors categorize the article into different sections thus making it easy to follow up, while the limitation is that they hardly address anything related to the potential weaknesses of using VR in nursing education. Saab et al. (2021 a), on the other hand, perform a qualitative descriptive study to understand the views of nursing students in using virtual reality in healthcare. The study that includes nursing students in a nursing school reiterate in their findings that the capacity of VR in helping nurses in managing ailments and managing diseases, however more research is required to establish long-term effects of VR interventions among different groups. The chief strength in the article is that the authors use numerous sources to support their argument, whereas the chief limitation is that the paper lacks a literature review section, thus denying readers the chance to understand what secondary literature say about the effects of VR in nursing education.
Based on the summary of the literature, it is possible to identify certain gaps in the utilization of technology in nursing education. One of the apparent gaps is that many nursing schools do not emphasize on the use of virtual reality as one of the learning approaches. It is apparent based on the literature that more need to happen in terms of sensitization and support to increase how nursing educators employ VR in their practices. The other gap that requires consideration is the lack of knowledge among educators, which is also part of the reason the innovation is still not widely embraced by nursing schools. Moreover, an evident gap according to the literature is the need to conduct more research on how VR can facilitate nursing education, and facilitate the learners’ practice once they transition to practitioners.
Needs Assessment
Need-Gap Analysis
To effectively perform a circular technology needs assessment, it is imperative to perform a gap analysis. The model requires the identification of the current curriculum technology as well as identify the desired curriculum technology. The model also requires the analyst to identify the need-gap, which should be in the form of an aspiration or what the team seeks to achieve. The ultimate phase is to identify the needed actions to meet the need-gap.
Being able to meet the gap will require various academic stakeholders to give their contributions toward the gap analysis. The faculty is a crucial aspect in facilitating the gap analysis. The team is important because staff members interact with students on regular basis and therefore understand their needs and desires. Furthermore, because of the experience and knowledge that the faculty has, their contribution will be of significant importance. Other than the contribution of the faculty, students will also contribute towards the gap analysis in many ways. Students should give their views on whether they think incorporating the technology into the curriculum will improve their learning experience. After all, the intended change targets learners, and seeks to improve their experience. Hence, seeking their views and finding out the elements that they prefer will be of significant importance in the formation of the new curriculum. More fundamentally, it is necessary to engage IT personnel considering that the new approach is technology-based. Consequently, consulting IT personnel will offer the chance to know what is needed, what needs to happen to avoid unnecessary hitches, and the type of installations that may be required to make the technology work as effectively as possible. Nonetheless, omitting any of these parties could impact negatively on the attempts to develop a curriculum that would achieve impressive outcomes.
A vital factor to consider is collaboration with interprofessional teams because this will also boost the transformation of the curriculum. Interprofessional collaboration is important because this will help to ensure that the adopted change reflects the desires of everyone, and that every person feels like they contributed toward the change. Each of the member will give their views on what aspects of VR they think require more attention as well as give their contributions on what they think may be the possible constraints associated with technology. Working as a team will offer the chance to come up with effective solutions to some of the challenges that could hinder the curriculum change and deter the incorporation of the technology in the teaching plan. Therefore, encouraging team work by encouraging members to meet once in a while and discuss the issue is a suitable way to foster collaboration. Face-to-face meetings are effective because they offer the chance to understand the attitudes of various members and to share ideas as extensity as possible. Besides, members can give their views through other avenues such as WhatsApp and Facebook groups and also through informal groups within the learning environment. Using social media as a collaboration tool is effective because members can express their ideas as freely as possible on these avenues without fear of intimidation or suppression. In addition, it is possible contribute towards key issues without having to be physically present. Therefore, encouraging the use of these collaborative platforms will facilitate teamwork.
VR and artificial intelligence (AI) are some of the emerging technologies that may impact significantly on “The Role of the BSN Nurse in Promoting Community Health.” VR is a form of computer-created simulation of a three-dimensional environment or image that can be engaged in a physical or real manner by an individual utilizing special electronic device such as gloves embedded with sensors or head gadget with a screen (Chen et al., 2020). In other words, VR is an artificial setting or environment that is formed with a software and given to users in such a manner that the one getting the experience overcomes belief and acknowledge it as a real experience. A possible benefit of using VR in the course is that it will make learners active than just being passive as it happens with some traditional techniques. The other benefit is that it the technology is likely to facilitate students’ creativity. However, the chief challenges of using VR would be lack of flexibility, high cost, and possible addition to the application. The other emerging technology that could be of significance to “The Role of the BSN Nurse in Promoting Community Health” is AI, which involves simulating human intelligence in apparatus that are set to act like humans and imitate their thinking. AI is associated with enhanced efficiency, which is one of the major benefits of AI technology. Moreover, the innovation allows both tutors and learners to engage deeply with data analysis, thus being able to think critically. Therefore, nursing educators should consider applying either forms that have great potential to elevate the teaching-learning process.
Presently, learners mostly rely on online-based sources, particularly videos to acquire information readily. Nonetheless, the approach has its limitations as much as it has certain merits. For instance, using video in nursing education is comprehensive and memorable. The approach also easily attracts most learners and make them pay attention to the topic under investigation. In addition, the current curriculum technology is beneficial because it is affordable and easy to access, especially now that many online platforms allow viewers to watch numerous films for free or at a fee. Nonetheless, other than having exploited the educational technique, the approach could be costly, especially when watching the videos come at some cost. Videos are also time-consuming, particularly when they cover a broad content. Thus, embracing VR, which is an emerging technology and embedding it in the curriculum, will revolutionize the teaching and learning experience. The need gap, therefore, is to offer more realistic encounter while relying on modern technology and get over traditional forms following the fusing of the technology into the curriculum.
However, to achieve the desired curriculum technology, it would be necessary to embrace particular steps that would help to meet the need-gap. Considering that lack of knowledge among educators is a key concern that could affect the incorporation of the technology in the curriculum, it would be a good idea to enhance educator training on how the technology functions. Another necessary action is to equip nursing schools with the required VR apparatus considering that some of these devices are costly and even difficult to source. Another appropriate action to meet the need-gap is to perform more researches on the topic to gain more information on what needs to happen to achieve impressive results in inculcating the innovation into the curriculum and using it to teach nursing students. Also important would be to urge learners to adopt the technology and have a positive attitude towards it. It is evident based on the analysis by Saab et al. (2021) that using a particular technology with learners is likely to give impressive results when students take it positively and feel that it will impact on their learning positively. Thus, focusing on the suggested actions will boost the process at which the technology finds its way into the curriculum.
The findings on circular technology needs assessment is that shifting from the current technology and embracing VR will improve the teaching-learning process. However, it would be necessary to embrace certain measures that would ensure that the change happens as effectively as possible. However, it may be necessary to consider other emerging technologies, including AI that has the potential to impact substantially on the learning process.
Meeting as a team and working in collaboration with other team members will offer the chance to settle on one appropriate technology. Each member will give their views on what they think is appropriate, and will suggest ways of implementing their proposed technology. However, the members will not engage in an exchange of words in an attempt to sell one’s ideology more than the other. Instead, each side will have the chance to give their views and let the other liberate on its effects and whether it is achievable. Reaching a consensus on the best technology is imperative in adopting the most impactful technique.
Force Field Analysis Assessment
Various internal factors and external factors could facilitate implementation. One of the internal factors is that there is a wave of change in many nursing schools with the focus being on to embrace new technology, a force that is steadily pushing many organizations to embrace implement emerging forms. The other internal factor that is likely to support the process is the support the process receives from various teams interested in seeing change. On the other hand, the chief external factors that could impact on the change are advancements in technology and increased availability of IT experts who understand how VR works (Lange et al., 2020). In addition, various factors are likely to facilitate integration of VR in “The Role of the BSN Nurse in Promoting Community Health” program. They include continuous review of curriculum, support from the government, and increased awareness on the need to include modern forms and technology in nursing education curriculum. For instance, through the support of the government, the change process is likely to happen much faster because of the availability of needed resources (Pottle, 2019). On the other hand, regular review of the curriculum will offer the chance to identify gaps that require consideration. However, factors such as social influence, perceived attributes and perceptions of change, and individual reactions could derail the inclusion of the technology into the course (Lange et al., 2020). Therefore, being able to identify and address the impending factors and taking measures to support supportive forms offers the chance to witness impressive results.
Change Theory
The most suitable change theory for this practice is Kurt Lewin’s change model, which requires implementers to focus on three critical phases – unfreezing, changing and refreezing. According to the model, the unfreezing phase demands that members be sensitized on the need to embrace. The next phase, change, is where the actual change takes place. The final phase – refreezing, involves promoting measures that would encourage the team to promote the technology further and to accept it as having the capacity to impact on teaching and learning (Hussain et al., 2016). The model is suitable because it is easy to implement and understand, unlike other change models such as McKinsey 7-S model and ADKAR change management model that are considerably long. However, the primary barrier is that some learners and instructors may not be ready to embrace the change because they may feel that it comes with certain challenges. However, while implementing the third phase of Lewin’s model, all concerned parties will undergo a series of orientations and sensitization aimed at showing the significance of embracing the technology.
The implementation of the theory begins by educators telling learners and other stakeholders why they need to adopt the technology for educational purposes. This includes teaching about the technology and asking them to refer to various sources that give more information about the innovation. The unfreezing stage also encompasses sensitizing those responsible for curriculum design. Moving to the change stage, the team in charge of curriculum design will make changes that include the need to use the device for educational purposes. Educators will aid learners in using the technology during learning. Finally, curriculum developers and educators will encourage all key players to support the initiative to witness possible benefits associated with the change.
Conclusion
Rationale and Purpose of Proposal
It is important to embrace VR and incorporate it into the curriculum because of the potential benefits associated with the change as well as changes that compel organizations to work with modern technology. Hence, this analysis serves the purpose of reiterating the significance of adopting VR in nursing education to prepare learners into more competent practitioners. In addition, the analysis allows school leaders, tutors, and learners to see the value of infusing the technology into the curriculum.
Filling the Curriculum Gap
The proposal helps to fill the identified gaps because it emphasizes that adopting VR will elevate how the teaching and learning processes take place. It also fills the gap by identifying the need to perform more research on the effects of infusing VR in the specified course.
Significance of the Proposal
Implementing the proposal is important because it will open learners and nursing educators to new practices that they could not be able to perform prior to being introduced to VR. The broader field of nursing will benefit in the sense that researchers will conduct more studies on this area to find out what needs to happen to achieve impressive results. Based on this analysis, concerned parties should invest much effort into supporting the implementation initiative.
References
Chen, F., Leng, Y., Ge, J., Wang, D., Li, C., Chen, B., & Sun, Z. (2020). Effectiveness of virtual reality in nursing education: Meta-analysis. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 22(9),
doi:10.2196/18290
Dean, S., Halpern, J., McAllister, M., & Lazenby, M. (2020). Nursing education, virtual reality and empathy? Nursing Open, 7(6), 2056-2059. https://doi.org/10.1002/nop2.551
Hussain, S., Shen, L., Akram, T, & Haider, M. (2016). Kurt Lewin’s process model for organizational change: The role of leadership and employee involvement – A critical review. Journal of Innovation & Knowledge, 3, 123-127. doi: 10.1016/j.jik.2016.07.002
Lange, A., Koch, J., Beck, A., & Neugebauer, T. (2020). Learning with virtual reality in nursing education – a qualitative research study using the UTAUT model. JMIR Nursing, 3(1), 1-11. doi:10.2196/20249
Pottle, J. (2019). Virtual reality and the transformation of medical education. Future Healthcare Journal, 6(3), 181-185. https://www.rcpjournals.org/content/futurehosp/6/3/181.full.pdf
Saab, M., Hegarty, J., Murphy, D., & Landers, M. (2021). Incorporating virtual reality in nurse education: A qualitative study of nursing students’ perspectives. Nurse Education Today, 105(9), 1-7. doi:10.1016/j.nedt.2021.105045
Saab, M., Landers, M, Murphy, D, O’Mahony, B., Cooke, E, O’Driscoll, M., & Hegarty, J. (2021). Nursing students’ views of using virtual reality in healthcare: A qualitative study. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 31(9-10), 1228-1242. https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.15978
| Table 1 | ||||||
| Literature Review Summary Table | ||||||
| First author (Pub year) | Title | Purpose | Context | Findings | Relevance | Strength of evidence |
| Chen et al. (2020) | “Effectiveness of virtual reality in nursing education: Meta-analysis” | The purpose of the study is was to examine the appropriateness and effects of VR in nursing education in various areas, encompassing performance time, confidence, satisfaction, knowledge, and skills. | The population comprised various literature and the setting was mainly through virtual forms. | VR can sufficiently elevate knowledge in nursing education, but was not as effective as other education techniques in areas of confidence, skills, performance time, and satisfaction. | The article will be of significance to the proposal because it will help to reaffirm the need to embrace VR in facilitating nursing education. | The level of evidence is level II because it is a meta-analysis of literature. The primary strength in the article is that the authors use tables and images, which improves readers’ memory and makes it easy to know the points in large paragraphs. However, the chief limitation is that some of the analytical components that the researchers use are technical and likely to pose some difficulty for learners who do not understand how the functions work. |
| Dean et al. (2020) | “Nursing education, virtual reality and empathy?” | Understanding whether using VR in nursing education will help to improve nurse-patient relationship and overall outcome. | The population comprises of nursing students and the setting is nursing school. | The findings affirm that VR has the capacity to be transformative in the future nursing workforce, but practitioners need to acquire more knowledge on how technology works. | The article is relevant and suitable for the proposal because it will encourage both learners and tutors to consider VR as a possible tool for improving healthcare services and patient outcome. | The level of evidence is level III because it is evidence from summaries of existing systematic reviews. The strength of the article is that the authors use simple-to-understand diction, whereas the limitation is that they hardly incorporate any statistical point to support their argument. |
| Lange et al. (2020) | “Learning with virtual reality in nursing education – a qualitative research study using the UTAUT model” | To observe the magnitude of application of VR features by nursing students in Germany. | The population comprises of nursing students and the setting is a learning institution for teaching and practicing human anatomy. | The level to which the application of VR apps in the training of nurses is acceptable is dependent on the measure of personal acceptance, and showed that students have a positive attitude towards the technology. | The paper is suitable for the proposal because it will help to show how it is possible to achieve more impressive results when using VR if learners are ready to interact with the technology and use it to facilitate operations. | The level of evidence is level I because the study is based on a randomized trial. Using charts, figures, and tables are major strengths in the paper, but the paper fails to give direction for future research, which is equally essential. |
| Saab et al. (2021) | “Incorporating virtual reality in nurse education: A qualitative study of nursing students’ perspectives” | To examine the perspectives of using virtual reality in nursing education. | Undergraduate nursing students, and the setting is a public university in Ireland. | Results suggest that VR technology has the capacity to enhance learning, complement present educational techniques, and offer nurse educators with suitable and engaging ways of delivering content. | The article is appropriate for the proposal because it offers the chance to embrace VR in teaching and use it to enhance students’ performance and attitude towards practice. | The level of evidence here is level I because the researchers perform a qualitative descriptive research while applying thematic analysis. Categorizing the article into different sections thus making it easy to follow up, while the limitation is that they hardly address anything related to the potential weaknesses of using VR in nursing education. |
| Saab et al. (2021 a) | “Nursing students’ views of using virtual reality in healthcare: A qualitative study” | To understand the views of nursing students in using virtual reality in healthcare. | The population of interest is nursing students, and the setting is a nursing school | Outcomes reiterate the capacity of VR in helping nurses in managing ailments and managing diseases, however more research is required to establish long-term effects of VR interventions among different groups. | The paper and its outcomes are suitable for the proposal because it will encourage tutors to use the technology knowing that it will elevate how students perform their services as practitioners. | The level of evidence in the article is level I because the researchers perform a qualitative descriptive study. The chief strength in the article is that the authors use numerous sources to support their argument, whereas the chief limitation is that the paper lacks a literature review section, thus denying readers the chance to understand what secondary literature say about the effects of VR in nursing education. |
Table 2
Curriculum Technology Need-Gap Analysis
| Current curriculum technology | Desired curriculum technology | Need-gap | Action steps to meet the need-gap |
| Videos | Virtual reality | To provide more realistic experience using emerging technology and upgrade from conventional technology after incorporating the technology in the curriculum | Improve educator training on VREquip facilities with needed VR devicesConduct more research on the topicEncourage learners to embrace the technology by having positive attitude towards it |
Table 3
Organizational Readiness for Curriculum Proposal
| Forces FOR curriculum proposal | Curriculum proposal | Forces AGAINST curriculum proposal | ||
| Support from school leaders, tutors, and students | To incorporate VR into “The Role of the BSN Nurse in Promoting Community Health” curriculum | Opposition from some people | ||
| The desire for change | Social influence, perceived attributes and perceptions of change, and individual reactions | |||