Role of Nurse Educator and Curriculum Development Medicine Essay

Role of Nurse Educator in Curriculum Development
Student’s Name
Institution
Role of Nurse Educator in Curriculum Development
Nurse educators play a significant role in shaping nursing education and ultimately, the nursing practice. Other than teaching the nursing curriculum to individuals who want to be nurses, they are also responsible for developing the nursing curriculum. The nursing curriculum has to be in line with the current needs of patients and the nursing profession (Halstead, 2018). This paper explores the role of the nurse educator in developing the nursing curriculum, how this role changes in various settings, and the influence of nursing education theories on this role. Also, the paper provides a summary of the curriculum design process as well as the factors that influence curriculum development.
The National League for Nursing (NLN) provides several core competencies of the nurse educator that are important in ensuring excellence in nursing education. One of the key core competencies of the nurse educator, according to Halstead (2018), is to “participate in curriculum design and evaluation of program outcomes.” The nurse educator’s role, in this case, is to establish the outcomes of the nursing program, write the learning objectives, establish effective strategies for evaluation, and come up with effective learning activities. Another nurse educator’s role is to make sure that the curriculum is in line with current trends in healthcare and nursing as well as with patient needs (Halstead, 2018). The nurse educator also has the role of revising the curriculum to ensure that it matches the current trends in healthcare and the needs of learners. These revisions have to be guided by the relevant strategies and theories of change and the nurse educator has to ensure that there is a collaboration with relevant partners during the revision process. Also, the nurse educator has the responsibility of ensuring that the curriculum design is informed by relevant theory, research, and principles of education. Also, the nurse educator has to build and maintain partnerships that can advance the goals of nursing education. Finally, the nurse educator has to facilitate continuous improvement of the educational program by applying the right assessment models (Halstead, 2018).
The nurse educator operates in different settings and their role changes depending on the setting. For instance, in the classroom, the role of the nurse educator is to instruct learners who are at the bottom of the nursing practice ladder. The nurse educator provides learners with learning materials based on the nursing curriculum to prepare them for a career in nursing. In a classroom setting, the role of the nurse educator is not just to teach but also to provide learners with an engaging environment that facilitates learning and participation (Oermann, De Gagne, & Phillips, 2017). In this case, the educator applies different strategies to ensure that each learner has a good grasp of the content. At the bedside, the role of the nurse educator is to offer their expertise and support new nurses in providing patient-centered care. New nurses need to be competent when it comes to interacting and caring for patients....