ENGAGING LEARNERS USING PODCASTING, STORYTELLING, AND REFLECTIVE PRACTICE
Background: Nurses span several generations and many are challenged to utilize a broad range of creative technologies to communicate with patients, families, colleagues and members of the interprofessional care team. Nursing leaders are in a unique position to model the use of current and emerging communication technologies to the groups which they lead. Through careful integration, online learning activities enhance the learner experience and add depth to building essential communication skills. Although podcasting may be considered an “older” technology, its use has not been widely used as a mechanism for reflective practice through storytelling.
Description of Best Practice: Novice online graduate students in a survey course in clinical systems leadership engage in a learning activity designed to use storytelling, reflective practice thinking and podcasting to apply the principles of patient-centered care. Preparation for the assignment includes background reading on patient-centered care and storytelling technique. Students are also encouraged to explore recording modalities and can choose a method and program which works best with each student’s electronic equipment. Assignment instructions include a range of acceptable audio file types. Students are required to choose a case from their clinical practice experience which can be used as an exemplar of patient-centered care. They tell the clinical story, identify lessons learned from the exemplar, and suggest areas for improvement of the patient-centered care delivered. Podcasting is the media which is used to communicate the clinical exemplar and the reflection on practice.
Outcomes: Student learning outcomes include application of content on patient-centered care, successful utilization of storytelling methodology, reflective practice thinking and use of podcasting technology. Over 200 students in an online RN- MS program in Clinical Systems Leadership have completed this assignment from 2012 - 2014. Students’ responses to the assignment indicate that many enjoy the opportunity to choose a clinical case and analyze it with a deeper, more objective understanding of the principles of patient –centered care. The final assignments produced are excellent clinical stories which clearly demonstrate the application of principles of patient-centered care, clinical reflection, effective storytelling, and beginning level competence with podcasting technology.
Conclusions: The development and implementation of a podcasting assignment for online learning blends academic scholarship with essential skill building in electronic communication methods without the use of visual media. This method of presentation has been incorporated into several graduate assignments which emphasize strong reflective communication. Graduate students in online nursing programs have a unique opportunity to learn about, utilize, and evaluate many methods of electronic communication and develop essential communication skills for successful nursing leaders.