Unit 5: Imagining
the Future
Strong competition,
sever financial crises, increase demand and expectations of customers are
examples of modern organizational challenging trends (Manion, 2009). Education industry is no exception. Higher education administrators and faculty
members are expected to manage all the previous challenges effectively in order
to enhance their organization survival in such locally and globally rapid
changing environment. One of the most
significant challenging trends that the higher education sector is facing in
the current stage is the unprecedented increase of demand on higher education. According to the US Department
of Labor (2012) in the time frame between 2010 and 2020 jobs requiring a
- Master’s degree are expected to grow the fastest, at a rate close to 22%,
- Doctoral or professional degree are expected to grow by about 20%,
- Associate’s degree by 18%,
- Bachelor’s degree by 17%.
Both governmental and
private educational institutions must be ready to deal effectively with this
challenging trend. Educational technology
can be very helpful in terms of addressing this challenging trend. E-learning is the ultimate educational choice
to address this issue.
Segal et al (2013) highlighted that due to the unique
capacity of e-learning educational courses in terms of producing self-motivated
and independent practitioners and at the same time able to address the chronic
faculty members’ shortage, this educational methodology is being used
extensively, especially in health-related specialties such as nursing. Morgan and Hart (2013) draw our attention to
the new educational dynamic by stating that “students can obtain associate
through doctoral degrees without ever setting foot on a college campus” (p.
240). This practical and adaptable educational pathway
has the potential to satisfy the specific demands of a considerable percentage of
students who are employed and at the same time have the desire to develop their
capacities by seeking quality education. Therefore, a well-structured online or hybrid educational
setting can be a valid and reliable educational space through “providing a cost
effective option for both institutions and students, enabling many students who
may not have access to traditional academic settings to pursue a baccalaureate
degree” (Smith, Passmore, & Faught, 2009, p. 98).
My
final statement in this post is that let us be open to unlimited space of advanced educational technology and let us
always remember “If we teach today’s students as we taught yesterday’s,
we rob them of tomorrow.” This is about re-structuring educational systems to
be more open to non-traditional educational methodologies. let us be ready to robotics-managed education as it will reshape our entire educational systems as it did in health care
sector.
Enjoy the video!
References
Manion, J. (2009). The engaged workforce: Proven strategies to
build a positive health care. (1st
ed., p. 36). Chicago: AHA press.
Morgan, L., & Hart, L.
(2013). Promoting academic integrity in an online RN-BSN program. Nursing
Education Perspectives, 34(4), 240-243.
Segal, G., Balik, C., Hovav, B.,
Mayer, A., Rozani, V., Damary, I., & ... Khaikin, R. (2013). Online
nephrology course replacing a face to face course in nursing schools'
bachelor's program: A prospective, controlled trial, in four Israeli nursing schools.
Nurse Education Today, 33(12), 1587-1591. doi:10.1016/j.nedt.2012.12.009
Smith, G. G., Passmore, D.,
& Faught, T. (2009). The challenges of online nursing education. The
Internet and Higher Education, 12(2), 98-103.
US Department of Labor
(2012).Occupational outlook handbook. Retrieved from http://www.bls.gov/ooh/About/Projections-Overview.htm#educationandtraining
What specific demand is being made of higher education? Who is the responsible for answering the demands? Who is making the demands?
ReplyDeleteDr. Frutchey,
DeleteThanks a lot for your feedback. The issue of the unprecedented increase of demand on higher education as the statistics of the US Department of Labor (2012), is multi-faceted. Job market and society high expectations, policy makers power, and personal desire are the major variables in the demand-availability equation. Let us take nursing education at the BSN level for example.
What BSN nurses bring to the table is a greater theoretical knowledge base, knowledge of leadership and skills for evidence-based practice. It is because of the skills for evidence-based practice that patients who are cared for by BSN nurses have better outcomes, simply because the BSN knows the science behind why they are implementing the necessary interventions. So yes to take the best care of the patient, nurses need to be at the BSN level as evidenced by the research that shows better outcomes for patients who are cared for by BSN level nurses.. Blegen, Goode, Park, Vaughn, & Spetz (2013) found that Hospitals with a higher percentage of RNs with baccalaureate or higher degrees had lower congestive heart failure mortality, decubitus ulcers, failure to rescue, and postoperative deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism and shorter length of stay. This supports the recommendation of the Future of Nursing report to increase RN education levels is supported by these findings. Therefore, I’m with making a BSN the entry level of nursing practice.
All the stakeholders are equally responsible for answering the increasing demand on higher education. It is a common responsibility to ensure the ultimate societal sustainable development
References
Blegen, M. A., Goode, C. J., Park, S. H., Vaughn, T., & Spetz, J. (2013). Baccalaureate education in nursing and patient outcomes. Journal of Nursing Administration, 43(2), 89-94.
US Department of Labor (2012).Occupational outlook handbook. Retrieved from http://www.bls.gov/ooh/About/Projections-Overview.htm#educationandtraining
I love teaching in the online setting and agree that it is important to actively engage the students. It is also very important for the student to put a face with the name. This can occur in a variety of formats. Some universities use the hydra approach, like at OCU. We have the three day fae-to-face intensive and the remainder online. Other programs require students to come to campus a few times during the semester and other programs do not require any on-campus contact. The university in which I teach has a four day intense immersion at the start of the program. The students come to campus and learn about the community of Inquiring and actually complete 2 hours of course work over the immersion time. It is interesting to examine different types of programs and compare the structure of the curriculum in regards to hybrid and online courses, but to also examine what is working well for other universities.
ReplyDeleteI also enjoyed your video attachment, Sadeq. Thanks for sharing.
Interesting discussion Sadeq, I also believe that eLearning is an effective way to reach the increased demands for higher education. It also challenge the issues of time, space, and distance. Nurses’ shortage is one of the big concerns in the United States health system due to the low enrollment students, shortage of the nursing faculty, and about 55% of the nurses are expected to retire between 2011- 2020. Diminnie and Ross (2010) reported that “one source projects the U.S. nursing shortage to grow to 260,000 registered nurses by 202, while the U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics published in the November 2007 Monthly Labor Review that more than one million new and replacement nurses will be needed by 2016” (p.1), meaning that the health system is still in need for about 800,000 RNs. One of the recommended solutions for this problem is to incorporate e-learning to ease the nursing shortage, because this type of learning gives the opportunity for more nurses to complete their degrees without the need to leave their jobs or travel for class lectures.
ReplyDeleteSadeq, if you still remember when we were invited to attend one of the Sigma Theta Tau meetings last year. The meeting was held in the University of Oklahoma College of Nursing. I was so surprised when the dean of the nursing school said that the enrolled undergrad students in 2014 for pure online nursing degree were more than 600 students. Because I was wondering how they can ensure that those students get quality education, especially clinical skills. But when I read some of the literature related to the use of technology in nursing education, such as homograms and virtual nursing simulation lab, I started realize that quality education can be achieved with e-learning if nursing schools incorporate the available learning technology tools in nursing education.
Reference:
Diminnie, C., & Ross, L. (2010) E-learning to ease the nursing shortage: A new model for transitioning licensed vocational nurses (LVNs) to registered nurses (RNs). Retrieved from http://www.g-casa.com/conferences/budapest/papers/Diminnie.pdf
Interesting discussion Sadeq, I also believe that eLearning is an effective way to reach the increased demands for higher education. It also challenge the issues of time, space, and distance. Nurses’ shortage is one of the big concerns in the United States health system due to the low enrollment students, shortage of the nursing faculty, and about 55% of the nurses are expected to retire between 2011- 2020. Diminnie and Ross (2010) reported that “one source projects the U.S. nursing shortage to grow to 260,000 registered nurses by 202, while the U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics published in the November 2007 Monthly Labor Review that more than one million new and replacement nurses will be needed by 2016” (p.1), meaning that the health system is still in need for about 800,000 RNs. One of the recommended solutions for this problem is to incorporate e-learning to ease the nursing shortage, because this type of learning gives the opportunity for more nurses to complete their degrees without the need to leave their jobs or travel for class lectures.
ReplyDeleteSadeq, if you still remember when we were invited to attend one of the Sigma Theta Tau meetings last year. The meeting was held in the University of Oklahoma College of Nursing. I was so surprised when the dean of the nursing school said that the enrolled undergrad students in 2014 for pure online nursing degree were more than 600 students. Because I was wondering how they can ensure that those students get quality education, especially clinical skills. But when I read some of the literature related to the use of technology in nursing education, such as homograms and virtual nursing simulation lab, I started realize that quality education can be achieved with e-learning if nursing schools incorporate the available learning technology tools in nursing education.
Reference:
Diminnie, C., & Ross, L. (2010) E-learning to ease the nursing shortage: A new model for transitioning licensed vocational nurses (LVNs) to registered nurses (RNs). Retrieved from http://www.g-casa.com/conferences/budapest/papers/Diminnie.pdf