Standards Of Medical Care In Diabetes – Teaching Clinical Practice

Cognitive learning approach

Describe about the Standards Of Medical Care In Diabetes ?

Teaching is a rewarding and rich pursuit for the nurses who want to share the clinical expertise with the mass. This provides strong motivation for teaching. As an instructor, one can mould professional skills and values (Cunningham, 2009). The present writing is on an experience in teaching in relation to clinical practice. It looks into the teaching plan, the rationale for the chosen topic, evaluation of the teaching experience and the areas of weaknesses and strengths. A reflection is also done on the basis of the evaluation. The Gibb’s Reflective Cycle is used. This model provides a framework for reflection. It has six phases that compete the cycle that helps to improve the teaching experience profusely and gives a chance to learn from such experience so that the practice gets better in the future (Bannigan, 2009).

Learning is a way through which behavioural knowledge, change, attributes and skills can be acquired (Boud. 2013). Learning, therefore, means changing the attitudes and behaviours and not just being present in a class or going through books. Three sets in learning theory are used in the circle of education which are humanistic, cognitive and behaviourist. For the teaching session, the cognitive approach was used. This is due to the student-centred nature of it. In other words, students follow a self-directed way for themselves in a role of an adult learner (Gredler, 2005).   Cognitive learning provides the resource of knowledge and it goes beyond imitation of any other. It is the input of skills and knowledge by cognitive or mental processes. (Comadena, 2007) states that the best way of learning varies from person to person. Different people have different styles of learning that suits them best. The best approach the teacher can have is the addressing of different learning styles in the teaching plans they have. This provides encouragement to students for understanding the preferred style of learning. The student should be made aware of different styles of learning and must be encouraged to identify their preferred style. (Hawk, 2007) put recommendations for teachers that they should make an environment with the help of different tools so that the listeners can understand the topic effectively. PowerPoint slides were provided along with the images from the web with the intension that the students can gather information from both the ways. Application of it was done by letting the students actively participate in the discussion of the topic, doing monitoring of the progress of the student and asking questions. Visual teaching methods were used. Cognitive learning ways include research, case studies, discussions followed by self-assessments.  The PowerPoint presentation used had big font size and sufficient background lights. Images related to the topic were used for attracting the students and grasping the attention.

Lesson plan

The topic chosen was on the basis of the level of the audience, and it was kept in mind to choose a topic relevant for the future career in nursing. According to Watson (2008) teachers in nursing have a duty regarding the imparting knowledge. There was a responsibility to impart knowledge whose basis is current evidence, best practices and validated research whenever available. The Andragogical Model has a concept for being responsible for decisions taken by own self. Once this self-concept is arrived at, a deep psychological requirement is developed that is to be treated and seen by others as being competent to self-direction. This takes into account allowing the learners to know the importance of the topic, showing them the way by which they can direct themselves by information and drawing the relation of the topic with the experiences they had. People do not learn until they are motivated and ready to do so. This needs help to overcome behaviours, believes and inhibitions regarding learning (Garrett, 2010).

The lesson plan is a vital part of good teaching. This allows the teacher to check on the time and the content of the lesson. It also sets a framework for evaluation and reflection (Spooner, 2007). The lesson plan was structured by asking the question to own self about the title of the session, expected learning type, learning and teaching methods, time length, teaching session location, availability of electronic resources. Thought was also given on the number of people in the audience, the study level of them, the stage of learning they are in and the process of knowing whether the students will be able to understand the teachings or not. Usually, these are done by getting feedback from the learners, using the techniques of questioning and doing assessments in the formal and informal way. Objectives and aims were also set for the teaching sessions. This was done for letting the students know the things they would expect and what the outcomes would be when the session ends. Billings (2013) explained that goals of establishing learning objectives are the means for clarifying the teaching purpose for ensuring that the lesson is completed successfully, and all the objectives are fulfilled. The identification of learning objectives livens up the communication taking place between the learner and the teacher. When teaching objectives are clearly identified and then presented in a progression that is orderly, desired outcomes are attained.

Gibb’s Reflective Cycle

Different situations had taken place during the teaching session. An analysis is been done using the Gibb’s module that consist of six stages. In such kind of cycle, the first stage consists of the situation’s description. Then is an analysis of the related feelings followed by the task of evaluating the experience. The fourth stage comprises of analysis that makes sense related to the experience. Lastly comes the conclusion is drawn from the whole process and action plan for implementing the lessons learnt from the experience in the future if such situations arise (Finlay, 2008). It was felt that discussion is required for reflective practice. Practise knowledge was generated as a result. It helped in developing esteem along with satisfaction. An ability to adapt to a new environment was also build up. Means of self-confidence, improvement and learning from the mistakes were set. Further teaching experience would be affected by the ability to look into other’s perspectives that were incorporated by the present experience.

The clinical teaching session was of 30 minutes excluding the time for interaction. This extra time had to be allotted for getting the maximum results of the session. Effective communication would impart the knowledge to the full extent. The chosen topic was spreading awareness about Diabetes. People having diabetes are increasing in number. This is due to growth in population, urbanisation, physical inactivity and obesity. Taking into account the number of persons affected by Diabetes, it is needed to spread awareness on the topic. As in 2010, 285 people approximately had Diabetes. Type 2 diabetes was the case in 90% of incidences (American Diabetes Association. (2013). As per International Diabetes Federation, the number of people affected by diabetes was 381 million in the year 2013 (International Diabetes Federation, 2015). It was thus thought a good idea to choose this topic as the theme for the teaching session. The lesson plan included imparting knowledge on the epidemiology of diabetes, the risk factors for it and the concerned lifestyle interventions that can be implemented. In it, were the definitions of type 1 and type 2 diabetes, demographics of the disease, diabetic emergencies and the possible treatments for it. All the matter was looked into deeply, and sufficient light was thrown into it for imparting the best possible knowledge. The objectives set were that students will come to know what diabetes is. They will be able to distinguish between the types of diabetes. Proper identification of the symptoms and signs of diabetes would be taught, and they would discover the influence of diet on diabetes.

Teaching session on Diabetes

I had organised all the needful beforehand to avoid last minute errors. I made sure that I reached the venue well before time. I checked with the equipment for their proper functioning and waited with patience for the time when I was about to start. Initially, I felt nervous just after starting the lecture. An introduction was delivered and attempts were made to build up a strong connection with the students as there was an intention of not to let the students feel bored and inattentive. The first approach taken was asking them about how much knowledge they had about the topic. It was felt good to see that the students had taken an interest in the topic, and they had some basic knowledge on the topic. Emphatic listening was showed up. According to Floyd (2014), emphatic listening is all about the motivation for understanding the other person and not judging the facts of the person. I then went through the slides in details and pointed out all relevant things. Non-verbal skills of communication were used including facial expression and body gestures. Good amount of communication was received, and the session was enjoyed till its end.

I was happy to see the student’s response. They were not disappointed with the undertaken session. It was thought that rights decisions were made. Moreover, confidence was build up in the field of teaching and communication. Perron (2014) stated that communication is a vital factor in teaching. Sufficient communication improves teaching and learning both. My worries and anxieties regarding effective communication were proved to be wrong. A session went alright due to the use of cognitive approach and proper teaching methods. Cognitive theory is a good option to follow in teaching (Bowman, 2014). The teaching was enjoyed in spite of the fact that the mouth occasionally became dry and thirst aroused. The idea of printing out the notes was of great help. It ruled out the chances of getting blank. The thing regretted is talking fast. Studies show that people tend to speak fast when they are nervous. The students were found to be satisfied and claimed to have learnt new things from the session. Satisfaction was achieved by the students from the engagement with the students by adhering to practices of student discussion. The students appeared to have knowledge. Students must be provided with an opportunity to succeed in the assessment. It is necessary to ensure that the students have a viable workload depending on the level of education they are in. This was ensured in the taken session. The content of the session was set up keeping this point in mind. It was concluded that after conducting the teaching session an overview was received on how a teacher must teach with respect for the students and behaviour that is extremely polite.  Knowledge was also gained on communication. The lesson was learnt for speaking in public and delivering lectures. The students gave positive feedback that the teaching had a valuable impact on them, and they were motivated to take up the subject in the due course of their education. The students were asked as much as possible, and a whole hearted approach was undertaken to answer the questions. It gave a positive feeling and ideas on how to be prepared for such teachings in the future. A lot was learned from the teaching experience. It was believed that the experience would help in the working of different groups together in an environment. In the future, it would help in giving the best practices in teaching as more knowledge had been gained about how to prepare for teaching sessions. Learning was also received on how to be calm and patient while giving learning lessons.

From the whole process, the role of learning and teaching was made clear. Professional knowledge and skills were developed from it. Policies and laws for providing good and effective teaching were understood. This would be implemented in near future. It was also understood that effective teaching in nursing promotes valuable information on the nursing practice.

References:

American Diabetes Association. (2013). Standards Of Medical Care In Diabetes—2013. Diabetes care, 36(Suppl 1), S11.

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Hawk, T. F., & Shah, A. J. (2007). Using learning style instruments to enhance student learning. Decision Sciences Journal of Innovative Education, 5(1), 1-19.

International Diabetes Federation,. (2015). About diabetes. Retrieved 31 August 2015, from https://www.idf.org/about-diabetes

Perron, N. J., Cullati, S., Hudelson, P., Nendaz, M., Dolmans, D., & van der Vleuten, C. (2014). Impact of a faculty development programme for teaching communication skills on participants’ practice. Postgraduate medical journal,90(1063), 245-250.

Spooner, F., Baker, J. N., Harris, A. A., Ahlgrim-Delzell, L., & Browder, D. M. (2007). Effects of training in universal design for learning on lesson plan development. Remedial and Special Education, 28(2), 108-116.

Watson, J. (2008). Nursing: The philosophy and science of caring (revised edition). Caring in nursing classics: An essential resource, 243-264.