Question

You are to create a health education teaching philosophy that highlights your philosophy as a certified health education specialist. You'll begin by generating ideas for your teaching philosophy based on your attitudes, values, and beliefs about teaching and learning. You should also focus on your approach to teaching (which teaching styles do you prefer? student-centered, teacher-centered etc.)Your health education teaching philosophy should discuss how you put your beliefs into practice by including concrete examples of what you do as an educator.

As a certified health education specialist, you will be responsible for the Seven Areas of Responsibility: These need to be referenced in your philosophy

Area I: Assess Needs, Assets, and Capacity for Health Education
Area II: Plan Health Education
Area III: Implement Health Education
Area IV: Conduct Evaluation and Research Related to Health Education
Area V: Administer and Manage Health Education
Area VI: Serve as a Health Education Resource Person Area VII: Communicate and Advocate for Health and Health Education

Your philosophy should include highlighting your role as a certified health education specialist as well as your approach to teaching. Limit it to 350 words

Answer 1

My Philosophy of Nursing Education

Concepts central to my philosophy of nursing education include:

1. Patient: The patient is seen as an individual to receive holistic care. The nurse provides care which integrates physiological, psychological and spiritual aspects of the person’s life.

2. Environment: The environment consists of the objects and conditions external to the patient, which affect their development. This includes individual and family relationships, culture and the resources available in the home and community. Nursing focuses on positively influencing the human-environment relationship.

3. Health: Health is viewed as varying levels of wellness the patient experiences throughout their lifespan. Nursing focuses on health promotion, maintenance and restoration to ensure the patient attains and maintains optimal level of health.

4. Communication: The nurse and patient interact in verbal, nonverbal and written forms of communication. Effective communication is essential for the development of a goal-directed, helping relationship with patients, families and members of the health care team.

5. Caring: The nurse must care and nurture herself as well as the patient and family. Caring is the central theme of nursing. Caring involves providing comfort, compassion, and support to the patient and their family.

Education Philosophy:

My personal philosophy is based on the premise that all students are deserving of a holistic education. This includes an education that will allow them to discover themselves, their strengths and weaknesses as well as their full potential. Students must be taught in such a way that they learn to become problem solvers and analytical thinkers. Employing teaching and learning theories that allow the students to socialize during the learning process allows students to teach as well as learn from one another.

My idea of an effective teacher is one who inspires learning in addition to just presenting the required facts. As an educator, I strive to help students meet their fullest potential by providing an environment that is safe, supports risk-taking and invites a sharing of ideas. The teacher can establish such as environment by acting as a guide, allowing the student’s natural curiosity to direct his or her learning and by promoting respect for all things and all people. The effective teacher guides the student, providing access to information rather than acting as the primary source of information. She is aware that students present with a variety of abilities as well as learning styles. Providing students with access to hands-on activities and allowing adequate time and space to use materials that reinforce the lesson being studied creates an opportunity for individual discovery and construction of knowledge to occur. The students’ search for knowledge is met as they learn to find answers to their questions. The nurse must know how to seek, find and use health information and resources.

Nursing education is the instrument in which students learn the nursing process, transforming them into an instrument of care for patients, families and the community, regardless of ethnicity, poverty or gender. Nursing education occurs in an environment of scholarly inquiry, based on learner centered philosophies and learning strategies with higher order thinking and outcomes. The student is prepared to care about and care for individuals throughout their lifespan, using current evidence based practice. The nursing focus is healthy lifestyle, and prevention of illness and injury. The student learns to form partnerships with the individual, families and communities to improve health and influence nursing practice and health care policy. The student is expected to graduate as a practitioner with knowledge, abilities and work behaviors to provide safe and compassionate nursing care.

Nursing research is an important aspect of nursing education. Research is fundamental in the generation, transmission and creation of knowledge in nursing practice. Nursing education which includes service learning, community engagement and leadership provides the nurse with skills necessary to transform the health of the region, nation and the world.

As a Master’s prepared nurse educator, I will provide mentoring to students and peers. Mentoring involves acting as a role model, promoting role socialization, encouraging independence and promoting self confidence. Mentoring provides guidance while giving back to the nursing profession.

Preferred Methods of Teaching:

Lecture is a passive form of teaching and needs to be kept to a minimum in the educational setting. Learning is a social activity; people learn best when they are allowed to meet in groups and are given time and materials to discuss and solve a problem. Working in groups allows students to combine their various abilities as well as experience a variety of learning styles. Social learning activities encourage the student to research, thus “pulling” information to them, in contrast to having information given to them. They learn to identify and solve problems by using critical and creative thinking skills. It is an active learning process. Group learning teaches the student to communicate, share and negotiate ideas and results in the student developing a clear understanding of their project.