3 pages due by 24 hours

Education is a valuable process of learning. It is gaining knowledge, skills, insights, and values. There are many different types of education that are available for everyone, and there are many ways that a student can be educated. Becoming an educator for the nursing field gives the responsibility of educating future health care professionals by guiding and assisting students through their journey of becoming a professional licensed registered nurse. A nurse educator can teach a variety of subjects and in a variety of different settings. From becoming a clinical nursing instructor where you can educate nursing students at a hospital or a clinic, while teaching them nursing skills and how to care for patients, to a nursing professor who lectures students at a university, the options are many. The selected topic that would be taught as a nursing instructor in an institution of higher learning would be pathophysiology. Pathophysiology is the study of the physical and biological abnormalities that develop in the human body due to an underlying disease. Nurses who are able to recognize signs and symptoms of these different diseases in their patients, will be able to provide their patients with high quality care ("What is pathophysiology in nursing?," 2020). One of the main topics that I would like to discuss in pathophysiology is type two diabetes. Diabetes Mellitus type 2 is a chronic condition where there is an impairment in the way that the human body uses and stores glucose. Eventually, this impairment causes high levels of sugars in the blood, which can then lead to other problems of the circulatory, nervous, and immune systems (Mayo Clinic, 2019). Type two diabetes was known mostly as “adult onset diabetes”. However, type 2 diabetes can be developed during childhood as well, especially since there has been an increase in the number of young children who are obese (Mayo Clinic, 2019). Obesity has been known to be one of the main causes of type two diabetes. Having excess weight can cause the body to become less sensitive to the insulin that is released from the pancreas. When this occurs, it can cause insulin resistance which means the body is no longer responding to the insulin, and the sugar levels in the blood will still be high (Mayo Clinic, 2019).

As a future health care professional who will be working in the United States, it is important to know the pathophysiology of type two diabetes, how to manage this chronic condition, as well as how to educate others about it. According to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2020), in the United States there has been a prevalence of obesity increase from 30.5% to 42.4%, and the prevalence of severe obesity increased from 4.7% to 9.2%. Conditions that are related to obesity include heart disease, stroke, certain types of cancer, and type two diabetes (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2020) . All of these conditions can be preventable, which is why it is so important as nurses to be able to educate others about this topic, as well as to use education in our plan of care to prevent this condition, or help others manage it to the best of our ability.

As my transitioning to the role of a professional nurse educator approaches, there are three goals that I would like students to be able to accomplish after the completion of the course. The goals are as follows: The student will be able to identify appropriate treatment of diseases and conditions using the nursing process by relating pathophysiologic changes to the individual, the student will be able to apply the knowledge of pathological changes in body as they apply to nursing care, and the student will be able to improve patient health outcomes by analyzing and educating patients individually specific to their condition or diagnosis. These outcomes are all reflected in the course content as they are measurable and they are descriptions of the knowledge and skills that learners will gain after the completion of this course. Learners will be able to demonstrate their knowledge using measures such as exams, projects, research papers, and more. During this course, students will learn about several conditions that are seen in the clinical environment. Students will specifically be educated on Diabetes Mellitus, and will learn how to analyze, observe, and assess this condition as well as, how to treat and manage. Future nurses will have gained knowledge and insights on how to educate and teach others regarding their diagnosis, physical, and mental health while caring for their condition.

Learning Strategies

Nurse educators need to educate on subjects in a stimulating way where it can spark the learner’s interest and make the subject more interesting for learners. There are several factors that consist in making this possible. This includes the educators' learning styles, personality, their enthusiasm for the subject, and their use of teaching strategies (DeYoung, 2015). Using a variety of strategies can be part of the educators teaching style. Being able to use a personal style such as sharing personal stories, experiences, and insights can catch the learner's attention (DeYoung, 2015).

There are many learning strategies that can be used during the course.

References

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2020, June 29). Obesity is a common, serious, and costly disease. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/adult.html

DeYoung, S. (2015). Teaching strategies for nurse educators (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson

Mayo Clinic. (2019, January 9). Type 2 diabetes - Symptoms and causes. Retrieved from https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/type-2-diabetes/symptoms-causes/syc-20351193

What is pathophysiology in nursing? (2020, February 5). Retrieved from https://onlinemasters.ohio.edu/blog/what-is-pathophysiology-in-nursing/