Employing Technology in the Instruction of Pharmacology with Graduate Nursing Education Students

Abstract

"SUNY Poly is proposing to utilize an Innovative Instruction Technology Grant (ITTG) to design an evidence-based, online pharmacology course for graduate nurse educator students, using virtual presence software. This course will utilize authentic faculty developed scenarios to apply the principles of pharmacology to patient care. Pharmacology is one of the core competencies delineated by the Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRN) Consensus Model (2008). Pharmacology provides students “with the knowledge and skills to assess, diagnose, and manage (including the prescription of pharmacologic agents) a patient's common health problems in a safe, high quality, cost-effective manner” (AACN, 2011). Authentic, contextual, virtual experiences promote deep learning and provide students with opportunities to apply their knowledge immediately. Virtual learning could greatly improve achievement of learning outcomes, satisfaction, retention, and course completion of pharmacology. With the explosion of instructional modalities, particularly simulation and virtual learning, it is worthwhile to explore the pedagogy of virtual learning with graduate nurse educator students given the monetary cost of medication errors and the potential to decrease the loss of life "