Nursing Education

When Is the Right Time To Begin Empowering Nursing Students To Understand Their Role As Innovators?

A short video clip pinpointing the ideal time in the learning cycle to introduce nursing students to their potential in leading change

Find out whether you should begin introducing students to their role as innovators in their first year, after they pass their NCLEX, or sometime in between.

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Tiffany Kelley:

What we do at UConn is first semester, first year, but that’s not something that’s always possible. And so, as early as possible in an educational program is ideal. And I’d like to explain a little bit why that is. You’re looking at not just giving people tools for how to do something, but influencing their mindset and looking beyond the problem itself and saying, “Okay, we know this is here. What can I do? What is something that I could do to help influence that?” I’ll give you some strategies in the next objective, but let’s say that you had already completed your undergraduate program and you’re coming back for a graduate degree or even a certificate of some sort.

That’s still a great opportunity, especially if we’re looking at leaders, because we have a need for people to not just be able to create solutions but also support these ideas and this approach and culture from a leadership level. So, as early as possible, and that’s going to mean something different to other people. I feel as though I got a lot of my formalization and understanding the innovation process through my PhD, and if we can support students to learn that earlier, than waiting until that time period or maybe not even having that opportunity, then we’re going to create mindsets that are going to be far more advanced by the time they reach those points, or throughout their career.