Educational technology is changing the way nursing students learn their profession. From adaptive learning modules to simulation labs and virtual reality, it is now easier than ever for undergraduates to develop an intimate understanding of what it takes to become a nurse in a controlled environment.
Will these factors diminish the nursing shortage? That’s a complicated question. Students who are experiencing these technologies have already chosen to enter a healthcare career. This suggests that perhaps educational technology cannot significantly influence recruitment.
On the other hand, there is intrinsic value to having well-trained nurses. In this article, we will examine how educational technology could influence the direction of healthcare shortages.
Can Education Technology Influence Nursing Shortages
We pointed it out in the introduction: People who are experiencing healthcare education technology have already decided to become nurses. It stands to reason then, that these tools, while valuable, are not going to stop shortages.
HOWEVER: It’s important to remember that the current staffing crisis is the result of two basic factors:
- Recruitment- Yes, the thing ed-tech doesn’t fix. Analysts have been worried about the state of nursing for decades, and it is because of this problem. More nurses leave than come in. What’s more, minority students are overwhelmingly underrepresented, which has created an imbalance in negative healthcare outcomes. You could possibly make the case that cool ed-tech might pique the interest of potential students, but every department has its toys. They are playing with 3-D printers over in engineering.
- Turnover- People leave the job all the time. Half of all new nurses will have completely exited the profession in five years. That’s a disastrously high turnover rate.
How can educational technology help nurses who have already graduated stay in the game? While working nurses may not think constantly about their school days while they are on the job, they will benefit from their lessons.
Educational technology makes it that much more likely that new graduates will go into the job mentally and emotionally prepared for what it requires.
In the next few headings, we will examine what specific technologies are doing to influence the direction of nursing.
Simulation Labs
Simulation labs are highly realistic educational environments that are designed to replicate the stresses of a hospital floor. They are usually adaptable so that they can be modified to suit the scenario at hand. One day the simulation lab might resemble an emergency room. The next, it could look like a cancer ward.
The situations that take place in these settings are just what the name implies: Simulations. However, they do introduce students to the pressures of a hospital environment in a controlled way.
Nurses already acquire many hours of clinical experience while they are in school, but there are limits to how helpful this can be. If they show up on a quiet day—and those do happen, believe it or not—they won’t necessarily get a feel for the high stakes that can take place in a hospital.
No doctor is going to walk into a patient’s room and say, “Hey, could you stop breathing for a few minutes? We have some students coming in and it would be really helpful.”
They get what they get. The simulation lab helps fill in the gaps, and can also be used to teach rarer situations that, while unlikely to just develop during the average clinical session, could pop up at some point in the future nurse’s career.
This is beneficial because:
- Nurses who have experienced simulation labs will be that much better on the job and
- They won’t be taken by surprise when they graduate.
It’s this latter point that is perhaps the most important. Many nurses turnover because they find that nursing is harder than they expected it to be. Simulation labs can help communicate the stresses of the job in a way that books simply can’t.
A nurse who knows what to expect is less likely to turn over when things get hard.
Online Learning Options
Online learning opportunities increase the number of people who can consider nursing careers. Where once a working parent might have decided on a less intensive educational path, now they can work on getting their nursing degree in a flexible format that makes sense for them.
By increasing accessibility, online learning boosts the number of nursing students, while also increasing opportunities for people who might not have had them.
Better Preparation
There is also an excellent line of preparation technology that helps to:
- Adapt to the student’s learning needs and
- Allow them to work in a way that suits those needs.
These points may seem similar but there is a slight difference. An adaptive learning model might tailor questions and thinking points to reflect where the student is at. If they answer questions correctly, the topics will get more complex.
If they are struggling, the software will linger on entry-level materials to make sure that they understand their stuff and are not becoming overly frustrated.
Online learning modules often have more variety than traditional classroom instruction. This is particularly true for college environments, where teachers spend much more time focused on the content of their lectures than how the information is delivered.
Where a middle school teacher might prioritize differentiated learning strategies, a college professor will almost always be very committed to the “reading and writing,” strategy of education.
A good online learning platform will be better at connecting students with materials that help them study in the way that makes the most sense to them.
How will this influence the high rates of nursing turnover?
Better-prepared nurses are simply a little more likely to stay on the job. They know what to expect, and even more importantly, they know how to meet those expectations.
Support Technology
Many colleges, and in fact, hospitals, now have communication platforms where students can connect and discuss their thoughts, fears, and expectations. This can make a big difference for students who might otherwise experience the anxieties of healthcare pressure on their own.
Developing good social/emotional skills as a student will translate into a future nurse who is better at discussing and dealing with their feelings on the job. A nurse who might have turned to a different profession after feeling burnt out might instead look for internal resources to deal with their feelings.
When those habits are established in college, they are much more likely to play out in a professional setting.
The Limitations of EdTech
Great software won’t fix everything. When we described the nursing shortage problem as a recruitment issue, we meant it. That’s a problem that begins before students even arrive at college.
It’s not exactly to say that schools aren’t doing enough to reach out to prospective students—though that well could be part of the problem.
The issue is that they aren’t necessarily finding the right students. That’s an uncomfortable concept, of course. Who gets to decide?
And yet if you poke at the issue, that’s what it comes down to. Many people leave the job. Others do it for forty years. A recruiter, naturally enough, will want to find folks that fall into that second category. They can do this by:
- Expanding their student profile. Picture a nurse in your head. Forward-thinking human that you are, you probably imagined a young black man. Most of us have a more stereotyped image in our heads. We picture the middle-aged white nurse that we have seen on TV—and for that matter, in our own hospitals. The world is a diverse place. Shouldn’t hospitals be as well?
- Being more selective. It sounds counterintuitive, doesn’t it? But what good does it do anyone to pick bad-fit nurses? Better gatekeepers can help pare down turnover numbers.
To the former point—college recruiters can work more closely with guidance counselors to find diverse students who may have a natural interest in and talent for healthcare.
On high school visits, they can make a point of speaking to a wider range of students.
The latter point is trickier. Schools can’t just turn away nursing students on the hunch that they might bow out eventually. They can leverage entrance exams and other pre-screening questions to help all students find the major that is best suited to them.
At the end of the day, the student will still have a choice to make, but perhaps it will be a better-informed one.
Incidentally, tech can help out in both respects. Data platforms can be used to help colleges constantly recalibrate their recruitment techniques. Who is currently being reached by our marketing efforts? What can we do to widen the scope of those outreach techniques?
Data platforms can also be used to help make better guidance recommendations.
The idea is not to tell anyone what to do. It’s simply to take a more comprehensive approach to helping students find their way in the world.
No, technology alone cannot beat staffing shortages. It can serve as a valuable tool for improving education and boosting overall healthcare outcomes.
