Ethical Considerations for a Nurse Educator

Nurse Educator: What I Have Learned

My interaction with a nurse educator has been positive because the educator provided a good learning environment by essentially banning negativity from the classroom and promoting an atmosphere of positivity. This inclined me to want to excel and to do my best in the class, and it also diminished any fears of failure I might have had because I knew that the teacher would not harp on failures but would always be encouraging. Thus, the teacher removed the pressure from the classroom and made the experience very enjoyable. I wanted to do well in the class just to show my gratitude for the positivity that the teacher brought.

The educator was also always attentive to questions and needs of the students, going above and beyond the average teacher: this educator always asked how we were, if we were getting everything we needed, if we had any questions. The teacher would take time to meet with anyone who wanted extra help and never showed any signs of annoyance or of being busy with other work.

One way the nurse educator made a difference was through the art of "empowering others" which the teacher made it a point to do (Conger, 1989, p. 17): not only did the teacher provide the information but also provided the tools to succeed through an excellent assessment of ethics and how to interact with patients, giving the student a firm grasp of practical exercises. The teacher also emphasized the duty of the nurse to be honest and even if one makes a mistake to admit the mistake and let everyone in the unit know so as to avoid troubles from trying to hide it later down the road. This is an important part of being transparent in the nursing field (Philipsen, Soeken, 2011).

On the other hand, faculty behaviors that do not provide a good learning environment are related to the atmosphere as well. Nurse educators who do not show up on time for class give the impression of not caring about the class and cause students to not care as well. They appear to be busy and the spread the example of being too busy to give attention to others, which is dangerously contagious. This sort of behavior has a negative impact on the class and does not produce a good learning environment. Plus, when the educator allows negativity to permeate the classroom it reduces the ability of struggling students to want to reach out.

If I were to select faculty behaviors and incorporate them into my own teaching style, I would incorporate the one regarding the banning of negativity. I believe this is a very important step in cultivating the right kind of teaching atmosphere. Positivity is forward-motivating whereas negativity simply serves to pull one down and to keep them held back. The teacher should always be positive and always reinforce concepts and support struggling students by giving positive reinforcement and inspiring through an uplifting message that is full of encouraging words and tones. This is the essence of proper orientation that needs to be more of a trend in today's classrooms. Negativity is too daunting of an obstacle for many learners, so it becomes the task of the teacher to orient the classroom towards a policy of positivity -- essentially banning negativity from the classroom so that the learner is better able to focus on what he can do and what the goal is rather than on doubts and frustrations (Knight, 2011).

Faculty should handle situations of harassment, bullying, hearsay, and gossip in a learning environment by addressing those issues directly and not trying to sidestep them or get around them by ignoring them. They are serious issues that need to be addressed in the classroom where they are happening. Bullying, for example, can be very negative on the classroom environment and can keep students from learning, which is why they are there in the first place. Thus the teacher should make an effort to remove such learning obstacles as this. Bullying, it should be noted at the beginning of the class, will not be permitted or tolerated and once that is made clear then the class can proceed in an orderly fashion. It is important however to make these rules clear at the outset so that students know what to expect should someone decide to engage in that sort of behavior. It is also important for the teacher to make sure that he or she actually makes good on the promise to discipline the class. The same goes for harassment, hearsay and gossip -- none of those are good or positive forms of communication and each should be stopped in the classroom. Students will follow the example of the teacher if that sort of behavior is not tolerated, but if a teacher himself engages in that sort of behavior then it sets a bad example and a bad tone for the class.

The process of completing the Ethics Game case studies and DiSC® changed the way I view my professional role as a nurse educator in that it gave me a lot to consider in terms of ethical principles and personality. DiSC was especially helpful as a personal assessment tool: it helped me to determine my own personality type as well as those around me. It showed the behaviors that dominant persons, or influential persons, or steadfast persons or conscientious persons demonstrate, so I can now better pick up on my own ways of behaving and also pick up on those of others. It is helpful in that if I am dealing with someone who is optimistic and showing enthusiasm, I can mirror that trait and practice my influential type of personality. In this manner, it is a lot easier to get along with individuals.

Especially considering my role as a nurse educator, it is helpful because one comes into contact with so many personalities, it is very helpful to be able to identify them and adapt. So now I can use DiSC to better understand patients, students and other colleagues -- even myself -- in terms of behavior that I exhibit and what it means to other people.

The importance of lifelong learning in developing my professional nursing role as a nurse educator is found in the fact that learning never really stops, no matter what you are doing. For example, if I don't constantly engage myself in learning again and again good nursing tools, then I learn the opposite -- I learn to be disengaged, to be lethargic. I learn to forget. It is far better and far more important to learn to remember.