Use of Learning Styles in Nursing Education

According to an Office of Research publication at Indiana University, "Nursing is a complex profession that requires its practitioners to theorize, analyze and solve problems, and to possess a large repertoire of clinical skills from surgical hand-washing to calculating dosages of medications and other complex patient interventions." Nurses more effectively process this broad range of tasks by incorporating their own learning style, and that can mean better patient care. Individual learning styles can include visual, auditory and kinesthetic (VAK), right brain and left brain.

Visual

• In a study done by Andrew Frankel for Nursing Times, nurses were surveyed to determine their predominant learning style. Most were visual. If most nursing lessons are lectures, you might include pictures and diagrams for visual learners. Also, include in-class simulations and have students do a case study on a patient. Encourage your visual-learning nurses to gather printed material. Then, take detailed notes when they read. Have them organize the notes into diagrams.

Auditory

• The smallest group in the study done by Frankel, auditory learners do well with lectures. But even their learning can be enhanced by more active forms of instruction. Try brainstorming, keeping journals on their patient interactions or logs on the skill sets they are using when on the hospital floor. Students could record summaries of materials to be learned. These should be listened to several times.

Kinesthetic

• According to Frankel, this was the second-largest learning style in his nursing group. This group enjoys performing the technical tasks of nursing. Consider group size. Rather than having all nurses listen to a lecture, consider presenting the material in an alternative fashion. You could have one-on-one peer groups, or small group instruction. In these groups, experiment with different ways to take a pulse and chart it. Then work backward from the concrete to the theoretical. Try different ways to meet the standard lecture objectives.

Right Brain

• Students with a propensity for using their right brains when learning are said to be creative. When teaching these students, try to give opportunity for exploration and making unique connections. For example, host a symposium for student nurses to discuss problems they are having with specific patients. Allow for enough time in discussion, so your right-brained students can sufficiently problem-solve. Their solutions will often be very one of a kind.

Left Brain

• Students who are concrete, logical and analytical are said use their left brain when learning. These students enjoy the technical skill involved in nursing. Allow them to lead small groups of students in practicing these skills. For example, have them work with other students calculating the right amount of medicine to give fictitious patients.

Conclusion

• Helping students to work within their learning styles, be it in classwork or homework is a win-win situation. The students learn to a more proficient level and the patients receive a better level of care.