Module 5 - Decision Support for Care Delivery

When I was in midwifery school one of the hardest things to learn how to make clinical decisions. My schooling up until that point had emphasized logic and reason. We were to make decisions based on a clear calculation of fact. But as a midwife we also have to use intuition. Dr. Daniel Kahneman in his 2008 lecture discusses 2 systems of the brain. System 1 uses intuition; system 2 uses reasoning. But how do you learn intuition? Kahneman (2008) reflects that with practice and time, skilled performance migrates from system 2 to system 1. It is only with repetition and exposure can expert clinicians shed the scaffolding of system 2 and make clinical decisions based on an informed system 1. Teaching system 1 thinking is not possible, it takes time and practice, expecting students to perform at this level is unreasonable (anyone using system 2 should know that!). 

Module 4 - Teaching with Technology

I teach every day. And every day I am challenged to find a new and innovative way to communicate information to my students, colleagues, patients, and trainees. This challenge excites me. Currently I am "obsessed" with simulation and debriefing. I think that simulation/debriefing is one of the best teaching innovations - it allows students and providers (no matter their clinical expertise) to learn in a non-judgemental, non-evaluative environment yet demands concentration, integration of principles, critical thinking and self-reflection. Participants in simulation are motivated to come to class prepared and to improve performance through team work and "group think." Although I can't use simulation in the same way with my patients as I do with my students, I do often ask patients who are facing difficult family conversations and or behavioral change to role play with me what they will do when faced with a  particular scenario, and it seems to work, the client often feels better about her ability to approach difficult subjects. Nursing is a teaching profession- we are good at it and we can't deny its centrality in our everyday interactions with patients, families, and other members of the health care team.

Check out this link: http://editthis.info/nurs_6004_mobile_devices/Main_Page