PROBLEM BASED LEARNING IN GRADUATE NURSING EDUCATION

Signature pedagogies which reflect the approach taken to the education of students as future practitioners in their chosen profession develop over time as a means of ensuring that students think, perform and act with professional integrity. Professional schools develop the most interesting pedagogies as they are challenged to meet not only the requirements of academia, but also those of the professions in producing skilled, responsible practitioners (Shulman, 2005). The development of signature pedagogies is considered a priority in nursing education (National League for Nursing, 2003). Within the nursing profession, much attention is paid to the issue of the theory-practice gap which originates from the separation of theoretical knowledge (knowing that) from practical knowledge (knowing how) (Craddock, 1993). This 'gap' can impede the personal and professional development of nurses and has the capacity to negatively impact on the provision of quality services. One suggested approach which has been advocated as a means of bridging the theory-practice gap is a problem based learning (PBL) approach to the education of nurses. PBL is defined as learning that occurs from the process of working through a problem (Barrett, 2005). The development of the PBL approach to learning is undertaken through a variety of mechanisms that promote reflection on experiences to promote deep learning (Murphy, 2004) and assisting students in learning how to learn, in order to equip them with the skills to adapt to the ever changing dynamics of the nursing profession. The ongoing development of signature pedagogies in nursing must focus on the development of skilled practitioners who have the ability to stop, think and identify what they know and how this knowledge can be applied across different situations/environments. The aim of this poster is to identify whether PBL has a role to play as a potential future signature pedagogy in the development of skilled nursing practitioners.