Nurse Educator Tips for Teaching

Latest Episodes:

Teaching Nursing Students Effective AI Prompt Engineering: The CARE Framework May 13, 2026

Show notes

Effective artificial intelligence (AI) prompting is essential for students to use AI to enhance critical thinking and clinical decision-making skills. Dr. Zeigler shares a framework she and a colleague developed for effective prompting: the CARE (Context, Action, Role, Expectation) Prompt Engineering Framework. The CARE framework provides a systematic outline for nurse educators to use in teaching students clinical decision-making skills and to ensure that effective AI prompts are used.

Integrating Emotional Intelligence into Nursing Education May 13, 2026

Show notes

Dr. Nadine Wodwaski discusses how she scaffolded emotional intelligence throughout the curriculum in a traditional undergraduate program. This strategy prepares students to navigate difficult conversations throughout their professional careers. Learn more in her article.

Academic-Practice Partnerships: Evaluating the Academy of Clinical Essentials Clinical Model Apr 29, 2026

Show notes

Dr. Abby Gramlick-Mueller and Mrs. Casey Olson describe the Academy of Clinical Essentials (ACE) model, an innovative academic-practice partnership. The ACE model includes structured immersion and pairing student cohorts with RN clinical instructors to provide direct patient care. ACE students report higher satisfaction and perceived support than traditional students. The model and its outcomes are described in their article.

Leveraging Virtual Simulation to Engage Distance Learners and Advance Competency-Based Nursing Education Apr 29, 2026

Show notes

Virtual simulation enables NP students to use critical thinking, clinical reasoning, and problem-solving to manage complex problems in diverse populations. This podcast with Drs. Camp and Knight and article describe use of an unfolding case study in which learners make decisions about care based on evolving data. Learners develop competencies by making the best or correct decisions at strategic points, as well as by making incorrect ones.

AI as a Simulated Preceptor: Enhancing Case Presentation Skills in NP Education Apr 29, 2026

Show notes

Artificial intelligence (AI) can act as a virtual nursing preceptor, providing students with a safe place to practice thinking like a nurse practitioner (NP) before working with real patients. It can present realistic patient scenarios and ask guiding questions, such as which information is most important, which possible diagnoses are most likely, and what is the best plan of care. As students make decisions, the AI can give immediate feedback—pointing out strengths, gaps, and more evidence-based options. This podcast and article discuss how AI is used as a tool to complement actual human interaction to prepare NP students for practice.

Supporting Students' Self-Regulated Learning and Reducing Program Attrition Apr 29, 2026

Show notes

High attrition rates in Health and Illness and Pharmacology courses led the authors to develop a mid-curricular summer bridge program for students to develop their self-regulated learning (SRL) and to reduce attrition in these courses. Dr. Avallone and Samantha Tucker in this podcast and article describe their Bridge Program and its effectiveness: students developed their SRL skills, and the Bridge Program significantly reduced attrition rates.

Experiencing Patient Report Before the First Day of Clinical Practice Apr 20, 2026

Show notes

The first day of clinical practice can be an anxiety-provoking experience for students. Nursing faculty can be proactive in reducing anxiety by engaging them in a role-play scenario about what to expect during clinical. Role-play is a proven teaching strategy that helps students learn in a safe environment under faculty guidance and with well-defined boundaries. Dr. Sonique Sailsman discusses this role play in the podcast and teaching tip.

Gallery Walk to Promote Critical Thinking Apr 15, 2026

Show notes

Novice students struggle to apply complex concepts to patient care. The Gallery Walk is a strategy that engages students, promotes critical thinking and clinical reasoning, and helps students prioritize in patient care. In this podcast and article, Kathleen McAdory presents the Gallery Walk that is used with novice students but can be used conceptually in any teaching context.

Building Empathy Through Equine Experiences Apr 15, 2026

Show notes

In this podcast with Dr. Morgan Yordy, you will learn about her 2-hour elective course, titled Animal Assisted Therapy, that explores the human-animal bond, the roles of animals in communities, and their impact on health and wellness. The course is open to all majors and is especially popular among pre-health care students. One assignment of students is a field trip to a local farm, which provides equine programming for children with physical, emotional, and psychological needs.

Planetary Health in Health Professions Education Apr 15, 2026

Show notes

Climate and planetary health shape the environments in which people live and, therefore, are central to nursing's mission to protect health and reduce inequities. Climate change drives heat-related illness, extreme weather, poor air quality, shifting infectious diseases, and food and water insecurity—all of which increase disease burden and disproportionately harm vulnerable populations. Nurses are often the first and most trusted professionals to encounter these impacts, but they frequently lack formal preparation in this area. In this podcast and article, Dr. Heide Cygan discusses the need for faculty development on climate and planetary health to thread these areas into the curriculum to prepare graduates to care holistically of patients.