Role of the Student in Higher Education (Essay Sample)

ROLE OF THE STUDENT IN HIGHER EDUCATION
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2nd, November 2013
Role of the Student in Higher Education
The higher education is an important tool in the twenty first century. This has been emphasized in different countries around the globe. As a result, many of the countries have been encouraging higher education accessibility and enrolment as a means of achieving the millennium development goals. Higher education has been perceived as a right way of ensuring students getting a right foundation towards their careers. This is also a right approach to ensure that students get the right knowledge so that they can be able to rely on themselves. On the other hand, this form of education will be instrumental in ensuring that the students acquire the necessary job related skills. On the other hands, it provides theoretical knowledge to apply to real work (Kay 2010). These institutions provide social and community incorporated education and hence reinforces the relevance of higher education towards national development. As a result, this strengthens job relevant skills and innovation skills. This will help especially in nursing due to technology influence (Mastrian et al. 2010). Therefore, it can be viewed as a way of making a connection between formal schooling and social/community learning (Baumann & Blythe, 2008). All these ideals help in shaping a career. Higher education is of essence to nursing student as it makes them professional, relevant, and follow regulation.
Nursing education is paramount in higher education (HE). This will help in improving nursing knowledge before and after they get their licenses. This is because a difference exist in the practice nurses were educated in the 20th century. These skills are no longer up to quality as compared to the health care needs in the 21st century. This is because patient needs and care setting has become more involved. This has been the case due to the rise of chronic diseases such as diabetes and the ever-increasing aging population. Therefore, nurses need requires competencies to deliver high quality care (Chiarella & McInnes n.d.). Such competencies include leadership, health policy, system improvement, research and evidence based practice, and teamwork as well as collaboration (Institute of Medicine (IOM) 2010). Likewise, competency is needed in different areas. The HE will also help nurses to cater for increasing roles in healthcare and obtain necessary technological skills and data management system (IOM 2010). This will take place as they cooperate and coordinate care across teams of health professionals.
On the other hand, nursing should be treated like a profession. In fact, in this decade nursing requires more skill, intelligence, and education. This is because the increasing demand for nurses calls them to have unique and attainments. In the past, uneducated, wicked women were allowed to take care of the sick as nurses. It is also necessary to note that the medical profession was against nurses acquiring education and awareness in the early years (DeNisco & Barker 2012). However, this has changed significantly with the acceptance of health care professionals having learned nurses. Hence, nursing need to be considered as a profession. This way the knowledge they earn will help them in linking theory to practice. Therefore, just as other profession requires a recognised higher education to be able to link theory to practice, the same should apply to nursing. In higher education, nurses get an opportunity to learn concepts and put it into practice. In such institutions, nurses get an opportunity to develop critical thinking to manage nursing care and service within a group of intellectuals when meeting the requirements of the patients. For example, they will be able to use the current technology in communicating with doctors in the theatre section. In addition, patient is most likely to be able to trust a nurse based on his or her competency (Price 2013).
On the other hand, there exist attributes that make nursing a profession. The foremost significant issue is accountability. In fact, accountability is a necessary thing in many professions around the world. Moreover, teaching of nurse has emphasized more on research. For example, students have been spending more in the simulation labs as compared to the time taken during lecture (Bayne 2013). This is meant to make sure that the nurses are more comfortable once they get into hospital or a personal situation. Moreover, emphasis on educating nurse has been seen in private doctor use of nurse. Most of the doctors have been relying on certified medical assistant (Bayne 2013). This is because such nurse can be able to recognise vital signs and give injections. There has also been an emergence of specialized areas in nursing. They include paediatric, surgical and emergency room. Such specialities are introduced once the students get into the profession.
Additionally, there has also been increased promotion of the nursing profession monitoring body. This body are there to ensure there is nurses maintain professionalism as they carry out their duties. There has also been an increase of a number of degrees in nursing (IOM 2010). These are meant to enhance skills and knowledge of nurses as professionals. For example, there has been an emphasis on having professional nurses in United Kingdom. This happens through being registered by Nursing and Midwifery Council. Students are required to follow an education programs put in place in line with the challenges of 21st century (Nursing and Midwifery Council 2010). Through then program, it is envisaged that by the end of this year nursing will be an all-graduate profession. According to Watson (2008), this form of education will make nurses professionals in their filed.
Reflection is of essence in nursing. This ensures that care remains patient centred and based in the patient experience. This also calls for an individual nurse to be motivated to describe and analyze experiences. Moreover, the nurse should be able to make an action plan. In this summary, I will reveal on an area I faced as a student nurse. My reflections rely on Driscoll model of reflection. This model describes an event in a clinical setting and what an individual nurse learn (Oelofsen 2012). According to this model, is to promote desirable practice through the practitioner understanding and learning about his/her lived experiences (Oelofsen 2012). The model form of reflection is concerned with personal learning.
This event took place in my final year in an epileptic ward. I was working as an individual, but sometimes I was supervised. I was caring for one patient whose name is Kelvin (Pseudoname). He was 15 years old and being treated of epileptic condition. I had taken care of him for a long time during my shift. However, I was not prepared well for the next shift handover. I assumed one of my mentors would do it as it was done before. However, I was given the responsibility of handing over the last minute. I used to listen to her giving handover for her patients, but when my turn came, I was confused and mixed information. I started with some of unnecessary information until my mentor noticed and took over and continued the hand over.
Therefore, I decided to action plan and look for knowledge in the area. I relied on various article-giving details on how to give effective handovers. I also relied on advice given on these articles as I continued with handover. All the handovers I was doing relied on writing down information to pass to the receiving nurse. Moreover, the reliance on the notes made me uncomfortable. This is because most of the time I was giving out summary on the patient instead of giving summary of the care that had been given. However, with time I gained confidence and had to use few notes. This was the case until I developed more confidence to handover without relying on the notes. Initially, I developed fear, but when I forgot some of ...