Nurse Education MSN Clinical Planning FAQ
The preceptor plays a crucial role in mentoring and guiding students as they transition into the role of a nurse educator. The preceptor’s role includes:
- Role modeling and mentoring
- Providing guidance in clinical and educational settings
- Supporting skill development
- Providing feedback and evaluation
- Facilitating reflection and growth
Students enrolled in the Nursing Education MSN program must complete a minimum of 56 practicum hours for indirect and direct care practicums in each of the following courses, totaling a minimum of 112 practicum hours:
- NURS8088: Role of the Nurse Educator focuses on the comprehensive investigation of the academic nursing role in higher education relative to administration, student issues, program requirements and faculty expectations.
- NURS8092: Simulation-Based Education: Best Practice in Nursing Education introduces the nurse educator to the multi-faceted aspects of simulation-based education providing an evidence-based framework to develop, facilitate and evaluate simulation-based learning experiences in nursing education.
The minimum of 56 practicum hours for each of the courses above are clock hours and combine indirect and direct care practicum hours.
Please refer to the clinical requirements document on the clinical planning webpage to gather additional information related to the clinical experience.
Indirect and direct care practicum hours refer to different types of experiential learning that contribute to a nurse's development as an educator.
- Indirect care practicum hours: behind-the-scenes or supportive activities that prepare or evaluate educational experiences, without direct interaction with learners. These experiences help students strengthen planning, assessment and analytical skills necessary for effective education. Examples include:
- Developing lesson plans or curricula
- Creating learning assessments or evaluation tools
- Attending meetings about educational planning
- Participating in professional development related to education
- Reviewing evidence-based teaching practices
- Direct care practicum hours: involve face-to-face or real-time interactions with students, patients, or staff in an educational or clinical teaching role. These live, practical experiences build hands-on teaching and communication skills. Examples include:
- Teaching or precepting nursing students in clinical settings
- Leading simulation lab sessions for patients and/or staff
- Delivering classroom or online instruction
- Providing patient or staff education directly
Why the need for both indirect and direct care practicum hours?
Per the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN), Nursing Education programs are expected to “provide students the opportunity to develop in-depth knowledge and expertise in a particular area of nursing that includes graduate-level clinical practice content and experiences. If a student does not have this in-depth preparation in an area of nursing practice, then the student will not be prepared to teach beyond what was learned as part of his/her entry-level preparation. Therefore, the focus of the clinical practice experience should not solely be on ‘education.’”
The number of direct care practicum hours will be dependent upon the practicum experiences and associated project, as there is not a set minimum criterion outlined by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE), the accrediting body for the University of Cincinnati.
The Program Director of Nursing Education MSN will converse with students to help determine the appropriate number of direct care practicum hours based on their desired practicum experience, project objectives and post-graduation goals.
Yes, preceptors are required for both NURS8088: Role of the Nurse Educator and NURS8092: Simulation-Based Education: Best Practice in Nursing Education practicum courses.
- In each of these practicum courses, a faculty member at an accredited nursing college or school of nursing should be the preceptor for the indirect care practicum hours. Students will also have a separate preceptor at the clinical site where they are performing the direct care practicum hours.
- The MSN in Nursing Education program director will pair students with a University of Cincinnati faculty member who will serve as the indirect care practicum hours preceptor for each of the courses. A second preceptor is required for the direct care practicum hours.
- Dependent upon the preceptor’s role/experience academically and clinically, it is possible that the same person could serve as a preceptor for both the indirect and direct care practicum hours for each of the practicum courses. Students can converse with the MSN in Nursing Education program director about their individual situation to determine appropriate next steps.
- Students do have the option of exploring a precepted experience with someone outside of the University of Cincinnati for either the indirect and/or direct care practicum hours if desired. We require that appropriate paperwork from the preceptor and the organization where they are employed is fully completed, vetted and approved.
NURS8088: Role of the Nurse Educator
The student will present the practicum project that the written contract outlines in a Kaltura video with the purpose of:
- Identifying a teaching assignment or special project that focuses on what you wish to learn through this activity.
- Writing clearly identified goals in your practicum project contract with your preceptor.
- Demonstrating application of knowledge of teaching strategies and educational theories through your practicum project.
- Demonstrating analysis of leadership and management principles in academic roles (self or observed).
- Demonstrating curriculum development, revision, and evaluation in an academic setting.
NURS8092: Simulation-Based Education: Best Practice in Nursing Education
Part 1) The student will present the practicum project that the written contract outlines at their clinical site.
Part 2) The student will create and submit in a 20-minute Kaltura video presentation of the practicum project.
The purpose of the two-part assignment is to:
- Create, facilitate and evaluate learner-centered, simulation-based learning experiences in psychologically safe and inclusive learning environments.
- Demonstrate the application of knowledge regarding simulation-based education teaching strategies and educational theories through your practicum project.
- Demonstrate incorporation of the Healthcare Simulation Standards of Best PracticeTM (INACSL, 2021) through the development, facilitation and evaluation of a simulation scenario that addresses the objectives relevant to the site needs assessment.
- Reflect on your progress using the Healthcare Simulation Educator Competencies rubric, moving from novice to expert throughout the semester.
Reflect upon your areas of prior clinical expertise and current interests and choose a patient population within the healthcare or community system for implementation of the project. Types of projects may be a teaching session for patients in a healthcare setting or a community setting, a session for staff or community agency volunteers, or design or redesign of patient information such as handouts, booklets, videos, etc.
If your academic practicum involves clinical teaching with students, take time to explore the patient population on the unit where you will be instructing. Collaborate with your preceptor, staff, nurse managers and other team members to understand the specific needs of those patients. Based on this insight, identify a small educational project you can develop, implement and evaluate.
If your practicum takes place within a nursing education department, consider the patient care needs on the units supported by the nursing staff your preceptor educates. Let those needs guide the focus of your project.