Yukon College nurse instructors teach peers on iPad use

 Whitehorse – A year ago Sue Starks barely knew how to turn an iPad on. This Friday, she’ll stand in front of educators from across the country to talk about how the popular tablet is transforming the education of practical nurses at Yukon College.

Starks, the co-ordinator for Yukon College’s Practical Nursing Program, and Claire Hills, a clinical instructor, are speaking at a session of the Canadian Association of Practical Nurse Educators in Halifax, Nova Scotia. They’ll be sharing their experience in using hand-held computer tablets in the classroom.

Starks says when five iPads were delivered to the program in September 2010, they weren’t experts by any means.

“We feel very challenged technically,” she says. “We had to figure out how to use them.”

Starks and Hills began looking at how to incorporate the iPad in course materials. The first obvious use was doing research, in helping the program’s 13 nursing student access information on-line. Students were taught how to find information thru the iPad, and how to determine what is or isn’t a good source of health care advice.

“It evolved as the semester went along,” says Starks. Soon the students were developing ‘concept maps’, diagrams that help caregivers organize patient information and plan care. They used an iPad application designed for the purpose.. The students and instructors found the iPads were useful tools for sharing information and building better concept maps.

The program was also able to buy electronic versions of the phone-book sized ‘Skills’ textbook, saving students from having to lug the volume around from patient to patient.

“They appreciated that for sure,” laughs Starks.

The use of the iPad in an instructional setting is still growing, says Starks. The program is looking how the iPad can be used to support nursing students in the field, allowing for them to do research, share information, and have contact back to the classroom instructors. The recent release of the iPad2, with its ability to teleconference remotely, opens even more opportunities and possibilities for the future of practical nursing.

‘It has been an amazing experience to learn this with the students,” says Starks.

“It’s also been good for role modeling to the students. They see their instructors learning along with them, embracing new technology.

“It really helps prepare health care workers that change is going to be constant in their careers. Technology will change, they need to access best practices, be life-long learners.”

Starks and Hills presented their experiences to a conference of community colleges in the spring, and have now been asked to share with fellow nurse-educators at the national level.

Starks and Hills haven’t heard of a similar use of this technology in practical nursing programs in Canada. With their session on Friday, Yukon College’s innovative use of tablet computing is being recognized by other institutions in the country.

Note to media: Sue Starks is in Halifax now, but can be reached for inquiries via sstarks@yukoncollege.yk.ca
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Contact:
John Boivin
Coordinator, College Relations
Yukon College
867 668 8786
jboivin@yukoncollege.yk.ca
www.yukoncollege.yk.ca Jacqueline Bedard
Director, College Relations and Int’l
Yukon College
867.456.8619
jbedard@yukoncollege.yk.ca