A Handbook for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education Enhancing academic and Practice

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Key aspects of
teaching and
learning in nursing
and midwifery
Pam Parker and Della Freeth
INTRODUCTION
This chapter aims to assist relatively inexperienced educators by exploring key issues for
teaching and learning in nursing and midwifery. Educators from other disciplines may
also find some aspects of the chapter helpful. It begins by discussing the ever-changing
context of healthcare and implications for health professionals’ education. We highlight
the continual evolution of curricula before turning to teaching, learning and assessment
in nine key areas: practical skills and professional judgement, developing clinical
reasoning, theory and underpinning knowledge, simulation, communication skills,
interprofessional collaboration, user and carer involvement, flexible approaches to
learning, and large and heterogeneous student cohorts. A variety of roles that have
evolved to support student learning will be described; but first we should acknowledge
our own context.
The authors work in a large, inner-city school of nursing and midwifery in England.
The local population is extremely diverse: ethnically, linguistically, economically and
socially. Levels of international migration and national mobility are high. These factors
apply just as much to the healthcare workforce as to health services’ users. Naturally, this
influences our perceptions.
CONTEXT
In many countries the agenda for healthcare changes rapidly due to changing political
priorities and population-based changes. In much of the developed world drivers for
changing services include: ageing populations, smaller households and dispersed
families, increased migration, changed patterns of disease, new technologies, political
intervention, changed expectations of patients/clients and their families, increased
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