Roles of learning theories in effective healthcare
The role of nursing has increasingly transformed into a complex one and has required higher clinical judgments that require some extra reinforcements through learning. Advanced practice nurses use some theories and principles in their work, intending to understand their patients and provide advanced healthcare services to their patients. The theories and principles are selectively applied to the patient as different patients need different treatments at specific times. Cognitive, behaviorists, and social learning theories are some of the most influential theories that fuel the nursing understanding of the patients and, therefore, efficient delivery of patient care.
Behaviorist learning theory focuses on observable behaviors that can be quantified and the factors that influence those behaviors and then connect those behaviors to learning principles (UFO Themes, 2016). This theory positively impacts advanced practice nurses by equipping them with the ability to comprehend methods to use when controlling patients’ behaviors. These methods include lowering risky behaviors and instead motivating healthy behaviors. Advanced practice nurses use this theory to get knowledge and skills on effectively reacting to different patients’ situations, bringing about effective patient care. The APN uses the behaviorist learning theory to monitor the patient’s response to external stimuli and manipulate external environmental factors to reach a particular learning objective.
Cognitive learning theory emphasizes the significance of observational learning and interpersonal relations in learning. This theory emphasizes the mental processes in clarifying issues (Aliakbari et al., 2015). This theory has positively influenced critical thinking and clinical reasoning and equips advanced practice nurses with relevant problem-solving skills. By achieving clarity on how the patient mentally synthesizes information, advanced practice, nurses can transform their teaching and patient care techniques to match specific clients’ needs, ensuring complete patient satisfaction. This theory justifies that internal operational thought processes and external aspects are significant for cognitive functions. This theory helps advanced practice nurses to develop perspectives on efficient patient care strategies and delivery based on self-thoughts and patient skills.
The social theory upholds that learning involves observations, and individuals possess new behaviors by mimicking others’ observable behaviors (UFO Themes, 2016). This theory examines a new behavior to measure the weight between its positive and negative consequences before others imitate it. If the examination finds the behavior more positively than negatively rewarding, they may imitate it. Advanced practice nurse applies this theory to learn from their senior nurses, who are more experienced in the best practical approaches to efficient patient care. The APN derives the approaches that high yield in patient care and integrates them into their practice.
To conclude, in preparation to yield high-level patient care outcomes, advanced practice nurses utilize several theories and principles, reinforcing their ability to learn more about patient care. Behaviorists, cognitive, and social learning theories play critical roles in enhancing the learning and practice of advanced practice nurses. Behaviorism offers skills to the APN to shape and monitor external stimuli affecting the patient. Cognitivism offers reflective nursing practice, and social learning theory provides a base from which nurses in practice work. Incorporation of these theories into academic developments ensures continued patient care improvements from highly skilled and knowledgeable advanced practice nurses.
References
UFO Themes. (2016, September 9). Applying Learning Theories to Healthcare Practice. Retrieved from Nurse Key website: https://nursekey.com/applying-learning-theories-to-healthcare-practice/
Aliakbari, F., Parvin, N., Heidari, M., & Haghani, F. (2015). Learning theories application in nursing education. Journal of Education and Health Promotion, 4(2), 2. https://doi.org/10.4103/2277-9531.151867
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