The Lived Experiences Of Nurse Educators Who Utilze Nurse Lore In Their Teaching

Abstract

ABSTRACT

LAURA E. BARROW THE LIVED EXPERIENCES OF NURSE EDUCATORS WHO UTILIZE NURSE LORE IN THEIR TEACHING Under the direction of DR. SUSAN S. GUNBY Nurse educators are charged with teaching students how “to be�? nurses. This includes what nurses know, how nurses know, and what nurses do. According to this work, nurses are viewed as a shared group with similar beliefs, or a culture. In order to understand this culture, the term “nurse lore�? was established and defined as the traditional knowledge, attitudes, and understandings of nurses passed to others both inside and, at times, outside the group through the primary methods of storytelling and behavioral example. The purpose of this research was to understand the experiences of nurse educators who convey lore in their teaching. Utilizing a descriptive phenomenological approach allowed participants to share their individual experiences as nurse educators. The use of this method will facilitate an understanding of how this phenomenon is useful for nurse educators and will establish ways in which nurse lore may be useful for other areas of nursing as well. After obtaining IRB approval, face-to-face, semi-structured interviews were utilized to gather data. These were audio–recorded and transcribed verbatim. In order to analyze the data, Giorgi’s (1985) four-step method for data analysis was utilized. Five themes and sixteen subthemes emerged. Participants expressed the need to pass on the esthetics of nursing through stories and behaviors. Storytelling was used by all participants as a method of conveying knowledge to students as well as maintaining attention and interest. In addition, educators noted the responsibility inherent within their position and its impact on future nurses, and they expressed the importance of students in the learning process. They expressed their perceptions of how nursing culture is best disseminated to others. Participants stressed that the overall culture of nursing revolves around caring. For future research, I recommend conducting studies utilizing participants who are not educator nurses. Understanding the experience of preceptors and experienced staff nurses could further augment the current understanding of nurse lore. In addition, I recommend using purposive sampling to include male participants as well as participants teaching in other areas of the country.