How To Develop A Virtual Healthcare Curriculum
As a result of the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, virtual learning has become a far more normalized part of education today than many would have imagined in the last decade. While virtual learning proved an amazing way to allow both children and adults to continue their educational pursuits during lockdown, this rapid transition from traditional learning methods has come with its fair share of obstacles. Overcoming these obstacles and finding ways to make virtual learning work has become a top priority for educators across the world.
One of the main challenges of virtual education is the fact that it is still in its early phase of implementation. This being the case, there are not a lot of examples to look back upon, to gain inspiration and guidance on how to shape curriculums meant to be taught through these forms of media. This is very much the case when it comes to healthcare curriculums, especially with new forms of technology, such as the metaverse, being utilized for teaching students.
Having a clearer understanding of how to teach through these new forms of technology can make today’s rapidly evolving educational landscape easier to navigate. Here is how to develop healthcare curriculums to be taught virtually and in the metaverse.
Developing A Curriculum To Be Taught Virtually
1. Create A Rigid Structure
As many teachers found during lockdown when they were forced to teach virtually, teaching in this manner can quickly become chaotic, difficult, and ineffective without a rigid structure to stick to. As a result of this, many nurse educators have found themselves wondering how to teach nursing students online as opposed to traditional in-person class sessions. Thankfully, by crafting structures that don’t change, curriculums can be made easier for teachers to teach virtually and in the metaverse.
Bearing this in mind, it makes sense that those developing healthcare curriculums that will be taught virtually and in the metaverse should make an effort to imbue their curriculums with rigid structures. Strong structures in healthcare curriculums will make it easier for both teachers and students to stay grounded and follow along throughout the semester. In addition, this also allows students to be able to structure their studying efficiently, ensuring that the strange nature of virtual learning won’t prevent them from studying effectively.
2. Room For Student-Teacher Communication
One facet of virtual education that is distinct from traditional forms of education is a lack of room for students to interact with their teachers. While students can still ask questions in class and email their teachers, virtual classes don’t typically offer the same opportunities for students to talk to their teachers in private after class. This being the case, it’s important to keep in mind that students need their teachers to be accessible to them when developing the healthcare curriculum to be taught online.
Whether it’s helping with healthcare management terms for high school students or being available for nursing students to ask about specific concepts learned in class, teachers must be cognizant of their students’ needs when teaching online, while also making themselves accessible. This can be done by making virtual office hours or offering to stick around after online class sessions to meet with students individually if they wish to speak privately.
3. Treating Virtual Classrooms Like Physical Classrooms
When teaching healthcare-related classes virtually or in the metaverse, it’s important to teach, interact, and communicate with students in the same manner that one would in an in-person class session. This can include opening up the floor for questions, making an effort to remember different students’ names, and keeping command of the class.
Though it may seem odd at first, leading virtual classes in the same fashion as an in-person class will become easier with time. After a few initial sessions, teachers will become accustomed to the new formats and teach to the best of their ability through classes taught virtually and in the metaverse.
4. Taking Time To Establish Resources For Students To Get Real-World Experience
An important aspect of healthcare-related education programs is preparing students for situations in the real world. This requires allowing students to practice and become comfortable in real-world medical environments to hone their skills. While this hasn’t typically been a problem with traditional in-person educational programs, it is a challenge that healthcare classes taught virtually and through the metaverse need to address.
One way around this tricky obstacle when teaching students remotely is through the development of relationships and partnerships with various medical facilities. These facilities and organizations can then be a resource for remote students to gain real-world medical experience while receiving instruction virtually. While it’s more than likely that this challenge will be overcome altogether in the coming years, as of right now, those creating healthcare curriculums will have to strive to develop their own solutions to this problem.
5. Adapting To An Evolving Educational Landscape
In the last decade, many aspects of society have gone through incredible and impactful changes. One key aspect of culture that has begun to evolve at a rapid pace is education, especially in the healthcare sector. While change can be difficult at times, it’s important that educators and those in charge of creating curriculums are able to rise to the occasion and meet the needs of their students. By adjusting curriculums and teaching styles to teach individuals virtually and in the metaverse, healthcare education can stay just as effective while becoming more convenient and accessible to a wider array of people.
