Sunday 17 June 2012

Activity Eight


The learning theory that sits well with me personally is humanism. The humanist educator believes there is unlimited potential for human growth given the right circumstances,  encouraging self actualization and autonomy lies at the heart of the theory.
Veterinary Nursing is what they would call in Northern Ireland (where I have lived for most of my adult life) a vocation, a calling. The profession is notoriously poorly paid, the hours are terrible (many VN’s are allow themselves to be on call un-paid) it is not a glamorous job, eau de tomcat being a familiar scent on the VN’s uniform. We do it for the good of the animals. So the humanist assumption that , “people are inherently good and strive for a better world’ (Merriam & Cafella, 1991, p 132.). Seems apt to VN education.
Introducing students to reflective tools can open up a whole new aspect of practice. Traditionally, Veterinary Nurses have been taught the skills, and the theory of the job and been left to their own devices to work out the rest along the way. This is not an ideal situation, Veterinary Nursing practice can be highly emotionally charged, we nurse welfare cases involving neglect and cruelty, we routinely assist with euthanasia, intensive farming is facilitated by the veterinary profession, we may be involved in the care of laboratory animals, the list of issues is long……  In order to offer high standards of care to patients and their owners, a nurse requires a sound understanding of her own ethical stance and emotions. A VN must be equipped with coping strategies. Reflective practice is a core nursing skill that adapts to many aspects of practice. An ability to assess, reflect and improve contributes to wellbeing and encourages self development.  Nursing theory and models of nursing practice adapted from human nursing are relatively new ideas in Veterinary Nursing, it is only just coming to the fore overseas with the advent of VN degrees in the last decade.
Wound management is an ideal subject to introduce reflective tools. It is an ongoing process and the VN’s involvement in the process involves a clear requirement to assess, analyze, reflect, plan, act and  reassess…
So the humanist idea of working to facilitate development of the whole person is the idea, creating a ‘safe space’ to learn and develop through reflective practice is my goal. My flexible learning plan aims to increase my ability to connect with the distance students. This is the real challenge. I hope the increase in online contact through adobe and forum activity if managed carefully may improve the chances of achieving genuine connections with students as individuals.  
‘it’s not just enthusiasm for our subject that matters. Learners are quick to pick up the vibrations of our enthusiasm for themselves as people. Lecturers who come across as really liking learners- and respecting them and treating them accordingly- do much to inspire learners to learn’.
(Race 2010: p132)



Chapman, A. 2005 Kolbs Learning Styles. Available at:
Accessed on 16.6.12.
Merriam, S.B. & Caffarella, R.S. (1991). Learning in adulthood. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Race, P. 2010 Making Learning Happen. 2nd Edition. Los Angeles: Sage
Pollard,A. (2005) Reflective Teaching 2nd Ed. New York: Continuum

1 comment:

  1. A wonderfully passionate description of your stance Cat. It is a profession where reflective practice is going to be very important to help practitioners put up with all the challenges. I guess you get students who think it is all about sweet fluffy pussy cats...

    If students enter into the profession without seeing it as a vocation "warts and all" how do they cope unless as you say you use an humanistic approach to learning. This is a good choice for the circumstances. Is it successful so far? I guess the scaffolding is intense at the start, and you can slowly wean off the support. Is this your experience?

    ReplyDelete