Infusing evidence-based instructional strategies to prepare today's military practical nurses for tomorrow's practice

Is there one best method to provide instruction to today's nursing students? The evidence found in the current literature clearly states the answer is no. The student of today is technology oriented. But for them, it's not about technology, it's about the learning that technology provides. With this understanding, this article provides a review of the efforts by the staff of the US Army Practical Nurse Course (68WM6) to infuse evidence-based instructional strategies into curriculum. Five strategies that were integrated into the curriculum are presented: computer assisted learning, gaming software, classroom response system, human patient simulators, and video recordings. All of the initiatives discussed in this article were implemented into the program of instruction over a 6-year period in an attempt to incorporate the use of appropriate technology in the learning process. The results are a testimony to the necessity of using a combination of strategies for teaching today's nursing students. In doing so, the organization not only improved the learning process, but found significant financial savings.