Ann's Story: An Authentic Learning Experience for Online Nursing Students

Preparing students for a complex and ever-changing health-care environment is a daunting task for nurse educators. One way to accomplish this task is by reducing the gap between what is learned in school and what is practiced upon graduation. Nurse educators are challenged to create online environments that engage students with real-life activities that resemble practice-authentic learning. One authentic learning activity created for an oncology nursing course that resonated with students was Ann's Story. Ann, a nursing professor, was diagnosed with cancer, and her story was used in a course about caring for patients with cancer. Ann's goal of making something good come of her cancer diagnosis was met through student comments reflecting newfound wisdom in sharing thoughts, feelings, and compassion with patients rather than concentrating only on the completion of tasks.