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Learning Theories and Their Significance to Advanced Practice Nursing
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Learning Theories and Their Significance to Advanced Practice Nursing
Learning is how a person's behavior, skills, and emotional state gradually change in
response to different experiences. Learning is essential in healthcare settings because it enables
people to adjust to changing needs and situations. Additionally, it gives patients and their
families the confidence to choose practical methods for improving health and treating diseases.
The learning theories are very important frameworks that systematically provide the basics for
understanding how people learn and can predict their learning behaviors, as well as describe the
process of learning. The paper will discuss the most relevant and significant learning theories in
healthcare, which will include behaviorist, cognitive, and social learning theories, and how these
impact Advanced Practice Nurses in providing quality healthcare.
According to social theory, people develop new behaviors by observing others, and
learning is an observable process. It emphasizes how external effects on behavior, cognition, and
surroundings lead to ongoing learning. People who experience positive reinforcement are more
likely to model effective learning experiences for others ((Butts & Rich, 2021). APNs get
guidance from seasoned professionals on enhancing patient care. When a treatment strategy
produces the greatest results, APNs integrate this procedure into patient care, acknowledging its
importance. Social learning theory broadens the scope of learning to include the larger social
context and the conventional teacher-student relationship in the view of Mukhalalati and Taylor,
(2019). APNs can utilize this theory when working on simulation-based learning of health
aspects to enhance understanding of scientific concepts.
Cognitive theory explores how learners think while acknowledging the influence of their
surroundings (Peters & Roodbol, 2020). Therefore, this theory is vital for APNs because it
makes it easier to comprehend how their cognitive processes work for different people
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depending on their situations. Cognitive learning theorists emphasize that cognitive learning
theory enhances APNs to understand the patient's way of thinking, which can help them provide
emotional support to patients that can enhance their treatment. This theory holds that learning
results from both environmental effects and internal cognitive processes. Hence, APNS need to
appreciate cognitive theory because the patient's way of thinking influences the ultimate results
of treatment.
Behavioral theory holds that people’s behaviors are mainly influenced by the interaction
between their stimuli and the environment. Behaviorists emphasize that individuals can change
their attitudes and moods because of the surrounding environment (Mukhalalati & Taylor, 2019).
This theory is very important in helping APNs to provide quality care to patients because they
can determine the patient’s response to their surroundings and alter the external stimuli to
achieve the desired results. The external environment in which a patient is exposed including the
people surrounding them can influence their behavior hence APNs should be very keen about the
patient environment to monitor their behavior for better outcomes.
In conclusion, learning is a crucial component of patient care, and APNs must use it to
their advantage to provide patients with the best possible care. APNs use a variety of learning
theories to improve procedures, and each theory makes a substantial contribution to the
development of efficient learning procedures. However, APNs most frequently apply the
behaviorist, cognitive, and social learning theories.
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References
Butts, J. B., & Rich, K. L. (2021). Philosophies and Theories for Advanced Nursing Practice. In Google
Books. Jones & Bartlett Learning. https://books.google.com/books?
hl=en&lr=&id=ZDVCEAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=learning+theories+and+apns+in+hea
lthcare&ots=5LQhgYrMBa&sig=bIiL3QwhBw3LYGgXlzhfiNc_tDU
Mukhalalati, B. A., & Taylor, A. (2019). Adult Learning Theories in context: A Quick Guide for
Healthcare Professional Educators. Journal of Medical Education and Curricular Development,
6(1), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1177/2382120519840332
Peters, J. W. B., & Roodbol, P. F. (2020). Leadership in Maintaining Standards for the APN Role.
Advanced Practice Nursing Leadership: A Global Perspective, 167–183.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-20550-8_14
