| Course | NUR 685 Nurse Educator Capstone |
|---|---|
| Module | Module 10 |
| Paper type | closing reflective journal for a nurse educator capstone |
| Length | About 410 words, 3 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Southern New Hampshire University |
| Program | MSN |
| Updated | September 2026 |
Free sample paper for NUR 685 Module 10
Module Ten Journal
I Was Grading Myself on the Wrong Test
For three years I measured my sepsis lecture by two numbers: a satisfaction score near five and a post-test average near 88%. Both flattered me. The chart review that showed our residents taking more than twice as long as experienced nurses to call about early sepsis was the first evidence I had ever seen about what my teaching actually changed, and the answer was very little. Yardley and Dornan (2012) warn that educators often assume learning will climb naturally into behavior, and I had built a career on that assumption. My post-test was really a test of me, and I had been passing it for the wrong reasons.
The second moment was my first real debriefing, in the pilot with experienced nurses. When a volunteer took a second set of vitals and waited before phoning, I launched into an explanation of sepsis timelines. My co-facilitator later asked, gently, how much of the forty minutes I had spoken. The answer was most of them. Rudolph et al. (2006) describe a better way: state what you saw and what worried you, then ask sincerely what the learner was thinking. In the next session I tried it and heard a reason I would never have guessed, that the nurse had been told as a student to always verify before calling. That frame, not missing knowledge, was the problem.
The third moment came in the focus group. A resident described calling a physician at 2 a.m. about a patient with a fever and fast heart rate and being shouted at for waking him over nothing. She had waited on every call since. Taylor and Hamdy (2013) explain that adults learn best when teaching starts from problems they actually face. Her story became the basis for our night-shift scenario, and several residents said afterward that it was the first time sepsis teaching felt like it was about their real jobs.
Three promises go with me. I will evaluate every session I teach by at least one measure of what learners do, not just what they remember or enjoy. I will spend more of each debriefing asking than telling, and I will ask a colleague to time me. And I will build teaching from learners' own stories, because the problem they bring is usually more important than the one I planned. I used to grade myself on the wrong test. Now I know which one matters.
References
Rudolph, J. W., Simon, R., Dufresne, R. L., & Raemer, D. B. (2006). There's no such thing as "nonjudgmental" debriefing: A theory and method for debriefing with good judgment. Simulation in Healthcare, 1(1), 49-55. https://doi.org/10.1097/01266021-200600110-00006
Taylor, D. C. M., & Hamdy, H. (2013). Adult learning theories: Implications for learning and teaching in medical education: AMEE Guide No. 83. Medical Teacher, 35(11), e1561-e1572. https://doi.org/10.3109/0142159X.2013.828153
Yardley, S., & Dornan, T. (2012). Kirkpatrick's levels and education 'evidence'. Medical Education, 46(1), 97-106. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2923.2011.04076.x
What the NUR 685 Module 10 instructions ask for
The closing NUR 685 journal invites you to look at how your identity as an educator developed during the capstone and teaching immersion: how you now think about learners, teaching methods and evaluation, and what you will practice as an educator. The voice is personal, yet two or three scholarly sources in APA 7 are still expected, and around 400 to 550 words is a good target. Anchor the entry in a few teaching moments, especially ones that did not go as planned, contrast your earlier belief with your current one, bring in a source that explains the change and close with commitments a colleague could observe in your next course. Keep names out.
How this NUR 685 Module 10 journal example is built
This journal comes from a residency educator who redesigned a sepsis lecture as a simulation course. She admits that her satisfaction scores and 88% post-test measured her own comfort, a trap Yardley and Dornan describe. She recounts lecturing through her first debriefing, then using Rudolph and colleagues' approach to discover a nurse's belief that she must always verify before calling. A resident's story of being shouted at by a physician becomes the night-shift scenario, illustrating Taylor and Hamdy's point about adults learning from real problems. Three commitments follow, and the title returns at the end as its answer. The tone is self-critical but constructive throughout. Learners' voices shape every paragraph.
Where the NUR 685 Module 10 rubric puts the points
Educator identity reflections in NUR 685 are generally judged on honest self-examination, the connection between teaching experiences and evidence, understanding of the educator role, specificity, organization and APA 7. Strong journals include a moment when the writer's teaching fell short, show what the writer learned from learners and turn insight into commitments about evaluation, facilitation or design. Entries lose credit when they summarize the course, praise their own teaching without evidence or promise to be engaging without describing what that will look like. Admitting that a cherished method did not work is often the most persuasive evidence of an educator's growth. Citations should explain, not decorate. Clear structure helps readers follow.
NUR 685 Module 10 help: the mistakes that cost points
In the final NUR 685 week, journals often lose credit for listing teaching activities, for citations that float free of the narrative and for commitments that describe hopes rather than behaviors. Another gap is leaving learners out of the reflection, when their responses usually taught the writer most. Choose moments that surprised you, name the belief each one changed, link it to a source and end with concrete commitments. If your program wants the reflection tied to specific nurse educator competencies, list them in your NUR 685 notes and the journal will speak to each without turning into a checklist. Short drafts are fine to start from.
Get NUR 685 Module 10 written to your instructions
Describe your NUR 685 teaching project, the moments that changed how you teach and the journal prompt. You will receive a candid, first-person entry grounded in those moments and the research behind them, closing with commitments a colleague could watch you keep, within 24 to 48 hours, free the first time. The paper above is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Southern New Hampshire University document.
More NUR 685 papers and related MSN samples
- NUR 685 Module 1 Discussion: From Presenter to Educator
- NUR 685 Module 2 Needs Assessment Paper: Learning Needs of New Graduates in Sepsis Escalation
- NUR 685 Module 3 Milestone One: Project Proposal and Measurable Objectives
- NUR 685 Module 4 Learning Theory Paper: Adult and Experiential Learning as Design Logic
- NUR 685 Module 5 Milestone Two: The Evidence for Simulation
- NUR 685 Module 6 Debriefing Design Paper: Debriefing with Good Judgment
- NUR 685 Module 7 Milestone Three: An Evaluation Plan Beyond Satisfaction
- NUR 685 Module 8 Assessment Tool Paper: A Clinical Judgment Rubric and Its Validity Argument
- NUR 685 Module 9 Final Project: The Educator Scholarly Project on Sepsis Escalation
- NUR 654 Module 6 Online Design Paper: Designing Online Courses for Working Nurses
- NUR 659 Module 2 Systems Paper: Why Good Nurses Make Errors
- NUR 682 Module 5 Milestone Two: A Literature Synthesis on Reducing Catheter Use
- NUR 633 Module 8 Decision Support Analysis: A Sepsis Model Tested Outside Its Vendor
NUR 685 Module 10 questions, answered
Where can I find a free NUR 685 Module 10 Journal sample?
Read the full journal here: a residency educator reflects on evaluation, a first debriefing that went wrong and learning from new nurses' stories.
What should a nurse educator capstone reflection include?
Specific teaching moments, what you believed before and after, sources that explain the change and commitments about how you will teach and evaluate.
Why do educators overrate their own teaching?
Satisfaction scores and recall tests often look good while practice stays the same, so educators need measures of what learners do.
How can a facilitator talk less in debriefing?
State an observation and concern, ask a genuine question about the learner's reasoning and let learners do most of the analysis.
Why build teaching from learners' own stories?
Adults learn best from problems they actually face, and their stories reveal barriers the educator may not anticipate.