Education & Teaching

If our goal is to prepare safe, competent, entry-level nurse practitioners, then the exams must reflect the cognitive work of practice, not just the cognitive work of memorization.

The moment I started rethinking assignments was the moment I asked myself this question: Would this help a student on their first day as an NP?  Not pass boards. Not earn an A. But could it correlate to a real patient encounter?

Item analysis reports are packed with numbers, short on explanation, and often dropped into your inbox with zero guidance. But buried in that spreadsheet is information that can make your exams fairer, clearer, and easier to defend—once you know what to look for. Below are the five item analysis statistics that matter most, what they actually mean, and how to use them without spiraling.

Stepping into a faculty role as a nurse practitioner is both exciting and overwhelming. You bring years of clinical expertise, professional judgment, and real-world insight—but teaching requires an entirely different skill set. The good news? Most teaching missteps new NP faculty make are completely normal , highly fixable, and often rooted in trying too hard  to do things “right.” Whether you’re teaching face-to-face, online, or a blend of both, here are the most common mist

(With the learning theory behind why they work!)   Asynchronous courses are often mislabeled as passive —but that’s a design issue, not a delivery issue. When grounded in educational theory, asynchronous NP courses can promote deep clinical reasoning, sustained engagement, and professional identity formation without  relying on live sessions or excessive faculty workload.   This post connects what works  in asynchronous NP education with why it works , giving you language you

(because “just upload the slides” is not a pedagogical strategy)   If you’ve taught online before, you already know that virtual education isn’t simply transferring your in-person content to an LMS and hoping for the best – especially when teaching the next generation of advanced practice nurses.   Teaching adult students online means translating clinical reasoning, professional judgment, and identity formation  into a digital space — while also managing discussion boards, gr

Practical strategies to grow the next generation of NPs—without adding to your workload. Precepting isn’t just a service to your profession—it's one of the most meaningful ways to shape how future NPs think, communicate, and practice. But let's be honest: teaching while managing a full clinical day can feel like juggling flaming torches on roller skates. You’re not alone, and you don’t need to overhaul your workflow to be an excellent preceptor. Small, intentional teaching mo

Asynchronous teaching often gets a bad reputation. Too often, it’s reduced to: ✔ Upload a lecture ✔ Share a PDF ✔ Post a discussion board …and hope the learning happens. But asynchronous learning can be incredibly engaging when it’s intentionally designed. NP students are adult learners juggling practice, school, and life. They thrive when content is interactive, flexible, and cognitively activating. This post walks you through how to plan an asynchronous lesson that feels d

Formative feedback is one of the most powerful tools NP educators and preceptors have — and yet, it is often the most underutilized. Graduate-level NP learners don’t simply need to be told whether something was done correctly or incorrectly. They need coaching and feedback rooted in adult learning principles  that supports growth, reflection, clinical reasoning development, and confidence. But here’s what often gets overlooked: Formative feedback is not about final judgment