DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.

The Learner: Sam Wagner

See also The Interview on left

 

Sam is a 43 year old operating room nurse in a small facility in a rural environment.  The operating room suite has 3 rooms capable of large surgical cases, with 3 additional rooms for smaller outpatient cases.  She has been a nurse for 15 years, and has worked in the operating room for 20 years, having started her career as a scrub tech.  She grew up in Georgia but somehow found herself making a home in New York.  The transplanted Dawg is one day looking to move back down south, with hopes of being the director of a small operating room.

 

Sam has been a friend of mine for quite a few years and we are a like in many ways.  I selected her as the participant for this case study in order to gain a different perspective on the approach to advanced education in the healthcare field as an adult, particularly since we are very similar.  Specifically, I was curious as to the motivation to engage in this learning experience, the impact of concurrent work and school, and the connection between theory and practice.  My reasons for selecting this particular case study topic were to inquire about the motivation of adult healthcare professionals to return to school and further their education, to explore the connection between and impact of concurrent work and school where the learner is putting theory to practice. 

 

Through the observation and subsequent interview, I ascertained that there was a great intrinsic motivation for Sam to learn and better the knowledge of her field.  Her motivation for engaging in her educational journey at this stage in her life is to expand her knowledge of how to lead an operating room and all that entails, "I hope to use the experience to be able to be a leader in the OR. Learn the leadership style and nuances to put together to be a good leader.  Be a leader not a boss" (personal communication, November 4, 2019). The desire to increase her already immense skill set and continue to better herself is what keeps her moving forward.  This stems from her passion for her field.  Upon learning something new or making the connection between theory and application, Sam reports feeling a sense of pride and accomplishment, further fueling her motivation to continue learning (personal communication, November 4, 2019).  The motivation isn't strictly intrinsic however.  Healthcare professionals have physically demanding jobs and as Sam relates, “I’m getting older, my body lets me know.  I need life skills and education to be able to advance myself into a position that I can still contribute” (personal communication, November 4, 2019).

 

When it comes to the connection of theory and practice and the coexisting endeavors of work and school, prior content knowledge and prior experience contributes greatly to the educational process, ""It’s building on what I already learned in the BSN.  It’s using the prior knowledge to keep going and to make stronger connections.  More of them" (personal communication, November 4, 2019).  This ultimately leads to a significant learning experience as described in 2003 by Dr. L. Dee Fink, as “significant learning requires that there be some kind of lasting change that is important in terms of the learner’s life” (p.3).  Sam is becoming adept at linking the foundational learning, application of skills, and integration of ideas with learning about self and others and developing new values, ""I think my whole learning course has been connection to help me utilize my life lessons and knowledge with my schoolwork" (personal communication, November 4, 2019).  This is the definition of significant learning (Fink, 2003, p.3).  What may be explored further is any causal relationship between the motivation Sam carries in her learning, and other adult learners, with the experience of significant learning.

 

 

Permission to be interviewed and observed was obtained from The Learner.

Permission.pdf

 

Details of the interview are discussed under the heading "The Interview", accessible on the left-hand menu.  Also available in "The Interview" section is a transcript of the interview.

DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.