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WesternU / College of Graduate Nursing / WU-FAR9 / Clinical Faculty and Educator Certificate Program

Clinical Faculty and Educator Certificate Program

Western University of Health Sciences along with the Benner Institute at HealthImpact, and San Antonio Regional Hospital have received a HRSA grant to invite clinical faculty, clinical educators, and a select number of preceptors to participate in the Benner Institute Clinical Faculty & Educator Certificate Program for FREE across Public Health Region 9.

First-year MSN-E students participate in a midterm competencies and skills evealuation for Fall 2022. Jeremy Magana, RN, MSN, keeps a watchful eye on students Kaitlyn Parrish and Vy Nguyen.

Who is eligible to attend?

Each pre-licensure RN program in California, Nevada, Arizona, Hawaii, and the Pacific Islands will be able to send four (4) attendees: two (2) clinical faculty and two (2) clinical educators from clinical provider organizations/agencies. We call this unique alignment between your university-based educators and your clinical educators from your partnering organizations a QUAD. The QUAD moves through all 6 modules together to maximize engagement and learning.
  • What is the Benner Institute Clinical Faculty and Educator Certificate Program? 

    HealthImpact, the California nursing workforce and policy center, collaborated with nursing theorist Dr. Patricia Benner to create the Benner Institute for Teaching and Learning at HealthImpact.  According to the Carnegie Report, Educating Nurses: A Call for Radical Transformation by Dr. Benner and colleagues, nursing education must undergo essential changes to transform nursing education.   

    The Benner Institute offers the Clinical Faculty and Educator (CFE) Certificate Program, intending to equip clinical faculty in academia and clinical educators. The CFE series, co-created with Dr. Benner, will help participants integrate the latest neuro and learning sciences into clinical education. Participants will acquire the theory, tools, and skills necessary to develop their teaching practice. The CFE Certificate Program spans 6-classes; each class is delivered over a 4-hour Zoom. 

  • When will it be offered?

    The CFE Certificate Program will be offered approximately 8 times per year.

    Enrollment in the program is offered on a first-come, first-serve basis. Seats are limited.

  • How can I sign up?

    Registrations will open in early 2023. In order for a pre-licensure RN program to register, the pre-licensure program must have all four (4) attendees be able to attend the same cohort.

    Enrollment in the program is offered on a first-come, first-serve basis. 

  • Will I get continuing education hours?

    Yes, the CFE course is approved for 30 continuing education hours.

  • The Clinical Faculty & Educator Certificate Program contains six modules:

    • MODULE 1: The Three Apprenticeships & The Four Paradigm Shifts
    • MODULE 2: Developing a Practice: Understanding the Foundations of Clinical Reasoning & Learning Sciences
    • MODULE 3: The Art of Situated Coaching
    • MODULE 4: Developing Clinical Imagination & Forethought
    • MODULE 5: Skilled Know-How of Clinical & Moral Leadership
    • MODULE 6: Looking to the Future—Nurse Educators as Agents of Change

    Participants in the program will receive 30 CEU’s.   

    Through this program, a QUAD of 4 individuals (2 from your nursing program and two from the clinical agency) will move through the modules together. All members of a QUAD are expected to come together and be present for each of the modules to learn together, to share together, and to teach together.  

    Curriculum Schedule 

    Each offering is a cohort of 24 individuals representing six nursing programs within Region 9.

    Cohort Dates through March 2025:  

    Cohort Mod 1 Mod 2 Mod 3 Mod 4 Mod 5 Mod 6 Day of Week Time (PST)
    23 1/17/2025 1/24/2025 2/7/2025 2/14/2025 2/21/2025 2/28/2025 Friday 10am – 2pm
    24 2/6/2025 2/13/2025 2/20/2025 2/27/2025 3/6/2025 3/31/2025 Thursday 9am – 1pm 

    *Dates Tentative