Enhancing Online Finance Education for Non-Financial Managers

Many nurse executives and managers have had to learn financial management skills, including planning, controlling, implementing, and analyzing departmental budgets, on the job. In today's healthcare environment, organizations are becoming aware of the value of hiring nurse executives who can speak the financial language and employ financial skills to operate their areas. As more and more nurses are pursuing advanced degrees online, schools of nursing face an imperative to find effective ways of helping students achieve program competencies related to finance in an online environment. Cognitive apprenticeship, as a framework for teaching and learning, facilitates rapid acquisition of knowledge of essential concepts and skills needed to meet such competencies in an online, graduate-level finance course, including the use of spreadsheet software. The application of cognitive apprenticeship provides faculty with seven strategies to facilitate higher-level thinking skills: modeling, coaching, scaffolding, fading, articulation and reflection, and exploration (promoting transfer of learning).