Learning partner zoom chat

I had a lovely chat with my learning partner this afternoon. Dene, is registered nurse who has been working in education for 8 years. Here are some key points we talked about.

One of the trends Dene talks about is how more nurses are choosing to work in Urban areas, and there has been an increase in nurse practitioners overall. This runs true for my industry as well, you will see more spa in urban areas as opposed to rural ones.

She also talked about how more male nurses are entering the nursing industry. It is still dominantly woman at 91%, but her research showed that more men are entering this profession at a rate of 15.4%, vs woman at 3.9%. This is great news, as I think both woman and men are able to thrive in this industry. There is definitely a rise in male estheticians in my field as well. But I do find that more woman in the esthetics field actually end up making it a career.

Some trends in adult education we discussed were the growing trends in online learning. We have both felt the shift in adult learning especially when covid lockdowns hit. Less time in person meant more time online, and this was the fast track for both of us to learn and develop new instructing tools! Dene also mentioned how this shift has been a "positive" for so many students, meaning it has given them more flexibility to engage in the virtual classroom where they may not otherwise be able to.

The "newer" adult learners are evolving to work and learn more independently online. We concluded that the adult learners now need more freedom and do not need the restraints of traditional training. We both agreed that we need to respect each individual and their personal agendas. We need to evolve into facilitators that guide our adult learners and encourage independent thinking with the absence of rigidity.

Amber Downing Creative Commons 2022