Ann L. Butt, Ed.D, RN, CHSE portrait
  • Executive Director Simulation & Experiential Learning, College Of Nursing
  • Associate Professor (Clinical), College Of Nursing
  • Co-Director Center for Interprofessional Simulation-Based Experiential Learning
208-371-2997

Current Courses

Fall 2024

  • NURS 3305-001
    Foundations

Summer 2024

Spring 2024

Professional Organizations

  • Utah Association of Nurse Leaders. 02/01/2022 - present. Position : Member.
  • Utah Simulation Coalition. 08/01/2017 - present. Position : President-Elect (President 2024-25).
  • Sigma - Gamma Rho chapter. 08/01/2016 - present. Position : Member.
  • Academy of Health Science Educators. 08/01/2016 - present. Position : Fellow & Chair Education Symposium Committee.
  • Society for Simulation in Healthcare. 01/01/2014 - present. Position : Member.
  • International Nursing Association for Clinical Simulation and Learning. 01/01/2011 - present. Position : Member.
  • American Association of Critical Care Nurses. 01/01/2006 - present. Position : Member.
  • American Nurses Association/Utah Nurses Association. 04/01/1986 - present. Position : Member.
  • Sigma Theta Tau International (initial induction). 12/15/1985 - present. Position : Member.

Teaching Philosophy

As a nurse and professional, I tend not only to patients’ health care needs, but feel a larger responsibility to “practice with compassion and respect for the inherent dignity, worth, and unique attributes of every person” (American Nurses Association, 2022). As an educator, I also have this responsibility to students; it is critical that I model caring, integrity, honesty, empathy, genuineness, and respect for self and others. I value and embrace the ability to provide a safe environment, encouraging students to actively engage in their own learning and experiment with new approaches to problem solving.

Nursing students are expected to not only provide competent care, but also to uphold their inherent duty to respect every patient in every encounter; I am responsible to model this behavior and provide as many opportunities as possible for students to practice. I demonstrate respect to students by creating a learning atmosphere that is positive, open, and inviting, where students are encouraged to think independently and figure out how to create solutions to problems; by developing an honest and genuine rapport with students, demonstrating understanding and caring behaviors; by acknowledging that students have life experiences that are important and applicable to their nursing education and practice; and by setting high expectations for students with the promise that I will be there to help them achieve and surpass those goals.

As an educator, my expectations are clearly outlined in writing as well as verbally during orientation to any learning experience, whether it is in the classroom, the clinical setting or during prebriefing of a learning opportunity in the simulation center. I respect varying learning preferences and devote effort and energy to finding multiple ways for students to engage both their brain and their body in their own learning. I expect students to take responsibility for their learning and respect them by providing ongoing formative evaluation in addition to expected summative evaluation.   

My expertise in simulation-based education (SBE) is grounded in several learning theories: humanism and constructivism along with self-directed and experiential learning. Establishing a safe learning climate, modeling expected behavior, facilitating learning with small groups, and using open-ended activities are foundational elements of humanism and SBE. As an SBE expert, I promote constructivism and experiential learning with every student encounter, maximizing the ability to place students in their own learning where they can build on what they already know. Helping students understand how to take learning into their own hands, focusing on what they need to know to safely care for patients—instead of earning points and a grade—is an ongoing challenge. One of my goals is to help students learn to acknowledge and build on what they do know, rather than continually focusing on what they do not yet know. Curiousity is an attribute I try to nurture in myself as well as my students.

If we are to truly transform nursing education, it is imperative that we take advantage of innovative technology as it becomes available. I am excited about the promise that virtual and augmented reality hold for health sciences education, the healthcare system in general, those who seek healthcare in various forms, and our communities, locally as well as globally.

Perhaps most importantly, I believe that becoming an excellent teacher requires lifelong learning, endless energy, deep passion, and a willingness to embrace—and promote—new ideas in order to help students begin to understand what it means to “think like a nurse.”

 

American Nurses Association (ANA). (2022). Code of ethics for nurses with interpretative statements. Silver Spring, MD: Author.