BSN 436 Assignment 1 Multiple Intelligences

Multiple Intelligences

The skills of critical thinking and clinical judgment depend on the context of practice, and within the rapidly changing healthcare environment, these skills need to be developed among the new and more seasoned nurses. Theorists, such as Multiple Intelligences, which were introduced by Howard Gardner to define such a diversified approach to education, assist in improving and developing the process of mentorship (Shearer, 2018). This paper aims to reflect on how the theory as developed by Gardner can be utilised by experienced nurses in order to improve critical thinking and clinical reasoning of novice staff, therefore improving their performance and orientation to the clinical environment.

Importance of Understanding Multiple Intelligences

Multiple Intelligences are necessary to comprehend when setting up learning environments and learning paths. The theory created by Gardner does not follow the so-called global intelligence, or a unique intelligence type. It suggests that one may have different forms/ kinds of intelligence, which are different ways of handling information and problem solving (Shearer, 2018). These differences enable the mentors to take into account some strategies as they teach the students to optimise the learning processes that suit each student best during learning. As an illustration, I tutored a new staff nurse, Sarah, who was practical and not good in theory pursuits.

To address her needs and interests, I considered her bodily-kinesthetic intelligence, which involves the use of hands-on activities such as simulation labs aimed at enhancing practice in wound care. Moreover, her musical intelligence may be applied in creating rhymes to memorise medical terms to recollect and be more confident. The introduction of the multiple intelligences that I integrated in the learning process assisted her to emerge as a good nurse. This necessitates the use of multiple intelligences in nursing mentorship so as to improve the learning process in addressing the needs of patients.

Four Types of Intelligences from Gardner’s List

Linguistic Intelligence

Linguistic intelligence is the ability to understand and appreciate language orally and in written form and use the same to one’s advantage. This intelligence can be applicable to nursing to communicate constructively, accurately, and concisely with patients, families and medical teams. Nurses with Linguistic Intelligence have experience writing, teaching and speaking on behalf of the patient. As an illustration, a thorough analysis of the show, in particular, Grey’s Anatomy, can assist an experienced nurse to apply linguistic intelligence in order to introduce reflective journaling (Morgan, 2021). The practice helps them to shape how they will be describing clinical experiences, how they will go about learning and even their communication style.

Logical-Mathematical Intelligence

The logical-mathematical intelligence is the capability to think rationally, make calculations and solve problems in a scientific manner. Nurses must have this intelligence to work with when making decisions, calculating medications, as well as evaluating patients’ data (Morgan, 2021). To illustrate the case, it is proposed that novice nurses can be mentored through case and role play, which includes assignments where problem-solving and critical thinking are required and through which they can develop the dimension of logical-mathematical intelligence that allows them to make clinical decisions.

Interpersonal Intelligence

The ability to work through social relationships is referred to as interpersonal intelligence. It is a significant aspect in relation to building rapport with patients, inter-professional working and team leading (Andriani et al., 2024). As an illustration, the real procedure is a mentorship where trained nurses accompany the new nurses to learn how to practice the emotion of caring for patients that entails listening, conflict resolution and adopting the desires of the patient.

Intrapersonal Intelligence

Intrapersonal intelligence is connected with the knowledge of the psychological processes and states of a person. The intelligence is necessary so that the nurse can respond to stress and think about his practice and create and constantly innovate his or her person and profession (Andriani et al., 2024).

For example, positive self-assessment and mindfulness encourage intrapersonal intelligence among novice nurses and therefore enable them to cope with stress by avoiding negative self-talk and other manifestations of stress in the clinical setting.

Personal Reflection on Multiple Intelligences

I tend to use interpersonal and logical-mathematical intelligence most of the time in my nursing practice. It helps me to build positive relationships with patients/clients and co-workers to positively impact patient outcomes (Jiménez-Picón et al., 2021). In fact, in the process of giving a patient an example at a multidisciplinary team meeting, my cross-team conflict resolution skills were useful in coming up with a care plan covering various facets of the patient.

Concerning logical-mathematical intelligence, I am able to process patient information and come up with good decisions using the information. For instance, while attending to patients whose vitals were unstable, I was able to analyse the readings and realise that there appeared to be a cycle that pointed towards sepsis hence, appropriate action was taken to enhance the patient’s health.

Impact of Using Multiple Intelligences in Mentoring

Using Multiple Intelligences in mentoring can have both positive and negative impacts.

Positive Impact

The approaches to the program implementation should be well structured so that it suits the individual learning styles of the learners towards improved performance (Scandiffio et al., 2024). As an example, a student nurse who has good visual-spatial skills would be advised to resort to graphic displays and illustrations that would improve his/her comprehension and recall mechanisms.

Negative Impact

This is disastrous most of the time when any of the intelligence types is overemphasised to the point where other equally valuable skills are never acknowledged (Scandiffio et al., 2024). To use an example, the emphasis on logical-mathematical intelligence in practical concerns can be used to neglect the social intelligence in treating patients.

Improving the Mentoring Process

In order to enhance the mentoring process with the aid of Multiple Intelligences, experienced nurses are able to:

Conduct Learning Style Assessments: Ascertain the learning preferences of the Novice Nurses to appropriately develop a mentoring plan.
Incorporate Diverse Teaching Methods: To fully involve students of various intelligences, it is necessary to include such teaching tools as diagrams, models (Rosa et al., 2023), animated discussions, group work, and journals.
Foster a Growth Mindset: Help the various types of intelligence thrive in new generation nurses through such aspects as self-assessment (Rosa et al., 2023), feedback, and learning.
Create a Supportive Learning Environment: Create a culture of the organisation where the new nurses/ fresh graduates are free to open up and can learn from the rest of the team.

Conclusion

When training a nursing mentor, the principle of Multiple intelligences by Gardner can do wonders in enhancing the thinking ability, in addition to the skills of the novice nurses to make critical judgments. Knowing and applying various learning strategies enables experienced nurses to design applicable teaching strategies that promote change that will lead to enhanced patient care and the overall growth of the nursing profession.

References

Andriani, A., Inganah, S., & Khusna, A. H. (2024). Analysis of mathematical connection ability in minimum competency assessment algebra test viewed from students’ intrapersonal and interpersonal intelligence. Al-Ishlah : Jurnal Pendidikan, 16(1), 476–488. https://doi.org/10.35445/alishlah.v16i1.4398

Jiménez-Picón, N., Romero-Martín, M., Ponce-Blandón, J. A., Ramirez-Baena, L., Palomo-Lara, J. C., & Gómez-Salgado, J. (2021). The relationship between mindfulness and emotional intelligence as a protective factor for healthcare professionals: Systematic review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(10), 5491. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18105491

Morgan, H. (2021). Howard Gardner’s multiple intelligences theory and his ideas on promoting creativity. Celebrating Giants and Trailblazers: A-Z of Who’s Who in Creativity Research and Related Fields, 124–141. https://aquila.usm.edu/fac_pubs/19828/

Rosa, S. D., Battaglini, D., Bennett, V., Rodríguez-Ruiz, E., Zaher, A., Galarza, L., & Schaller, S. J. (2023). Key steps and suggestions for a promising approach to a critical care mentoring program. Journal of Anesthesia, Analgesia and Critical Care, 3(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s44158-023-00116-4

Scandiffio, J., Zhang, M., Karsan, I., Charow, R., Anderson, M., Salhia, M., & Wiljer, D. (2024). The role of mentoring and coaching of healthcare professionals for digital technology adoption and implementation: A scoping review. Digital Health, 10, 20552076241238075. https://doi.org/10.1177/20552076241238075

Shearer, B. (2018). Multiple intelligences in teaching and education: Lessons learned from neuroscience. Journal of Intelligence, 6(3), 38. https://doi.org/10.3390/jintelligence6030038