The Living Family Tree: Bridging the Gap Between Knowledge and Practice in a Family Nurse Practitioner Program

• We describe the Living Family Tree (LFT), which is a video-enhanced learning strategy.
• LFT is designed to promote interactive learning through critical analysis of problem-based learning case studies.
• The teaching strategy is grounded in the Family System Theory.
• The fictitious family was created to demonstrate complex health problems as a unit.
• The LFT is an innovative educational intervention that is replicable for utilization.

Family nurse practitioner (FNP) graduates must be prepared to care for individuals and families and to demonstrate a commitment to family-centered care. FNP educators are challenged to translate theoretical frameworks into meaningful clinical engagement through novel teaching strategies that promote family-centered care in a health care environment that focuses primarily on the individual. The Living Family Tree (LFT) is a video-enhanced active learning strategy that features a multigenerational family through which students view reality-based family health care scenarios. This creative educational innovation serves to bridge the gap between knowledge and practice by actively engaging learners using technology and multimedia.