LC Blogger

Challenge:
Convert content provided in face-to-face workshop format to an online resource for nursing faculty in pre-licensure (RN) programs across the United States, and strengthen relationships between schools of nursing and nursing homes, and motivate faculty to create excellent clinical experiences for students.

Solution:
We designed an online course that provides an authentic experience for learners to explore and practice the key steps for nursing faculty when partnering with nursing homes for student clinical experiences.

Impact:
The online modules center around an interactive case study that reflects a typical experience of nursing faculty who need to facilitate nursing home clinical experiences for RN students. The intent is for learners to begin with the case study and refer to the modules to learn key concepts. The modules contain supporting content that will help learners successfully complete the case study.

Take a deeper look at the course site

Challenge: The Northeast Minnesota Area Health Education Center (AHEC) was awarded a federal grant to expand and enhance palliative care practice and education at four rural sites in northern Minnesota. One of the grant projects was to create a website whose objectives are to facilitate knowledge sharing, facilitate education and training, support the recruitment and retention of health professionals in medically underserved areas, and serve as a link for regional and national resources.

Solution: A PallCI (Palliative Care Initiative) Website was developed to serve as a portal for preceptors and students to the course and training components of the initiative, to announce upcoming events for palliative care related events, and to provide a robust resource list that has been vetted by experts in the field.

Impact: Preceptors and learners involved in the initiative have access to learning materials and other palliative care resources. The greater public has access to a plethora of resources on palliative care and information about the Palliative Care Initiative. The website serves as a hub of information, current events, and news for the programs at the four member sites in northeast and central Minnesota.

Challenge: Social networking sites, such as Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, and Ning, have surpassed email as the preferred communication tool among the majority of traditional college students. Given the high volume of use, it is inevitable that some students in undergraduate, graduate, and professional academic programs use Facebook to discuss school activities, including clinical-related experiences. Doing so could cause breach of patient, colleague, or student privacy, resulting in potential legal issues. Also, since it is common practice for recruiters to screen job candidates using Internet search engines (that often draw data from social sites), students’ normal use of social networking sites to post opinions, photos, and discussions may inadvertently have a negative impact on their professional opportunities.

Solution: We developed two online, self-paced courses: one for students and one for faculty and preceptors. The courses introduce the current state of social networking; allow learners to reflect on personal beliefs about online social networking and professionalism; and provide experience evaluating common social networking challenges by applying e-professionalism concepts and guidelines.

Impact: At the conclusion of the course, learners have an opportunity to reflect on their current use of social networking tools and how they may change their approach. Learners also receive guidelines for maintaining a ‘positive online presence’ that can help them advance their careers.