Paper
Sunday, November 4, 2007
262
“We Want To Be Nurses Too”: Living through an Accelerated Program
Quincealea A. Brunk, RN, PhD, Department of Nursing, Mount Marty College, Yankton, SD, USA
| Learning Objective #1: describe the challenges faced by students in an accelerated nursing program. |
| Learning Objective #2: discuss strategies for change to enrich the experience of nursing education for second degree students. |
Background:
Accelerated nursing programs for those with another bachelors degree have been in existence since the mid-1970s. Existing literature is replete with rationale and documentation of quantitative outcomes of these nursing programs. There is almost no information about the experience of being a student in one of these programs.
Aim:
The purpose of conducting this study was to document various aspects of the experience of being a second degree student in an accelerated nursing program. A secondary aim was to provide feedback for quality improvement of the newest nursing program at a regional university in South Georgia.
Methodology:
Using a focus group technique and purposive sampling, the first and second groups of 11 and 28 second degree students, respectively (as a separate cohort) were interviewed via e-mail and group session about their experiences during the academic and clinical nursing program. To avoid any bias or personal knowledge of individual responses, a Sociology Department faculty member familiar with focus group techniques was asked to collect all e-mail responses and conduct the focus group interview session. The interview session was audiotaped and transcribed by an independent transcriptionist who did not know the participants.
Analysis:
Upon completion of the transcription and compilation of the e-mail responses, each transcript was analyzed by the researcher and student assistants who had helped develop the study. Transcripts were analyzed for themes and patterns using Colazzis data analysis methods. Data statements were clustered into patterns and then into major themes.
Conclusions:
Several themes emerged from the data, including: survival; communication; interpersonal relationships; and a sense of time urgency. Findings from this study are being used to assist in end of the year evaluation of the program with plans for quality improvement in the coming year as the next cohort enters the accelerated program.