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Leading the Transformation of Community/Public Health Nursing in a Baccalaureate Program

Saturday, 29 October 2011

Laurie Stark, PhD, RN
College of Nursing, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL

Learning Objective 1: identify two ways in which the scholar benefitted from the New Faculty Mentored Leadership Program.

Learning Objective 2: describe two challenges common to new faculty that the scholar was able to overcome through the guidance of a mentor.

The initial catalyst for this project was the decision to establish a community health nursing capstone course. The competition of for-profit nursing programs, online bachelor’s degree completion programs, and transition of community colleges to state colleges offering baccalaureate degrees posed other aspects for consideration in the change. This project was an opportunity for the novice educator to experience, firsthand, principles of leadership under the guidance of a mentor. Through clarification of values and examples set by the mentor, the scholar sought to envision the future for the course and to enlist the help of others in the transition.

 Data were obtained from faculty members experienced in teaching the community health nursing course, students who had taken the course and community partners who provide the clinical experiences. Understanding the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the existing course was instrumental in assisting the scholar in identifying a shared vision for the transformed course.

In discovering innovative ways in which the course could be changed to meet competing needs, the scholar experienced many lessons. Learning to outsource aspects of the research process to those whose role it is to assist faculty; the development of time management skills that better balanced the teaching, scholarship and service requirements of the scholar’s faculty role; and finding a voice to express ideas are examples of the knowledge gained by learning to accept guidance from a mentor.

The relationships that have been built or strengthened through the process of gathering data for the project will inform the transformation of the course. The scholar’s mentored leadership journey will serve to ensure the needs of the students; faculty and community partners will be met.  More importantly, the scholar has learned to maintain a relationship with a mentor while looking for future opportunities to encourage the heart of others.

See more of: Poster Session I - Nurse Faculty Mentored Leadership Development Program Invited Posters
See more of: Invited Posters