Paper
Sunday, November 13, 2005
This presentation is part of : The Teaching Nursing Home Model in Practice
The Teaching Nursing Home Model in Practice
Bonnie Schmid, MS, RN, MPH, Mennonite College of Nursing, Illinois State University, Mennonite College of Nursing, Normal, IL, USA and Sara L. Campbell, DNS, RN, CNAA, BC, Mennonite College of Nursing, Illinois State University, Normal, IL, USA.

The Teaching Nursing Home Sister Model

Teaching Nursing Homes (TNH) typically are designed within one target nursing home (NH). The Joe Warner TNH project was designed with four NHs participating at varying levels in the project. The purpose of this expanded notion of a TNH was to provide diverse teaching-learning experiences for nursing students, while also sharing resources among and between clinical NH sites, thus creating an impetus for professional cultural change within the NH's that would be attractive to new nursing graduates. Conceptually, the model is based on engagement of two primary and two secondary NHs. Two urban NHs were each linked with a “sister” rural NH, all of in which faculty and students conducted clinical practice. This model proposes that NHs from different geographical locations, with ranges in resident population and needs, offer varied opportunities that can be shared between nursing schools and NH's, as well as between NHs themselves, thus maximizing experiences. The model provides a framework to increase communication, share resources, allow interactive learning, and utilize expertise of a master's prepared nurse to develop competency of students. The first step in the model is the formation of a collaborative committee composed of nursing faculty, project team members, and NH staff and administrators. Success of the model hinge on buy-in support from all constituents and this type of committee structure facilitates such buy-in. The second step of the model is to develop clinical activities that improve nursing care received by NH residents in collaboration with a master's prepared nurse. The third step of the model is to upgrade technology to allow use of interactive learning with nursing students and NH staff. The Sister Teaching Nursing Home Model can be replicated in other collaborative projects that merge academia and practice together to work towards a common goal.