Poster Presentation
Water's Edge Ballroom (Hilton Waikoloa Village)
Thursday, July 14, 2005
10:00 AM - 10:30 AM
Water's Edge Ballroom (Hilton Waikoloa Village)
Thursday, July 14, 2005
3:30 PM - 4:00 PM
Lessons Learned From a 3-Year Graduate Nursing Program Recruiting and Mentoring Project
Lynda A. Mackin, MS, APRN, BC, ANP1, Diana Jennings, PhD, RN1, Ann Daleiden, MS, APRN, BC, GNP2, Elizabeth Macera, RN, ANP1, and Carole E. Deitrich, MS, APRN, BC, GNP1. (1) Gerontological Advanced Practice Nursing Program, University of California , San Francisco, School of Nursing, San Francisco, CA, USA, (2) Adult Cardiac Cath & Electrophysiology Labs, University of California , San Francisco Medical Center, San Francisco, CA, USA
| Learning Objective #1: List two recruiting strategies to attract students into a gradute nursing program |
| Learning Objective #2: Discuss the pros and cons of a mentored part-time graduate nursing program |
Background and Purpose: A grant offered through the Hartford Geriatric Nursing Initiative (HGNI) and administered through the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) provided the funding for a three-year project to recruit candidates into a mentored and re-designed gerontological advanced practice nursing program. The project goal was to design and implement a part-time program in advanced practice gerontological nursing that allowed nurses currently working in long-term care (LTC) to maintain their full-time employment. The majority of the students recruited received their undergraduate nursing degrees outside the United States, constituting an ethnically diverse student group. The outcome objective is to attain board certification as either a Gerontological Nurse Practitioner or Gerontological Clinical Nurse Specialist.
Methods: Students in the first cohort were recruited from a large, local, public LTC facility. Students in the second cohort were recruited from both acute care and LTC settings. Active support for application completion was provided. The “mentored model,” which offered a high level of faculty support to students, was the cornerstone of the program. Faculty acted as either “academic” or “clinical” mentors.
Results: The most important variables for project faculty were: recruiting strategies, learning styles and learning environment preferences, addressing knowledge gaps, accommodation of cultural differences, allocation of faculty resources, provision of writing/editorial support, academic/career choice advising and promoting leadership.
Conclusions: A “mentored model” can be an effective method to support ethnically diverse students who are both full-time workers and graduate students. The allocation of resources (faculty and financial) within such a program should be carefully considered through a formative evaluation process. The part-time curriculum should also be reviewed critically, as it may weaken overall curricular design and perceived level of commitment required. At times, evidence of student fatigue also seemed to diminish the effectiveness of faculty interventions.