| Learning Objective #1: Develop a similar project in a variety of health care agencies across the country | |||
| Learning Objective #2: Evaluate the impact of a fellowship program on staff RNs, considering structure, process, and outcome variables |
Up to sixteen Registered Nurses may apply through the Gundersen Lutheran Medical Foundation, which funds the program. RNs choosing the leadership track apply for a fellowship that is devoted to continuous quality improvement. Nurses who choose the research track apply for a fellowship that enhances their ability to conduct a study in an area of their special expertise. Nurses who apply for an education fellowship conduct a project that may improve patient education or staff education.
Since the fellowship program has been in place, nurses examination of data has increased over 100%. The applicant pool has become competitive, and the advisory panel and selection panel has become interdisciplinary--representing nursing, ethics, epidemiology, and medicine.
Three days of intense learning precede the year-long fellowship. Nurses receive one day of paid release time each month.
Outcomes of the fellowship program include increased knowledge of evidence-based nursing, heightened interest in pursuing graduate study, publications, and a required poster presentation at an annual spring event termed Research on the Green.
Research on the Green has become an annual city-wide event that includes the local chapter of Sigma Theta Tau as well as an invited scholar who participates in the annual induction ceremony.
The Nursing Fellowship Program at Gundersen Lutheran is exemplary for its enhancement of evidence-based nursing, and it is a fine example of a leadership program that has changed an environment and added value in practical ways.