There is a dire shortage of nurses prepared to work in critical care. Three online courses (neonatal, pediatric, and adult) with a clinical practicum were developed to prepare students and RNs for beginning practice in this specialty. The purpose of this study was to determine factors associated with professionalism and socialization, the desired outcomes of the courses. The Billings (2000) framework for assessing outcomes and practices in Web-based courses guided this exploratory study. Data were gathered using the Evaluating the Educational Uses of Web-based Courses in Nursing (EEUWIN) instrument; reliability and validity of the instrument in this study was acceptable and comparable to previous studies. The sample included 88 participants enrolled in 3 sections of all three critical care courses. Participants were students enrolled in academic programs or registered nurses seeking preparation for specialty practice. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data. Findings indicate that students are highly satisfied (mean=4.1 on a 5-point Likert scale) with the online courses. A stepwise multiple linear regression analysis suggested that model specification was good, as approximately 83% of the variation in ‘socialization’ was accounted for by the estimated sample regression plan that used professionalism and convenience as the independent variables. Satisfaction with the courses and the need not to have a face-to-face interaction with the faculty/peers accounted for 24% of the predicted variance for professionalism. Of the educational practices embedded in the online course, feedback (r=.51, p<.001) and student/faculty interaction (r=.59, p<.001) were found to be highly correlated with student satisfaction. Overall, socialization and professionalism can be achieved through an online education model as described. With the current nursing and nurse educator shortage, more innovative, effective instructional models need to be developed and tested to provide educational options to meet the demands of nursing today.
Session #1172 - Nursing Education: Student Outcomes
The 29th Annual MNRS Research Conference (April 1-4, 2005)