Vital Signs
Putting Minority Nursing Faculty Online: The Story Continues
In the Winter 2006 issue of MN, we reported on one nursing school that has come up with a particularly innovative solution to the current shortage of minority nursing faculty. Thomas Edison State College School of Nursing, based in Trenton, N.J., has received a $600,000 grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to fund a three-year initiative designed to recruit and train minority nurse educators to teach distance-learning courses. Training existing minority faculty to teach online will help make this scarce resource accessible to a much larger group of students from all over the country, especially those who live in remote or rural areas.
The project’s first year has been enormously successful. The college enrolled 16 minority nurse educators, who are now nearing completion of the school’s Certificate in Distance Education Program (CDEP). And apparently many Minority Nurse readers agree that this initiative is something to get excited about. According to the nursing school’s dean, Susan O’Brien, EdD, RN, after our initial article appeared the school received a tremendous response from readers expressing interest in the program.
The college is now seeking a new group of participants for the second year of the grant. If you are an experienced nursing educator of color who wants to learn how to expand your classroom teaching talent into cyberspace and teach students who might otherwise never have access to a minority professor, O’Brien wants to hear from you. Eligible candidates must be master’s-prepared with at least two years of teaching experience; doctorally prepared educators are preferred.
The CDEP consists of four eight-week seminars that are conducted entirely online. The seminars focus on the pedagogy of online education, Web-based instructional design--including hands-on development of online courses--and computer and multimedia usage in education. After completing the seminar series, participants will be provided with a mentored online teaching experience in one of the college’s 12-week undergraduate online nursing courses. During this experience, the participants utilize the methodology learned in the CDEP and receive feedback from an experienced online nurse educator. They are then able to bring their new distance-teaching skills back to their own educational institutions.
Eligible minority nursing faculty interested in participating in this pioneering program should send their curriculum vitae and a letter of intent to Thomas Edison State College School of Nursing at nursing@tesc.edu.
But that’s still not the end of the story. To further promote diversity in nursing education, the college will also sponsor its 1st Annual Distinguished Lectureship on Diversity, “Stewardship and Diversity in Nursing,” on October 11 in Trenton. All nurses who are interested in developing innovative ways of addressing the minority faculty shortage, and networking with others who share this interest, are invited to attend. Enrollment is limited to 100. For more information about this event, see page 19.
Similar Articles
Featured Content
ACADEMIC PROGRAM
SCHOOL: Mercy College of Northwest Ohio DEGREES: Associate Degree DESCRIPTION:St. Elizabeth Campus, Youngstown, Ohio: Now Accepting Applications for Fall 2009!
The Associate Degree Nursing Program at St. Elizabeth is now accepting applications for the Fall 2009 term. We will begin reviewing applications starting in January 2009. Submit your completed application today! Questions? Please email us at stelizabeth@mercycollege.edu or give us a call at (888) 80-MERCY.
READ MORE READ ALLJOB POSTING
POSITION: Tenure- and Clinical-Track Faculty Positions EMPLOYER: The University of Alabama DESCRIPTION:The Capstone College of Nursing at The University of Alabama invites applications for Tenure- and Clinical-Track Faculty Positions:
Faculty needed for BSN, RN Mobility and graduate programs. Resident faculty have the opportunity to teach in innovative online programs including a Doctor of Nursing Practice program, MSN programs focusing on case management leadership or the clinical nurse leader role, and RN to BSN and RN to BSN/MSN options. An interdisciplinary EdD for Nurse Educator’s program provides opportunities for doctoral level teaching and advising.
READ MORE READ ALLEMPLOYER
NAME: University of Washington Medical Center LOCATION: Seattle, WA DESCRIPTION:Located in Seattle, University of Washington Medical Center provides comprehensive primary care services and serves as a regional referral and treatment center for specialized medical care. Recognized as the first Magnet* hospital in the U.S., our commitment to nursing excellence has been honored for an unprecedented fourth consecutive time — the only hospital in the world to achieve this — and serves as a testament to our dedication to our staff.
READ MORE READ ALL