Investigating the design and delivery of quality online distance nurse practitioner education

Haynes, Marilyn J. (2003) Investigating the design and delivery of quality online distance nurse practitioner education. Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

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Abstract

This paper folio is a compilation of three related papers that have relevance to the design and delivery of nurse practitioner education within an online distance education environment. The papers incorporate a review of the literature from the fields of educational technologies, adult education, and nursing education, as well as descriptions and reflections of my personal experiences as an adult educator in a nurse practitioner education program. -- The first paper provides the context and background for an understanding of nurse practitioner education and the significance of maintaining quality standards with a move to online distance delivery. This background information is provided to acquaint the reader with the learner and the significance of quality education for the provision of competent nurse practitioners. It defines the term, nurse practitioner, through an overview of the evolution, role, and learner profile of nurse practitioners. It also briefly describes an example of the design and delivery of a traditional onsite Primary Health Care Nurse Practitioner Program (PHC-NPP) at the Centre for Nursing Studies in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador for later discussion and application. -- The second paper takes an in-depth look at the technology, learner, faculty and administrator which have been identified as critical components that directly and indirectly affect the design and development of quality online educational programs (Bates, 2000; Kearsley, 2000). A review of these four components will address such factors as the application of technology, adult learner characteristics, faculty members' needs and demands on administrators. Issues surrounding the involvement of each of the four components are discussed and strategies are suggested from the research. Educators should be cognizant of all aspects of these components before designing online distance education. This literature review is significant for its application to nurse practitioner education as it moves to an online delivery format. -- The third paper synthesizes the findings from the background study presented and the literature reviewed. An analysis of the literature reviewed and personal reflections as a faculty member in the PHC-NPP creates a complex network of factors for consideration in achieving the goal of quality online nurse practitioner education. Common threads emerge around each of the identified four components of online education that are synthesized into a typology of key determinants for consideration in the development and delivery of quality nurse practitioner programs. Examples have been supplied, in the form of checklists, within this typology that may prove beneficial in assisting novice online faculty in attending to the most critical factors which have been discussed throughout this folio.

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