For more information contact:
Vicky Cerino, 402-559-5190
Oct. 22, 1997
The University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Nursing has received a continuation grant for $463,073 to develop and deliver state-of-the-art computer conferencing systems for use in its Adult Health and Illness Master of Science in Nursing program. The systems, using the Internet, will help breakdown time and distance barriers, making the program more accessible and flexible for minority nurses and nurses from rural and urban underserved areas in Nebraska.
The original grant was designed to integrate the nurse practitioner and clinical nurse specialist curriculums into one curriculum. In effect, it combined the roles of the two advance practice nurse specialties, giving them flexibility to practice in a wide variety of health care settings.
The program prepares students as advanced practice nurses whose role it is to diagnose, treat and manage illness, and prescribe medications in cooperation with physicians. This nurse specialty typically provides health care and education for patients with chronic conditions such as heart disease, cancer, stroke and other neurological disorders.
“Demands of work, family and distance from campus prevent many from pursuing advanced nursing degrees,” said Lani Zimmerman, Ph.D., chairperson for the Adult Health and Illness Department of the UNMC College of Nursing in Omaha. “This grant will help remove some of the vast barriers Nebraskans, especially in rural areas, experience in accessing health education because of transportation, financial and cultural barriers.”
The grant will be used for purchasing computer video conferencing systems equipped with small video cameras to provide two-way audio and video communication. Stationary units will be used primarily for communicating between faculty and students across the four UNMC nursing divisions in Omaha, Lincoln, Kearney and Scottsbluff. Portable systems will allow students and their clinical preceptors to communicate with faculty while students are evaluated by faculty on their skills in clinics and homes.
“We want to target recruitment of minority nurses and nurses from rural and urban underserved areas in Nebraska who we hope will eventually practice health care in medically-underserved areas,” Dr. Zimmerman said. “This grant will provide the tools for greater accessibility of advanced nursing education as well as enable students to practice skills closer to their own communities.”
The equipment will be used initially for teaching and evaluation purposes and will be later used anyplace where health care can be delivered, Dr. Zimmerman said. She said the technology will reduce the number of
hours of driving to the campus during a semester.
Currently, 30 students are enrolled in the Adult Health Master of Science in Nursing program and take courses through one of UNMC’s four nursing colleges located in Omaha, Lincoln, Kearney and Scottsbluff. Travel is required by students and faculty, especially during the clinical courses.
If a student has a home computer with video conferencing ability, they will be able to connect with the College of Nursing anytime, or they can do so through the campus connection. Faculty hope the systems can be expanded for use in the students homes to enable the students to take tests, sit in on lectures, participate in discussions with other students and communicate with professors.
“There will still be times when face-to-face meetings in the same room may still be necessary, and we’ll be evaluating these experiences very closely. Students can also videotape each other doing certain skills they’re required to do as part of their program, save it to a computer file for the faculty member to open up, evaluate and use for critiquing purposes,” Dr. Zimmerman said.
The demand for advanced practice nurses, which merges the roles of the nurse practitioner and clinical nurse specialist, is increasing in Nebraska, she said. The reasons are due in part because of the critical shortage of health care providers with specialty expertise in rural and underserved areas of Nebraska and because of the decrease in length of stay for patients.
“Health care will probably never go back to allowing patients extended days in the hospital to recover,” Dr. Zimmerman said. “Recovery will most likely take place in the home.”
Research is showing that the continued care provided by advanced practice nurses improves quality of life and saves money by preventing re-hospitalization through education.
“If this technology can be used to educate nursing students, it also can be used to assist in providing health care anywhere in the state, whether in the patient’s home or at a local clinic,” Dr. Zimmerman said.
Even in homes without phones, the portable system can be connected through a cellular phone.
“This is the future of health care and we’re preparing a product for tomorrow. We’re trying to stay on top of new technology. It’s only going to get better, and I don’t think there’s any limitation to what can be done in health care.”
The pilot program is set to begin testing the systems this fall.
UNMC is the only public academic health science center in the state. Through its commitment to research, education and patient care, UNMC has established itself as one of the country’s leading centers for cancer research and treatment and solid organ transplantation. Nearly $25 million in research grants and contracts are awarded to UNMC scientists annually. In addition, UNMC’s educational programs are responsible for training more health professionals practicing in Nebraska than any other institution.
Oct. 20, 1997
From: Vicky Cerino, 402-559-5190, e-mail VCERINO, FAX 559-4103
3 page fax total
Lani–here’s another draft. Feel free to add, change, delete, etc. Please don’t retype but write on the original or attach insertions.
We are going to send this statewide. I’ll wait for your response. Vic.