Implementing Web-based instruction in a school of nursing: implications for faculty and students.

The World Wide Web, a rich educational resource that can promote and enhance student learning, is increasingly being used in nursing programs to deliver course content. When implementing Web-based instruction into the curriculum, it is essential to consider carefully the implications for faculty and student development needs so that the technology can be efficiently and effectively used to support student learning. Teaching a Web-based course is a new experience for many faculty and requires a reconceptualization of the faculty role. Faculty issues to consider when implementing Web-based instruction include instructional design concerns, faculty-student interactions, time and technology management skills, and student outcome evaluation. Students, especially those who have a preference for faculty-directed classroom learning, also will find student role challenges in Web-based learning. Time and technology management skills, student-faculty interactions, and becoming more self-directed in their learning are student role development needs. This article describes the strategies used by one school of nursing to meet faculty and student development needs when the RN-BSN completion program was redesigned for Web-based instruction.

From authorship to contributorship. Promoting integrity in research publication.

Shared authorship in nursing research presents practical and ethical dilemmas and does not effectively capture individual research participation and accountability. This study, which defined author contributions and practices in multiauthored nursing research, contributed to a better understanding of contemporary author participation and the inherent challenges faced by nurse scholars in determining authorship credit. A method of "contributorship" is proposed which would delineate individual contributions to the research project while maintaining professional integrity, scientific accountability, and scholarly recognition.

Role socialization of graduating student nurses: impact of a nursing practicum on professional role conception.

This study examined graduating student nurse role conception changes that occurred during a concentrated clinical preceptorial. A Nursing Role Conceptions Questionnaire was administered to nursing students before (n = 44) and immediately after (n = 41) a 4-week Nursing Practicum; to the students' staff nurse clinical teaching associates (n = 34); and to nursing program faculty (n = 18). Respondent perceptions of ideal nursing behaviors and actual nursing behaviors within three major nursing roles (professional, service, and bureaucratic) were identified and differences between ideal and actual scores (role discrepancy) were calculated. Findings showed that student role orientation in selected areas changed from a faculty role orientation to a staff nurse role orientation over the 4-week period. The Practicum seemed to effectively facilitate role socialization of graduating student nurses into the work setting, easing the necessary transition from education to practice.