Credentialing Public Health Nurses: Current Issues and Next Steps Forward.

Objectives: The purpose of this descriptive, cross-sectional study was to identify Public Health Nurses' (PHN) perceived motivators and barriers to seeking PHN board certification.

Design And Sample: In collaboration with the Quad Council of Public Health Nursing Organizations, PHNs from across the United States were invited to complete the PHN Certification Survey, a 14-item online questionnaire.

Measures: A total of 912 surveys were completed.

Improving wait times in primary care using the Dartmouth microsystem improvement curriculum.

Wait times for medical care are a major factor in patient satisfaction with health care. The Dartmouth Microsystem Improvement Curriculum and Plan-Do-Study-Act improvement method were used to address patient dissatisfaction with wait times among patients receiving primary care in a Federally Qualified Health Center. Wait time data were collected for 406 patient visits during the pretest phase and 397 visits during the posttest phase.

The use of standards for peer review of online nursing courses: a pilot study.

This article describes a pilot study on the use of online course standards for peer review of Web-based nursing courses. A peer review team consisting of a nurse educator and an instructional designer piloted the use of two sets of online course standards in two RN-to-baccalaureate nursing courses. The College of Public Health Online Course Standards and the Quality Matters (QM) Peer Course Review Rubric were used to review the courses.

Quality assurance for online nursing courses.

Nurse educators and students have been expressing concern about the quality of online education for more than a decade. Models, standards, benchmarks, and peer review processes now offer tools for assuring the quality of online education and provide documentation for evaluation and accreditation processes. Standards provide the basis for initial course design, thus decreasing the need for revisions to correct weaknesses.

Using synchronous software in Web-based nursing courses.

To promote learning and enhance immediacy and satisfaction, a college of nursing at a large research I southern university undertook a pilot project to incorporate synchronous classroom software into an ongoing online program. Two synchronous class sessions using voice over Internet protocol were offered in the Community/Public Health Nursing course through Elluminate Live! Upon conclusion of the lecture, students were divided into breakout groups to work on group projects. Surveys were administered to the students and faculty before and after the class sessions.