Involving Clinical Nurses in Evaluation of a Professional Practice Model: A Focus Group Research Study Approach.

As part of the Magnet® application process, chief nurse executives (CNEs) are challenged to support the development, implementation, and evaluation of a Professional Practice Model (PPM) and include clinical nurses in this process. A focus group approach is a way to meet dual goals of evaluating the PPM and involving clinical nurses in the research process. The article describes how a focus group approach can be used effectively to identify themes and highlight the role of the CNE.

Application Strategies and Tips for Using the Nursing Professional Development Practice Model.

In the past year since the 3rd edition of the Nursing Professional Development: Scope and Standards of Practice was released, many Nursing Professional Development departments across the nation have incorporated this foundational document into their practice. In this column, we continue to describe the activities of our colleagues to integrate the scope and standards into practice.

Social presence, satisfaction, and perceived learning of RN-to-BSN students in Web-based nursing courses.

The purpose of this study was to assess social presence in online nursing courses and its relationship to student satisfaction and perceived learning. The Social Presence scale and the Satisfaction scale were administered via an Internet survey to students (n = 128) in an online RN-BSN program. Results indicated a strong relationship among satisfaction, social presence, and instructor performance.

Internet continuing education for health care professionals: an integrative review.

Introduction: The objective was to review key articles and research studies on practices, preferences, and evaluation of on-line continuing education used by health care professionals.

Methods: Data sources included searches of the MEDLINE, CINAHL, and ERIC databases (January 1990 to June 2004) and manual searches of the Journal of Continuing Education in the Health Professions and the Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing. Articles included reviews and research studies focusing on the use of Internet CE by health care professionals.

Comparison of oncology nurse and physician use of the Internet for continuing education.

Background: In the past 10 years, there has been a dramatic increase in published literature on the topic of Internet use by healthcare professionals. Learners and organizations providing grants to the continuing education (CE) division of a medical education and publishing company have expressed increasing interest in the area of Internet CE. To quantify and analyze this trend, the company began using surveys to evaluate this growing area of interest.