Using Advanced Technology to Develop Nurse Leaders

Oklahoma Hospital Education and Research Foundation Trust/OHA

Oklahoma Health Care Workforce Center; OHERFT/Oklahoma Hospital Association; University of Oklahoma College of Nursing; Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education; Oklahoma Department of Career & Technology Education; Oklahoma Department of Commerce; Valley View Regional Hospital, Ada; Tahlequah City Hospital; Choctaw Nation Health Services Authority, Talihina; Southern, Eastern and Southeastern Workforce Investment Boards

Sheryl McLain, MS, Interim Executive Director, OK Health Care Workforce Center

sheryl@okhealthcareworkforce.com, (405) 319-8690

Mary Winters, VP/Education, OHERFT/Oklahoma Hospital Association

winters@okoha.com, (405) 427-9537

Ruth Eckenstein, RN, Program Specialist, Oklahoma Department of Career & Technology Education

ruth_eckenstein@okcareertech.org, (405) 743-5105

Carol Mannahan, Ed.D., RN, Assistant Dean for Leadership Development, OU College of Nursing

Brief Project Synopsis: 

The project will use telecommunications and Web-based technology to deliver leadership and faculty development courses to incumbent nurses and incumbent nurse educators in rural and diverse communities in Oklahoma.

There are three key components to this project: 1) Six Web-based self-paced leadership courses will be developed for nurses working in hospitals, long-term care, home health, and public health entities; 2) The six Web-based courses, along with several other existing leadership development modules will also be offered via distance learning technology to three sites in rural Oklahoma; and 3) Ten BSN nurse educators in three rural and diverse communities will be provided tuition to complete an online MSN degree.

Six leadership development courses, now taught face-to-face, will be converted to an E-learning platform by nursing faculty from the University of Oklahoma’s College of Nursing. Completion of six (of 20) courses now offered in the classroom results in a “basic” certificate in leadership. Using CareLearning.com as the E-learning platform, these six courses will be available online to nurses nationwide. CareLearning, a collaborative of 40 state hospital associations and the American Hospital Association, delivers training and education to health care employees.

Using the advanced technology of the OneNet system, OHA’s Health Care Management & Leadership Series will also be instructor-led and delivered live and in real-time to three distance learning sites in rural Oklahoma: Talihina, Tahlequah and Ada. Operated by the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education, OneNet is a state-of-the-art, statewide high-speed telecommunications network available to Oklahoma public schools; and career-technology  centers; colleges and universities; public libraries; local, tribal, state and federal governments; rural health care delivery systems; and programs engaged in research.

Project Goals and Objectives:

Our goals are two-fold: 1) To assist in alleviating Oklahoma’s nursing shortage by increasing the number of master’s prepared nursing faculty available to teach in three underserved areas of Oklahoma, and 2) To increase the job satisfaction, and retention rates in Oklahoma’s health care organizations by offering front-line nursing supervisors with leadership and management training which would otherwise not be available.