Students Learning at a Distance Aided by Local One-on-One Mentors

Distance learning program in advanced practice nursing

From 1997 to 2000, the Research Foundation of the State University of New York (SUNY), Albany, created a computer-based distance-learning program designed to train clinical preceptors who work with student nurse midwives.

Clinical preceptors are key to advanced nursing training. They build a close, one-to-one relationship with each student, and guide students in applying nursing theory and techniques in practical settings.

Key Results

  • Investigators at the School of Nursing, SUNY Stony Brook, conducted two workshops for nurse midwife clinical preceptors in Buffalo, N.Y., in March and July 1998.
  • Project faculty also visited more than 20 individual training sites in nine states, where they instructed students in a variety of clinical teaching theories and techniques.
  • Project faculty developed a Nurse Midwifery Preceptor Manual, which addresses such issues as theories of learning, feedback and evaluation, and working with the student who has problems.

Funding

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) supported the project with a grant of $102,915 between November 1997 and December 2000.

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