Making the Most of the On campus Experience in a Rural Distance NP Program

Educators in Nurse Practitioner (NP) programs need to ensure that students are well prepared to provide high quality care in today’s complex health care environment.  NP students should have the opportunity to: meet clinical competencies in a safe environment; receive direct observation and feedback on their clinical performance from expert faculty; time to establish relationships with advisors and mentors; chances to build professional relationships by networking with peers and future colleagues. These components are especially challenging in a program with a rural focus.  The purpose of this poster is to outline successful strategies for on- campus experiences in a distance rural NP program.

Two distance NP tracks from the University College of Nursing have found innovative ways to meet these important learning needs during on-campus experiences. Currently, during the on campus time, students interact with experts in pertinent specialties which may not be present in the rural health care setting.  Students have hands-on learning and skills workshops which cover required NP skill competencies such as suturing, splinting, biopsies, microscopies and joint injection.  In addition, students participate in objective structured clinical evaluations (OSCE) with intraprofessional collaboration including Certified Nurse Midwife (CNM) and a Pediatric Nurse practitioner (PNP).  Faculty is able to directly observe students’ skills and provide immediate debriefing with opportunity for remediation and input from the intraprofessional colleagues.  Finally, while on campus, students have opportunities to meet faculty, advisors and their peers in order to foster mentoring and build professional relationships.

Overall, we find despite any initial push back, students and faculty have reported that the on campus time has been a valuable experience.  Rural health students face a unique challenge with limited experiences for networking and direct access to clinical specialty experts due to their small clinical site and geographic location.  Moving forward, the goal for the on campus experience will continue to work toward the specific needs of rural students including telehealth education and interdisciplinary team work.  Including an on-campus component to a distance rural NP program provides opportunities to address the learning needs of these students, meet core competencies, enhance professionalism and develop relationships.