New Grants Will Train
School Nurses And Help Nurses Mentor Each Other
Nursing Department receives nearly $2
million in grant to further nursing education.
February 3, 2004
BY VALERIE ORLEANS
Cal State Fullerton’s Nursing
Department is advancing nursing education thanks to nearly
$2 million in local and federal grants.
A $1.6 million Federal Department of Health
and Human Services grant will be used to fund nursing education,
practice and retention. A $385,000 award from the Orange County
Children and Families’ Commission will support development
of a new credential and master’s program in school nursing.
Christine Latham, professor of nursing, was the recipient
of both grants.
Nurse Education, Practice and Retention
Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach and UCI Medical Center in Orange
are working with the university to develop mentoring intervention
programs that will augment their ability to mentor registered
nurses and implement strategies to increase nurse/patient
satisfaction.
“We are looking at evidence-based or
best practice models,” Latham explained. “By that,
I mean we are looking at specific areas, such as the number
of patient falls or the number of patients who need to be
restrained.
“This will provide us with a benchmark.
We will then initiate the mentoring program and see if this
affects those areas of patient care.”
In order to identify potential mentors, Latham
and her team conducted socio-analysis at the hospitals. Socio-analysis
is a method that can be used to identify informal leaders
– those nurses who may not be managers but have influence
with other nurses based on experience, expertise or the way
they deal with problems.
“The focus is to develop mentoring teams
of staff nurses – none of whom will have direct evaluation
responsibilities for those they are mentoring – to develop
camaraderie and assist others with professional development
and problem-solving,” said Latham.
“The program we are developing has the
potential to make a tremendous impact on satisfaction within
the nursing industry,” said Latham. “When nurses
feel empowered to deal with difficult situations or talk with
administrators about potential problems, it’s to everyone’s
advantage.
“We have many inquiries from other hospitals
wanting to know if we can develop similar programs for them,”
she said. “That indicates that this is a program that’s
perceived to provide value to nurses and patients.”
New Credential and Master’s
Program in School Nursing
“The credentialing of school nurses will become part
of a master’s of science concentration in nursing,”
said Latham. “We are targeting this concentration to
begin this fall.
“Our goals are to develop programs
that meet the needs of today’s school nurses. This can
be anything from dealing with behavioral and learning disabilities,
to working with children with chronic health problems such
as asthma, and to provide a specialized authorization for
health credential that allows nurses to teach classes to children
on developing healthy lifestyles.
“Today, we’re seeing rising
rates of obesity among school children, and if nurses can
reach out to elementary-age children, perhaps they can assist
in helping children understand the value of exercise and proper
nutrition.”
Program planning is underway, based
on interviews with 33 school nurses in 14 different school
districts.
“We wanted input from nurses ‘out
in the field’ about what programs they think would most
benefit school nurses,” said Latham. “We’re
looking at it from an advanced practice focus. By making the
school develop a futuristic program that will benefit our
students and ultimately, the schools where they practice.”
“The special authorization for
the health teaching credential will be a big boon to students,”
said Mary A. Kelly, who will direct the school nurse concentration.
“Right now, you have football coaches and others teaching
nutrition and health. Some do a great job, but others don’t
have the background.
“Having the school nurse provide
this education will help ensure that consistent and accurate
information is provided. It’s also a good way for students
to get to know the nurses at their school. Sometimes they
only see them when they’re ill.”
The program can accept 20 students, and 70 have already indicated
an interest in applying.
“I think one of the reasons that
our program is so appealing is that school nurses are often
out on their own,” said Kelly. “They are often
the only healthcare professional on a school campus. The program
not only educates them for this, but they also develop networks
with other school nurses that they can turn to with questions
or concerns.”
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