Shelbie Harris
Staff Writer
Idaho State University’s School of Nursing is undergoing a transitional period as modifications to the undergraduate curriculum are implemented.
According to university officials, faculty members got together last April to coordinate revisions to curriculum as part of program prioritization.
The majority of nursing programs nationwide, similar to the nursing program at ISU, feature curriculums designed to be completed in four years.
ISU’s nursing curriculum was structured to take longer than four years. In order to stay up to date with trends and practices of other universities across the nation, changes were made.
“As a process of reviewing curriculum, faculty members streamlined the undergraduate program to be more efficient,” said School of Nursing Dean and Professor Mary Nies. “There have been transitions in the school of nursing, yes, but they are very good, positive transitions.”
Nies said undergraduate curriculum has been made more available to students by the implementation of hybrid courses. She also said the School of Nursing’s undergraduate program will not be transitioning to an all-online program.
Hybrid courses incorporate both face-to-face interaction with professors, as well as online development utilizing Moodle or Blackboard Collaborate.
Collaborate sessions feature development options such as shared whiteboards, video conferencing capabilities and verbal PowerPoint lectures, allowing for students to obtain course-specific content without the setting of the classroom.
“You could be living in Northern Idaho or other locations and still be participating as one of our students via taking that class in that modality versus having to drive to Pocatello every day,” said Nies.“We are not going to an all-online program. All of our clinical instruction will be face-to-face, in person, but for some students who like this type of learning this is a better way for them.”
A strategic goal for ISU’s School of Nursing is to increase student and faculty engagement in opportunities aimed to improve the health of rural and diverse populations.
In order to accomplish this goal, the School of Nursing must move beyond the spectrum of Pocatello, and other locations with University facilities and hybrid courses provide the means necessary to do so.
Nies said future plans could involve having clinical instruction not only at Pocatello, Idaho Falls and Meridian campuses, but also other locations across the state.
The difference now, as opposed to years before, isn’t the course content being offered in a hybrid module, as this has been the case for some time now. The difference comes more in the time in which these hybrid courses are delivered to students.
“Previously we had hybrid courses but they were not offered until the [students’] senior year,” said Nies. “Now students are getting these courses in their junior year, a year earlier than they were before.”
Any sort of change can be difficult to fully understand or appreciate.
Although moving from traditional teaching methods to more modern, technological forms is new and different from the norm, according to Nies this doesn’t mean the information being relayed is any different than before.
“There are different ways you can teach, but the body of knowledge that needs to be transmitted is the same regardless of how it’s delivered,” said Nies.
Online mediums reportedly allow for more students with work, life or location limitations to obtain the necessary education to be successful in the field, while also preparing them for what to expect after completion of undergraduate programs.
Nies said all of the School of Nursing graduate level programs are only offered via online curriculum.
Some students within the program understand the difficulties associated with implementing change and a new approach to established systems, and that the focus should remain on the future.
“I think that there are some things that need to be worked out but that happens in any type of transition,” said School of Nursing Student Representative Thomas Landon. “I don’t think it has to do with the specifics, I think it has to do with the fact that things are changing and that’s not comfortable for a lot of people.”
No matter the procedure for providing a quality education, whether it’s via online communication or face-to-face interaction, ISU’s School of Nursing is ranked fifth by NurseJournal.org for the Western rankings of America’s best nursing schools for the current year.
