An external mentor program: stimulus for faculty research development.

This article describes a faculty development model to stimulate rapid growth in research and scholarship in a school of nursing during an institution-wide initiative to strengthen the research stature of the university. The program was designed to establish targeted mentoring relationships with productive researchers from institutions outside the home institution to assist faculty with research program development. The external mentor program is described along with the methods of implementation and outcomes after 2.5 years. The success of this program has led to adoption of the model by other schools in the university.

Exploring the meaning of "underserved:" a call to action.

This article explores the definition of health care in America in relation to the distribution of healthcare services. The concept of "underserved" is discussed within the context of a system that lacks a clear standard of full and comprehensive services. The author offers the argument that most Americans are "underserved" for health care, particularly for nursing care, and proposes a challenge to the limited definition of health care as "medical care."

A model for clinical learning experiences in integrated health care networks.

Clinical learning experiences in nursing education are an essential part of the curriculum. In the changing health care environment, there is a need to evaluate the organization of these experiences. In this article, a model for clinical learning experiences in integrated health care networks is presented. A new approach to clinical instruction is proposed in which students move into integrated health care networks for their entire clinical learning experience (vertical pathway), guided by a clinical teaching team of faculty and clinical experts from the network. The focus of student learning is nurse case management and the provision of coordinated care as individuals and families move into and out of organizations within the network. A horizontal curricular pathway establishes opportunities for students to study the dynamics of multiple networks and their relationship to the broader community.

Books on health policy and health reform: how is nursing represented?

The recent national debate on health care reform stimulated publication of a large number of books on the topic. A selected review of books published during the height of the health reform debate (1993 and 1994) is reported in this article. A total of 35 books written by authors from 13 different disciplinary perspectives were reviewed to determine how the nursing profession was represented in discussions of health system reform. The books were categorized according to title, author affiliation, purpose of the book, and the number and category of references to nursing. Seven categories of reference to nursing emerged from the analysis. Approximately on half of the books contained no references to nursing, 39 per cent had less than 10 references to nursing, and only four books had more than 10 references to nursing. The books with the greatest number of references were further analyzed and compared regarding thematic presentation of reform issues. A discussion of the importance of documentation of nursing in the health policy process, along with recommendations for improved dissemination of nursing perspectives for a redesigned health care system, is included.

Public education programs in the nursing curriculum.

The author describes the integration of a structured public education program of the American Cancer Society with didactic and clinical experiences in the nursing curriculum. Sixty-five nursing students and their clinical instructors were trained as public education speakers for the breast health program. This experience integrated concepts of public education, community health, health behavior, professional role development, and community volunteerism, and served as an excellent learning opportunity for undergraduate nursing students.

Peer interviewing: a student health survey on an urban campus.

To gain information about university students' health concerns and awareness of campus health center services, the author used peer interviewing as a method particularly suited to an urban campus. Sixty volunteers fanned out across campus to interview fellow students in the midst of their normal activities in an effort to reach a broad cross-section of the campus population. The volunteers conducted almost 600 interviews with peers at a sample of campus locations. In addition to reporting the findings from the study, the author describes peer interviewing and factors associated with recruiting volunteers. Periodic peer interviews conducted at multiple locations on campus are proposed as a reasonable way to obtain ongoing health assessment data on an urban campus.

The selection of clinical learning experiences in the nursing curriculum.

This article presents a model for the selection of clinical learning experiences in nursing curricula. Three groups of factors are proposed as affecting the decision making process. These are the nature of nursing, health needs of populations, and nature of the educational environment. The authors urge a systematic approach to the identification and selection of clinical learning experiences.