Professional socialization of baccalaureate nursing students: can students in distance nursing programs become socialized?

Distance education programs may have difficulty socializing nursing students due to limited face-to-face student-faculty interaction. Socialized attitudes toward the nursing profession were assessed using two measures with three groups--senior BSN students enrolled at campus-based programs, senior BSN students enrolled in distance programs, and non-nursing students. The purpose of this analysis was to determine whether nursing students enrolled in distance programs had professional socialization outcomes comparable to nursing students enrolled in campus-based programs, and to examine the psychometric properties of two popular measures of professional socialization. Results indicated that students in the distance programs had higher scores than the campus-based nursing students, who, in turn, had higher scores than non-nursing students. A statistical interaction of RN status by program type indicated that health care experience was a critical factor in the socialization process. Of the two socialization measures examined, one had acceptable psychometric properties. These data suggest that health care and preceptorship experiences are important determinants of professional socialization and that students who opt for distance nursing programs graduate with socialization outcomes that are at least comparable to those of students who attend traditional programs.

Nursing informatics needs assessment. Are distance programs needed?

Nursing informatics is a small but growing specialty area in nursing. The authors describe the results of a needs assessment designed to determine interest in a distance-based master's degree and certificate program in nursing informatics. Information was also collected on computer and Internet proficiency for a large sample of BSN graduates. Results suggest that there is an interest in informatics, although somewhat less than was found previously. Respondents indicated that a knowledge of nursing informatics could provide additional career opportunities and that there was a general lack of programs available.