Careers & Training


a director,” Keen said. “They bring competencies they’ve already developed. They’d probably be able to move through a course and their assessments much faster than someone who hasn’t had any nursing administration experience.”


What’s an online degree program like? | The details differ for each school, but online and classroom courses share similarities because core competencies are the same for both venues. Most online programs are


asynchronous, meaning that students progress through the week’s material at their own pace. They don’t meet at scheduled times to watch lectures together or participate in discussions, that doesn’t mean discussions don’t happen. Discussion boards are an important


component of online classrooms and can be an advantage for students who would be hesitant to speak up in an actual classroom. The online forum provides a more controlled environment for debate and inquiry. Students are expected to contribute thought-out comments at certain


number of times each week. Teachers join discussions and monitor them closely. Ihrke compared nonparticipation to skipping class or trying to remain anonymous in the back row of the classroom. “If they’re not responding on the


discussion board, it’s pretty obvious,” Ihrke said. “If they’re not responding, they’re counted absent — and [at IWU] they can only be absent from one class in a five-week session. If they’re not posting, someone’s out there saying ‘What’s going on? How do we need to help you?’ ” Schools with online programs work


hard to ensure that students can access the support they need, including faculty and advisers, who make a point to be easily accessible by email. “Unlike a traditional university


where students might go in and attend a four-hour class one day a week, they have much more access to their faculty members,” said Gina Drake, MSN, RN, director of academic affairs and chair of health care programs for the University of Phoenix. “Questions get answered in a timely manner because faculty are in the classroom and looking,” she said. In addition to the RN to BSN and RN


to MSN online degree programs, Phoenix offers an online PhD in nursing.


What about clinicals? | Because students are registered nurses, they completed most of the clinical work during their previous schooling. The community health clinical requirement usually is all that remains. Each school arranges clinicals


differently. Some partners with facilities, where students are placed for clinicals and skill labs. At others, students arrange their own clinicals with help from their advisers, who review the proposed facility and monitor students’ progress. The University of Phoenix has a virtual


clinical environment that allows students to complete required hours by working through scenarios online. “We have state-of-the-art simulation


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labs that students can use if they choose to,” Drake said. “We also have a virtual health care organization that is actually a hospital [students can use] when they are enrolled in a course that has clinical requirement. They click on the link to that organization and they can do assignments that relate to that clinical through a virtual organization.” ●


BE PART OF SOMETHING GREAT.


At the Indiana Orthopaedic Hospital, our nurses deliver extraordinary patient-focused care and receive exceptional rewards for doing so. If you are a nurse looking to be challenged, rewarded and recognized for the exceptional care you deliver everyday, then it’s time you make the move to the Indiana Orthopaedic Hospital.


Check out the opportunities waiting for you at


OrthoIndy.com and be a part of something great!


Equal Opportunity Employer IS-5875230 Indiana Nursing Quarterly • indystar.com/nursing • Fall 2011 17


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