Lessons Learned: A Successful Distance Learning Collaborative between the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense

Military Medicine, May 2005 by Beason, Charlotte F

Conclusions

The VA/DoD Post-Master's Certificate Program for Adult Nurse Practitioners clearly proved the effectiveness of distance learning technology in clinical education. Classes were admitted in 1997, 1999, and 2001, graduating in 1999, 2001, and 2003, respectively. A total of 70 nurses from VA facilities across the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands graduated from the program. An active duty Army nurse graduated with the class of 1999 and a U.S. Public Health Service Nurse graduated in 2003, demonstrating that the program is applicable to others in the federal sector. New students were not admitted in 2003 because the VA's need for nurse practitioners was no longer as acute and because a significant number of nurse practitioner education programs had opened since 1999, providing VA nurses with greater access to accredited programs.

In 2001, the GSN family nurse practitioner program and the VA/DoD distance learning program were reviewed by the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission and received a maximum 8-year term of accreditation, an indicator of program quality. The Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education also reviewed the GSN programs and granted a maximum 10-year term of accreditation. The Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education, however, does not include post-degree certificate programs within its scope.

Students, VA, and the GSN gained a number of benefits from this novel program. VA gained a cost-effective method of securing additional nurse practitioners at a time when local nursing schools had insufficient capacity to admit all qualified applicants. In addition, course content and clinical experiences highlighted conditions unique to the veteran population. Faculty members gained skills through teaching in a prototype distance education program, and teaching aids could be replicated for other academic programs. Students benefited from classes taught at the work site, clinical experiences designed to capitalize on their existing skills, faculty members and preceptors committed to their success, and acquisition of a new skill set. The success of the VA/DoD program led the GSN to implement two additional distance education programs, namely, family nurse practitioner and certified registered nurse anesthesia.

In May 1999, the first distance learning students took part in a final program hallmark, a virtual graduation. The graduation, which took place through live video teleconferencing, was appropriate for a group that had accomplished so many firsts through distance technology. Students were addressed by the Chancellor of Education of the DoD and received congratulatory remarks from VA and USU leaders. The virtual graduation became a distinguishing tradition of the program that allowed the students in each graduating class to share their distance learning experiences and their achievements with those most important to them.

Completing a complex clinical education program via distance education is not an easy task, especially when the students are employed full-time. Perhaps the best summation of the experience comes from those involved.