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ABSTRACT
One proposed solution to educating more nurses to decrease and eventually eliminate the nursing shortage is distance education. But what are nursing students' experiences with distance education? Answering this question can assist in the development of effective teaching and learning strategies to provide for the development of quality distance education programs. This article provides an integrative review of the nursing literature to ascertain the student perspective of distance education. A review of nursing literature was completed using a number of databases and specific criteria to locate research studies specific to this topic. The studies were analyzed for validity and reliability, and limitations were mentioned. Student perceptions garnered from the research studies analyzed are summarized with the acronym DISTANCE ED. Implications, recommendations, and needs for future research are discussed. A supplementary review of the literature is used to augment the findings.
In this age of technology, the nursing profession is facing a shortage like it has never experienced in the past. The nursing shortage is expected to escalate as society ages and the demand for quality health care intensifies. It is estimated that more than 1.2 million new and replacement nurses will be needed by 2014. Although 55% of surveyed nurses reported their intention to retire between 2001 and 2020, U.S. hospitals need approximately 118,000 RNs to fill vacant positions nationwide. This translates into an RN vacancy rate of 8.5%. To meet the projected growth in demand for RN services, the United States must graduate approximately 90% more nurses from U.S. nursing programs (American Association of Colleges of Nursing [AACN], 2007b). Compounding the problem are university budget constraints, an aging faculty, and increasing job competition from the private sector. This has contributed to a shortage of faculty in schools of nursing, making it difficult to expand enrollment levels and educate the nurses needed to meet the growing demand (AACN, 2007a).
Distance education is one proposed solution to educating more nurses to decrease and eventually eliminate the nursing shortage. Distance education is "a set of teaching and learning strategies for connecting people who have learning needs with the resources required to meet those needs" (Pym, 1992, p. 384). In distance education, teachers and learners are separated from each other and technology is used to relay...