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A
unique,
collaboration involving the Intercollegiate College of Nursing/WSU
College of Nursing, WSU Cooperative Extension offices across the
state, and WSU Learning Centers is receiving national acclaim for
its success.
By customizing existing Cooperative Extension technological systems,
these three university entities worked together on the Medically
In need Rural Area (MIRA) project.
MIRA has become a model of technology-based collaboration that allows
graduate nursing students in rural areas to attend class remotely,
obtain supervised hours required for licensure, and receive a master's
level psychiatric nurse practitioner degree without relocating.
MIRA uses an Internet protocol (IP) videoconference network to provide
clinical supervision to students in remote communities. The College
of Nursing campus in Spokane is connected with campuses in Yakima,
Wenatchee, the Tri-Cities, and Vancouver by interactive microwave
technology called the Washington Higher Education Telecommunications
System (WHETS). Core classes are delivered via WHETS and connections
with a public and private teleconferencing system.
Use
of state of the art distance learning and video-conferencing technology
has increased enrollment in the MIRA program by 900 percent. Of
that student pool, 70 percent live more than 100 miles from the
main Spokane campus. To date, students have taken classes through
this collaborative model in Walla Walla, Goldendale, Yakima, Colville,
Wenatchee, and Chelan. Cooperative Extension, the Learning Centers,
and the College of Nursing are considering opening a classroom in
the Okanogan area.
The success of this collaboration was nationally recognized when
MIRA won the prestigious EDUCAUSE Award for Excellence in Information
Technology Solutions. Educause, one of the pre-eminent associations
addressing complex challenges in information technology to support
and advance higher education, gives the award to projects that apply
the potential of information technologies to the scholarship, service,
and management that support the mission of the institution.
Dr. Michael Rice,
College of Nursing
associate professor and MIRA program administrator. |
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A segment of the award reads: "Our committee commends (the MIRA)
project particularly for its effective and innovative use of technology
for high social benefit, and the challenge it presents to other
states."
Dr.
Michael Rice, College of Nursing associate professor and MIRA program
administrator, notes that the program's success would not have been
possible without the supportive efforts of Cooperative Extension
and the Learning Centers.
The effectiveness of the MIRA model continues to impact the health
of the state even after students graduate. Current statistics indicate
that more than 90 percent of its graduates have located in rural
and medically underserved communities in Washington state. Areas
that are being served by graduates include Pasco, Quincy, Longview,
Moses Lake, Chelan, and Wenatchee.
Rice
believes the collaboration seen between the College of Nursing,
Cooperative Extension offices, and the Learning Centers serves as
a model for other states looking to enhance distance learning while
addressing dire social conditions in rural communities. In fact,
the model used by MIRA is now being duplicated at New Mexico State
University in Las Cruces.
"How
far we can go depends only on our vision for health care in rural
areas and how much we collaborate to address these needs," explained
Rice.
Allison
Kratt,
College of Nursing
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