DEVELOPING HEALTH SCIENCES
DISTANCE EDUCATION:
INNOVATION AND EVOLUTION
USDLA Annual Conference
St. Louis, MO
May 4, 2010
Distance Education;
Nursing
Occupational Therapy
Pharmacy
Physical Therapy
CONTRIBUTORS
• Naser Z. Alsharif, PharmD, PhD – Associate Director,
Pharmacy Distance Pathway (2001-2006); Associate
Professor, Department of Pharmacy Sciences, School of
Pharmacy and Health Professions (SPAHP)
• Caroline Goulet, PT, PhD – Director, Transitional DPT
Program; Associate Professor, Department of Physical
Therapy, (SPAHP)
• Al Bracciano, OTR/L, EdD – Director, Distance Pathway
OTD Program; Associate Professor, Department of
Occupational Therapy, (SPAHP)
• Dianne Travers Gustafson, RN, PhD - Associate Professor,
Doctor of Nursing Practice Program, School of Nursing
OBJECTIVES
By the end of this session, participant will be able to:
• Compare & contrast the experience in
distance education of four health profession
programs with emphasis on:
– innovative, efficient and sustainable practices
and strategies
• Discuss challenges and lessons learned
• Share own experiences
TIMELINE FOR CREIGHTON
UNIVERSITY DISTANCE PROGRAMS
Discipline
Year Description
Pharmacy
1995
Physical Therapy (PT)
1999
Pharmacy
2001
Nursing
2009
Occupational Therapy 2009
(OT)
Non-traditional
PharmD
Post Professional
Doctor of PT (DPT)
Entry Level Doctor of
Pharmacy (PharmD)
Post Professional DNP
Entry level Doctor of
OT (OTD)
INTRODUCTION
• Distance education programs on the rise across
the country and globally
• The new frontier in the health sciences
education
• There are common and different issues among
health sciences programs when venturing into
distance education
PHARMACY
& PHYSICAL
THERAPY
• INFRASTRUCTURE
• CURRICULUM
• ASSESSMENT
• SUSTAINABILITY
INFRASTRUCTURE
ITEM
DESCRIPTION
APPROVAL
PROCESS
Vote by the faculty.
STAFF
Director, associate director, administrative
assistant, educational mentors, new faculty,
existing faculty, academic advisors, New Director
of Experiential Experience (DEE).
ADVERTISING
Distribution lists, national conferences, word of
mouth, community of learners.
Office of faculty development and assessment,
Office of Academic and Student Affairs, Office of
eLearning and Technology
Testing & proctors, Intellectual property, transfer
from campus to distance pathway and vice versa.
OFFICES
POLICIES &
GUIDELINES
CURRICULUM
ITEM
DESCRIPTION
PEDAGOGY
Educational outcomes based on American
Council on Pharmacy Education, Center for
Advancement of Pharmacy education, APTA
PARITY BETWEEN
Courses should have the same objectives,
CAMPUS & DISTANCE meet the same educational outcomes and
PATHWAY
have the same course evaluation
PLATFORM
Blackboard®, FrontPage®, BlueLine®
SYNCHRONOUS VS.
ASYNCHRONOUS
LAB COMPONENT
Synchronous (Start and end of semester,
course content, evaluations); Asynchronous
2 week on campus, 3 days, use of
technology, simulations.
EXPERIENTIAL
EXPERIENCE
Student responsible for finding sites in
coordination with the DEE.
ASSESSMENT
ITEM
DESCRIPTION
PROGRAMMATIC
Focus groups, Board examination, Pre-NABLEX
Examination, Capstone courses, graduate
surveys, preceptor evaluations and alumni
surveys
Proctored on-line examinations, lab and
experiential examinations, course feedback,
papers, reflections, discussions
Visits from respective accreditation bodies
COURSE
ACCREDITATION
PATHWAY
CQI, Benchmarks (e.g. Institutional support,
course development, student support, faculty
support, teaching and learning, course
structure).
SUSTAINABILITY
ITEM
DESCRIPTION
RESOURCES
Same support offices for campus and distance
RETENTION
Student attrition ratio <2%, faculty and staff
retention very high
Attracts highly qualified students
ADMISSION
CRITERIA
INTEREST
TRACK RECORD
Meets a great demand (e.g. students who are
location bound, students who enjoy/excel in
distance education)
A successful track record/student outcomes
SUPPORT SYSTEM Financial support of both the school and
university
OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY
ENTRY-LEVEL OTD
• Infrastructure-development
• 2007 AHEC Report
• External stakeholders-AHEC, UAA, AK OT
Assoc., Legislators
• “Perfect Storm” of health professions
shortages
• Consultation btw CU/UAA
• Needs assessment by UAA
INFRASTRUCTURE
DEVELOPMENT
• Support of
internal/external
stakeholders
• Decision to partner
with CU
• “Satellite Program”
• Internal/external
approval by
regulatory bodies
INFRASTRUCTURE
ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE
• Entry-level clinical doctorate
• “Modified hybrid program”
• Echo® capture of on-campus lectures
• UAA ‘on-campus’ labs
• On-campus cohorts, maximum of 10 UAA,
distance cohorts
• CU hire of 8 AK Adjunct Faculty to teach labs oncampus
INFRASTRUCTURE
UAA IN-KIND CONTRIBUTIONS
• UAA $30,000 start-up
costs
• Equipment, materials,
assessments
• Space (lab/lecture)
• UAA Distance Testing
Center
• Anchorage clinical sites
• OT Liaison to interface
with CU .5 FTE
• Associate Dean (OT) .25
time to OT
INFRASTRUCTURE
CU CONTRIBUTION
• Program Director
• .5 FTE administrative
assistant
• 1 FTE technology
support
• Fieldwork
Coordinator
• 8 adjunct faculty lab
instructors
• FT faculty- IOR of
course
• IOR responsible for
working with AK lab
instructors
• Administrative
assistant responsible
for on-campus testing
• Additional/new faculty
Dr. Chris Bradberry
Dean, Creighton University School of Pharmacy and Allied Health Professions
Dr. Cheryl Easly
Dean, University of Alaska Anchorage College of Health and Social
Welfare
Dr. Keli Mu
Interim Chair, Department of Occupational Therapy
Dr. Susan Kaplan
Academic Associate Dean, College of Health and Social Welfare
Dr. Amy Matthews
Vice Chair, Department of Occupational
Therapy
Dr. Alfred Bracciano
Program Coordinator, Entry-level Occupational Therapy Distance Program –
Creighton University at University of Alaska Anchorage
Diana Steer,
Liaison, Entry-level
Occupational
Therapy Distance
Program –
Creighton
University at
University of Alaska
Anchorage
Adjunct Faculty
Kate Young,
Program Coordinator
Assistant, Entry-level
Occupational Therapy
Distance Program –
Creighton University at
University of Alaska
Anchorage
Dr. Lou Jensen,
Academic Clinical
Education Coordinator,
Entry-level
Occupational Therapy
Distance Program –
Creighton University at
University of Alaska
Anchorage
OTD Students
Bette Poutre,
Instructional Designer,
Entry-level Occupational
Therapy Distance Program
– Creighton University at
University of Alaska
Anchorage
Organizational Chart
Creighton University
Entry-level Distance Pathway
CURRICULUM
Pedagogy
• FT Program
• ACOTE Standards
• Transition to:
• distance-based format
• electronic testing
• distance labs and adjunct
instructors
• One-time financial incentive
CURRICULUM
• Forced revision of curriculum
• Pedagogy-focus & emphasis
• Parity between campus and
distance students
• Uniform management
learning system-ANGEL
• Lecture content delivery:
asynchronous
• Lab components-on UAA
campus
CURRICULUM
• Orientation/Welcome
Week on UAA Campus
• Use of technology
• Lab & Lecture
• Experiential learning parity
• Testing on-line
• “Letting go”
• Working collegially
CURRICULUM:
Clinical Education Guidelines
• Clinical experiences
in Alaska
• Outside of state if
comparable facility
does not exist in-state
• Fieldwork database
includes over 240
contracts nationally
• Over 30 sites in state
ASSESSMENT
• Assessment (ACOTE)
• Programmatic-formative/summative
• Course-IOR & IDEA plus lab
• UAA Program Director & Fieldwork Coordinator
• Labs: IDEA (adjunct faculty)
– campus & AK labs
• Mid-semester BlueQ Survey: students, faculty
• Proctored, secured student testing
• Accreditation visit (ACOTE) Fall 2010
SUSTAINABILITY
• Program Level & University level
– 3 yr pilot program
• Resources-additional faculty, support staff,
adjunct
• Student Attrition-1 student each class
• Faculty attrition-stable
• Staff attrition-stable
• ACOTE Accreditation-Fall 2010
SUSTAINABILITY
• Candidate pool & admissions strong
• 10 scholarships available each year through
FY2016 from the Alaska DHSS/OCS/Infant
Learning Program
• Interest from students in lower 48
NURSING EDUCATION AT A
DISTANCE
• Approaching the unfamiliar – cultural
change
• Adapting “care” and “touch” across
distances
• Advancing practice to meet professional
and societal needs
INFRASTRUCTURE
• Sequential approval process
• Advisors and faculty as educational mentors
• Faculty outsourcing
• Advertising and rolling admission
• Policies & Guidelines (e.g. intellectual
property, confidentiality, clinical practica)
• Initial on-campus orientation
CURRICULUM
• Educational and Practice Outcomes based on
– AACN Guidelines
– CCNE Accreditation
– Multiple Specialty Certification Standards
• Blueline: Angel Learning Management System
• Parity between campus and distance students
• Practice and procedures: on campus check-out
• Licensed health care practitioners
ASSESSMENT
• Program Evaluation Committee
– Preceptor and Faculty Evaluation
– Student, Graduate, and Alumni Evaluations
• Technology Committee: technology applications
• Course: both process and outcome assessment
– Proctored online exams
– Experiential examinations
• CQI/Quality benchmarks
– QAOL framework
SUSTAINABILITY
• RN to BSN program experience
• Program Level & University level
– Resource and faculty commitment
– Technology
• Infrastructure and service
• Literacy and accessibility
– Cost effective and “Green” operation
SUMMARY
ALL FOUR PROGRAMS
INFRASTRUCTURE SUMMARY
• All established by faculty vote
• Very similar infrastructure for all programs
• Advertising done by individual programs without
external agencies
• Policies for testing, proctors, intellectual
property are common to all programs
CURRICULUM SUMMARY
• All programs are outcome based
• Parity in performance and learning is essential
• A required on-campus/on-site experience is very
beneficial
• SIMPLIFY/STANDARDIZE your learning
management system
• Synchronous experience for entry-level
ASSESSMENT SUMMARY
• A dynamic programmatic, course and pathway
assessment is a must
• Pharmacy as a discipline required more
proctored examinations, while papers,
discussion and reflections are more
predominant in the other disciplines
• Quality Assurance Benchmarks are a must
SUSTAINABILITY SUMMARY
• Needs assessment and identify target students
• Explore other markets
• Minimize duplication in infrastructure
• Explore how technology can help with a greener
workplace
LESSONS LEARNED
• Establish a track record in distance education
• Inform all stakeholders
• Develop an in-house infrastructure with an
office, director (process champion) and
administrative assistance.
• Establish an appropriate admission criteria for
distance students
• Assess performance and Learning parity at the
course and pathway level
LESSONS LEARNED
• Regularly document student outcomes
• Establish a well tested process to introduce
new technology
• Encourage and reward SoTL
• Share your experience locally, nationally and
internationally
• Reward faculty and staff contribution
• Student, staff and faculty support is a must
CHALLENGES
• Upfront costs
• Buy-in by faculty
• Faculty and staff retention
• Recruitment of qualified students
• Updating technology
• Technology dependability
CHALLENGES
• Simulating hands on experiences
• Faculty buy-in & shift in teaching style (need to
change)
• Compartmentalizing lecture & lab
• Ownership and copyrights of materials
• Inculcating institutional & professional values
• Support and training of adjunct faculty
SUMMARY
• Distance education has been a rewarding experience
for the SPAHP with increased recognition
• Distance education has been a rewarding professional
and academic experience for many of our faculty
• Health care professionals can be engaged and
professionalized at a distance
THANK YOU! QUESTIONS!
• Naser Z. Alsharif, PharmD, PhD – (nalshari@creighton.edu )
• Caroline Goulet, PT, PhD – (cgoulet@creighton.edu)
• Al Bracciano, OTR/L, EdD – (alfredbracciano@creighton.edu)
• Dianne Travers Gustafson, RN, PhD –
(dtravers@creighton.edu)