Technology Mediated Teaching Strategies in Nursing Education for Veterans Care Name of Primary Presenter and Credentials :

Overview: Incorporating veterans’ health into nursing education is a critical issue facing professional nursing education programs at undergraduate and graduate levels. According the U.S. Census Bureau (2011) there are 21.8 million military veterans in the United States. Knowledge of the military culture, the different wars and conflicts, and the unique health issues endured by veterans are emerging as key areas for nursing education. As more nursing organizations and institutions pledge their support for the Joining Forces initiative, providing education for nursing students in the care of service members, veterans, and their families will be necessary. Purpose: To meet this need, the process of developing of an online nursing course that addresses the unique health and wellness issues of veterans and military families will be presented. How the course implements best practices in online teaching and learning will be demonstrated through a design based on the Quality MattersTM rubric for higher education. In contrast to most nursing courses, there is a dearth of peer-reviewed textbook materials targeted to veterans’ care. Therefore, strategies are needed to create a quality nursing course around available material. These include, linking Web pages from the Veterans Administration (VA), Medline, National Resource Directory, and National Libraries of Medicine, as course materials. Resources from the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) Enhancing Veterans’ Care Tool Kit and access to research articles about veterans’ health issues are incorporated into the course, as well. The use of the Internet in the learning process is another strategy for students to seek information about wars and conflicts, military service and culture, the impact of combat trauma, and programs that help the homeless veterans. Presentation objectives: Through an interactive session, conference attendees will be engaged in actives that will allow them to:  Identify student learning outcomes that address veterans’ care in nursing courses.  Determine methods to find research evidence about veterans’ care.  Incorporate innovative teaching strategies that use materials from the Veterans Administration and educational resources from the AACN Veterans’ Care Took Kit.  Understand the use of technology in nursing education to develop a course in veterans care is in keeping with nursing education’s the pledge in Joining Forces. Evaluation and Implications for Nursing Education: Student learning outcomes to use for course evaluations will be discussed, as well as strategies for ongoing student feedback in the veterans’ course. Comments and responses from the conference audience will be solicited throughout the presentation in order to create a forum that will assure nursing’s capabilities for future education and practice in care of the veteran. A Journey Toward Advocacy Name of Primary Presenter and Credentials: Julie Baldwin, MSN, RN-BC, CNE Affiliation/Organization: Missouri Western State University City, State: St. Joseph, Missouri The ANA Scope and Standards of Practice (2012), describes advocacy as a fundamental aspect of nursing practice. According to Tomajan (2012), nurses readily embrace the role of advocacy for patients. However, they may not consistently consider the role of advocacy in relationship to the nursing profession. Nursing faculty noted our students are provided with many opportunities to explore patient advocacy. However, they may be limited in their knowledge of advocacy for the profession. Advocacy activities can be promoted through involvement in professional organizations and active involvement in the legislative processes. We provided our students the opportunity to participate in an advocacy event. In February, 2013, 40 BSN students and four faculty members of a Midwestern University traveled to the State Capitol for nurse advocacy day sponsored by the Missouri Nurses Association. A survey will be administered to assess student awareness of advocacy for the profession through the legislative process. The survey will compare students who attended the event to those that did not. A Lesson from Dorothy and her Friends: The Value of the Collaborative Testing Journey Title of Abstract Name of Primary Presenter and Credentials: Paula Kerler Baumann, PhD, MBA, RN, CNE Affiliation/Organization: Indiana University East City, State: Richmond, IN 47374