RESOURCES AS THE DETERMINANT OF POWER DIFFERENCES BETWEEN SCHOOLS OF MEDICINE AND SCHOOLS OF NURSING IN INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION.
Contributors: Claremont Graduate School.
Published: 1988
Number of pages: 127
Subjects: Education, Higher.
Description: It is known that Schools of Medicine are more powerful than Schools of Nursing. After defining power as the availability of resources to affect outcomes, this study was designed to identify which departmental resources differentiate between Schools of Medicine and Schools of Nursing. Measurability and availability of information were the criteria used to arbitrarily select twelve resources for investigation. These institutional resources related to students, faculty, and budget were analyzed using discriminant analysis to determine which resources would predict the known power difference between two university departments. The research also sought to identify which of the resources would predict a department's Gourman rating, based on an independent, evaluation organization--The Gourman Report.

The university departments selected for the study were 80 matched-pairs (N = 160) of professional Schools of Medicine and Nursing. The universities were a mix of public (71%) and private (29%) schools. The Deans of the matched professional schools were mailed a questionnaire seeking information on the student, faculty, and budgetary resources of the department. Responses to the questionnaires were received from 38 Schools of Nursing (48%) and 12 Schools of Medicine (15%). Additional data on selected resources was obtained through two national health professional organizations providing an analysis sample of 65 Schools of Nursing (81%) and 80 Schools of Medicine (100%). Missing data hampered full analysis of the results.

The results indicated that three of the twelve resources significantly differentiated between the Schools of Nursing and Medicine. These were student-faculty ratio, percentage of admits to the departments, and the percentage of male students. Three resources significantly predicted a School of Nursing's rating on the Gourman Report: The number of endowed chairs, the percentage of faculty on key committees, and the percentage of admits. Three variables appeared to have a significant relationship between the Schools of Medicine and the Gourman ratings. These were the percentage of admits, the percentage of male students and the total percentage of students in the department.

The resources utilized in this research partially predicted the power differences between Schools of Medicine and Nursing. Resources were capable of measuring power between departments and universities.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 49-11, Section: A, page: 3281.

Thesis (PH.D.)--THE CLAREMONT GRADUATE SCHOOL, 1988.

School code: 0047.