foster educational excellence among new faculty and knowl-

edge of the culture of nursing education as well as that of the

university at large. In addition, the distance satellite campuses

exist from the main campus and necessitate a more concerted

effort to ensure that all faculty are properly oriented in the

bmechanicsQ of an academic position and are fully supported

in their role of faculty in a nursing program. Since 2000

NGCSU Department of Nursing has expanded its faculty

workforce from 15–30, both full time and part time. In the fall

of 2003, the department initiated a comprehensive faculty

orientation/mentoring program, including a manual and

activities specifically designed to enhance the work experi-

ences of new faculty. The purpose of this presentation will

outline the process whereby the Department of Nursing at

NGCSU developed the mentoring program and its successes

this academic year. The challenges encountered throughout

the process will also be discussed, along with examples of the

documents discussed. The process was developed to ease

faculty into that role without muttering along the way!

doi:10.1016/j.teln.2006.02.007

Desperate measures in desperate times for today’snursing education: mentoring new and experiencedfaculty how to teachJanet Tompkins McMahon MSN, RN (Associate Professor)

Pennsylvania College of Technology, Williamsport, PA, USA

Nursing faculty today are facing many difficult issues which

are requiring rapid solutions. This being the case may be

deemed as problematic from a national view. The nursing

educator’s shortage has prompted the hiring of many new,

inexperienced part-time faculty and even unprepared faculty

with advanced degrees in solving the shortage for nursing

education. Who is mentoring this new faculty?

The nursing student profile requires different measures in

teaching. Traditional methods are now outdated. How are

we dealing with these concerning issues? What are the risks

we are facing with our nursing students both didactically

and clinically? Will they be prepared for the NCLEX and be

the safe effective care agent for the future population of

client care? Are the desperate measures a benefit or a risk to

our educational outcomes? Perhaps awareness will assist us

in improving and making choices for improving the

standards of practice today in the institutions we teach.

doi:10.1016/j.teln.2006.02.008

From nurse preceptor to clinical teaching associateBonnie Pope MSN, RN (Director)

Phyllis Horton MSN, RN (Lead Instructor)

Forsyth TechnicalCommunityCollege,Winston-Salem,NC,USA

This is a collaborative project involving two major

medical centers, two schools of nursing, and the Northwest

Area Health Education Center (NW AHEC) in Winston-

Salem, NC.

In 2002, the American Association of Colleges of

Nursing published a report describing a critical problem:

Nursing schools were declining as many as 5,283 qualified

applicants in nursing programs because there were not

enough available faculty.

To combat the faculty shortage in Winston-Salem, NC,

the task force members from the institutions listed above

shared a common vision. That vision was to move forward

with the development of a course that would formally

educate nursing staff to become adjunct clinical faculty

known as Clinical Teaching Associates (CTAs).

Thirty-two nurses have completed the CTA course which

has resulted in the potential for these schools of nursing to

significantly increase student enrollment.

Development of this course is an excellent example of

the synergy that results when leaders from competing,

state-of-the-art healthcare institutions and nursing programs

collaborate to ultimately improve patient care. All four

institutions of higher learning and health care have

innovative leaders who approached crises such as the

nursing shortage as an exciting and challenging opportu-

nity to reshape the role of both staff nurses and clinical

nursing faculty.

doi:10.1016/j.teln.2006.02.009

Leading nursing students to content masteryHeather Payne MSN, RN (Counselor)

Mary Lou Whitten MSN, RN (Director)

Kaskaskia College, Centralia, IL, USA

Sarah is unsuccessful on one major cardiovascular nursing

exam in her cardiovascular/respiratory nursing class, but

overall scores are high enough on the remaining exams to

receive a passing grade in the course. Is the cardiovas-

cular information on the first exam unnecessary? What if

cardiovascular questions appear on the NCLEX exam?

What if, as a graduate associate degree nurse, Sarah is to

care for a cardiovascular patient? In an effort to address

these concerns and prepare competent associate degree

nursing graduates for the nursing profession, the Kaskas-

kia College Associate Degree Nursing Program has

implemented a retesting and tutoring program through

the position of the Will Increase Nursing Success (WINS)

Counselor. Based on a European model, nursing students

must master the information of one content area before

being allowed to proceed to another subject matter.

Retesting coupled with tutoring has significantly de-

creased attrition in Kaskaskia College’s nursing program

Abstracts28