What do we know about advanced accelerated degree programs?
Summit Year:
2012 
Linda Honan Pellico is an associate professor in the Yale University School of Nursing and program director of the Graduate Entry Prespecialty in Nursing Program. She has taught in this program since 1989, served as curriculum coordinator, and been a consultant nationally to graduate entry programs in other universities. She obtained her nursing diploma from the Meriden-Wallingford Hospital School of Nursing, a BS in Nursing from Southern Connecticut State University, and her MSN from Yale University School of Nursing as a general surgery Clinical Nurse Specialist. She received her PhD from the University of Connecticut where she studied the experiences of students enrolled in Graduate entry programs. Her research interests are the education of adult learners, creative teaching strategies and narrative inquiry. She is recipient of the Annie W. Goodrich Award from the graduating classes of 1996 and 2005 at Yale University School of Nursing, for Excellence in Teaching, the highest honor a member of the Yale School of Nursing faculty can receive. She was recently honored by the Connecticut Nurses Association with The Josephine S. Dolan Award for Outstanding Contributions to Nursing Education.
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Session Overview:
This session will describe the research findings regarding the process of moving from non-nurse to nurse and then to APRN. The presentation will discuss the dearth of research (27 research studies in 45 years), and the near silent voice of students regarding curricular design. Student outcomes such as NCLEX scores, specialty certification exam, and years in practice will challenge the notion that students are not aligning with the nursing profession. The integrative literature review will be supplemented with current and recent research on this specific population. Specific suggestions will include: challenging the notion of pre-requisites, the adherence to “sacred cows” of nursing education such as “doing a year in hospital nursing,” and the challenge in finding faculty who are a “good fit” for this specific population of students.
Session Objectives:
1. Discuss research findings on the backgrounds of accelerated advanced-practice students.
2. Identify effective EBP (evidence-based practice) teaching-learning strategies for accelerated advanced-practice students.
3. Examine the research basis for advanced-practice accelerated program curricular revision.
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