Electronic communication to promote consensus-building skills: an innovative teaching strategy

EMail and a local BBS were used as vehicles to promote consensus-building skills of doctoral nursing students. The strategy was implemented into a course that dealt with knowledge-structuring by incorporating content on the use of information along with a synthesizing process. During the last class an evaluative survey was administered, focusing on the students' satisfaction regarding the goals of the assignment, the instructions, and the electronic format. The majority of positive comments support continued use of EMail and a BBS to strengthen consensus-building skills. Based on survey feedback, increased time to learn the computer aspect of the assignment will need to be considered for classes in the future. Electronic technology should be incorporated as a teaching strategy in graduate curricula. Only then will tomorrow's nurse educators be prepared to assume a leadership role in managing information in health care and academic settings.