Creating new futures in nursing education: envisioning the evolution of e-nursing education

This article discusses the explosion of technology and its impact on nursing education in the face of a nurse educator shortage. An attempt is made to answer the following questions:What incremental changes in technology do we have now? How do we envision technology being used in the future? Four scenarios of nontraditional approaches to nursing education are presented. They touch on the delivery of education with increased technology and universal access; the teacher as educator/mentor/coach; the product, including testing, outcomes, competencies, and process; and attracting and keeping human attention. The final section focuses on issues to consider as nurse leaders and educators bring nursing education into the future.