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Integrating Social Media Into an Online Academic Program.
1About the Authors Shelly Smith, DNP, APRN-BC, is a clinical assistant professor and director of the DNP Program, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Nursing, Richmond, Virginia. Holly Buchanan, DNP, APRN-BC, is a clinical assistant professor, Virginia Commonwealth University. The authors acknowledge associate professor Dr. Beth Elias for her contributions as editor for this work. For more information, contact Dr. Smith at sporter@vcu.edu.
This study integrated social media tools like blogging and microblogging into a doctoral nursing program to enhance professional development. Students learned to leverage social media for improved engagement and real-time information sharing in health sciences education.
Area of Science:
- Health Sciences Education
- Nursing Education
- Digital Scholarship
Background:
- Limited research exists on integrating social media into health sciences curricula.
- Networked participatory scholarship theory supports social media use for engagement and dissemination.
- Social media offers potential benefits for professional development in higher education.
Purpose of the Study:
- To describe the integration of social media into a graduate online doctoral nursing program.
- To enhance students' professional use of social media tools.
- To address the gap in literature concerning social media in health sciences education.
Main Methods:
- Integration of blogging and microblogging platforms.
- Implementation of ePortfolio development for showcasing professional skills.
- Focus on graduate-level nursing students in an online doctoral program.
Main Results:
- Demonstrated a model for incorporating social media into health sciences education.
- Provided practical examples of blogging, microblogging, and ePortfolio use.
- Highlighted the potential for increased student engagement and professional networking.
Conclusions:
- Social media can be effectively integrated into health sciences education programs.
- Doctoral nursing students can benefit from structured use of social media for professional growth.
- Further research is needed to explore the long-term impact of social media integration.
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