Wolfsong Informatics(TM) proposes a coupled development-research model to evaluate the efficacy of Nurses' Station, a nursing informatics educational courseware. Nurses' Station was designed to improve undergraduate nursing students' abilities in and dispositions for accessing and using health informatics systems to support evidence-based practice. The Phase I project we propose has the goal of demonstrating the feasibility and power of using a research-driven strategy for educational software development. We empirically derive courseware to improve nursing students' habits of mind and habits of practice with health informatics systems. The basic framework of Nurses' Station is a set of patient simulations nested within a virtual hospital. Students can work with patients and access informatics systems within the hospital setting. Our development group relies on complementary expertise and realistic testbeds for evaluating the software. Northern Arizona University is working with us, providing faculty expertise and classroom testing arenas. The Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) will provide support in the area of health informatics. The final outcome of the Phase I research will be a prototype for a CD-ROM educational software. We feel this prototype can be developed into a commercial product that will benefit nursing students in BSN, Associates Degree, and Diploma School nursing programs.
Nurses' Station is designed as an educational courseware. Its commercial form will be delivered on a single CD-ROM coupled to a companion website. Markets include: (1) undergraduate prenursing and nursing students; (2) military healthcare personnel; and (3) hospital training programs for new hires (RNs, LPNs, and CNAs).
