title: Using a strengths model to build an on-line nursing education program.
abstract: The on-line environment is the new frontier for academia struggling to define its place in the evolving economy. A concern is how to engage students who maximize their on-line experience and graduate in a timely manner. A strengths model was used as the basis for development of an on-line doctoral nursing program. Upon entering the program, students were given a strengths assessment that focused both students and faculty on the positive attributes students were bringing to their doctoral studies. A positive feedback methodology using on-line discussions in each course was used to support the identified strengths. The optimal picture of a successful entering doctoral student appears to be a person whose top five strengths are learner, achiever, input, connectedness and responsibility. A strengths model promotes a positive learning environment and supports a teacher-learner dynamic where faculty members are encouraged to focus on the students' strengths rather than their challenges.
authors.affiliation: Mary Coulter Dowdy Distinguished Nursing Professor, The University of Texas at Tyler, Tyler, TX.
authors.forename: K Lynn
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Wieck
authors.affiliation: Professor, The University of Texas at Tyler, Tyler, TX. Electronic address: dalfred@uttyler.edu.
authors.forename: Danita
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Alfred
authors.affiliation: David Braithwaite Professor in Nursing, The University of Texas at Tyler, Tyler, TX; Associate Dean of Graduate Nursing Programs, The University of Texas at Tyler, Tyler, TX.
authors.forename: Barbara K
authors.initials: BK
authors.lastname: Haas
authors.affiliation: Professor, Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Nursing, Bryan, TX.
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yarbrough
mesh_terms: D004506:Education, Nursing / Q000458:organization & administration*; D017145:Models, Educational; D009862:Online Systems
keywords: Doctoral education; Faculty/student relationship; On-line education; Strengths model