Excellence in Information Technology Solutions 2002 Award Winner

Intercollegiate College of Nursing / Washington State University College of Nursing

Medically Indigent Rural Area (MIRA) Psychiatric Nurse-Practitioner Program

An unusually well-designed and -implemented collaboration between state and higher education organizations and private industry is creating a win-win situation in Washington, where videoconferencing technologies provide access to both medical care and specialized training in far-flung rural areas, and make efficient use of urban-based expertise and educational opportunities. The technology that makes the Medically Indigent Rural Area (MIRA) Psychiatric Nurse-Practitioner Program unique allows for a combination of classroom instruction and clinical supervision. Graduate nursing students in rural areas can attend class remotely, obtain supervised hours required for licensure, and receive a master's level Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner degree without relocating. Further, it provides preceptor expertise for improved patient care, and facilitates ongoing mentoring relationships in a large state with a widely dispersed population, high need for psychiatric care, and limited locations for professional training.

The MIRA project was initially funded by a grant from the Health Resource Services Administration to support Internet protocol (IP) videoconference network for advanced nursing education from the Washington State University (WSU) College of Nursing to rural areas. Building on the statewide Washington Higher Education Telecommunication System, accessibility is enhanced through a cooperative agreement with the WSU Cooperative Extension and WSU Learning Centers, which maintain a wide area network used by rural students. IP units are connected through both point-to-point contacts for one-to-one interactions, and multipoint contacts for group sessions. A gateway, in combination with a cooperative agreement with Inland Northwest Health Services, accesses 89 videoconference sites in hospitals throughout the northwest.

Use of the IP videoconferencing has already increased enrollment in the psychiatric nurse practitioner program by 900 percent, which exceeds the grant target by 118 percent; 70 percent of the students live more than 100 miles from the main campus. The MIRA project is providing solid social value and a model approach for solving problems of access to rural education and service in the health care professions.