Psychiatric nursing education at a distance.

Accessibility is a major impediment to nursing education, whether you live in densely populated southern California or rural upstate New York. During the past 10 years, there have been scientific advances, technological breakthroughs, new reimbursement mechanisms and regulatory practices, and shifts in society's priorities. Consequently, the focus of master's programs and the role of graduates has adapted to the needs of the mental health care delivery system. What has not changed much is the way we offer psychiatric nursing education. There is still a strong emphasis on traditional classroom teaching, on campus-based activities and face-to-face supervision. One solution that might increase access to psychiatric nursing programs is to develop educational programs with quality distance education standards and practices as a primary means for educating future psychiatric nurses. Psychiatric nursing faculties need to design creative scenarios and interactive activities to engage students in online learning about psychiatric and mental health nursing. J Am Psychiatr Nurses Assoc, 2008; 14(1), 36-38. DOI: 10.1177/1078390307307451.