Applying King’s Conceptual Framework and Theory of Goal of Attainment: Telehealth Content in Nursing Education

Abstract

<p>The purpose of this presentation is to discuss the application of King’s conceptual framework and theory of goal attainment to education of nurses in telehealth. The interacting personal, interpersonal, and social systems are all important concepts to consider in developing telehealth content. Educators need to assure that nursing students understand how these three systems interact to support health outcomes for client especially as technology and the technology choices are vast in numbers. The ways that nurses are interacting with their clients to set and attain mutual goals are increasing through the use of telehealth technologies and are evolving daily. King (2007) states, “the transaction process in the theory will not change, but the ways we communicate and interact have changed because of the multiple technologies available” The perceptions of how nursing care is being delivered by both nurses and clients are changing and having more virtual encounters is becoming increasing acceptable. Communities, health care providers and clients in rural areas are particularly using telehealth technologies to increase access to care to promote health outcomes. However, nursing programs do not always provide a solid foundation in the area of telehealth. This presentation will discuss one nursing school’s effort to strengthen this foundation in telehealth education for nurses at the baccalaureate, masters, and doctorate of nursing practice programs using King’s work to support the infusion as the theoretical underpinning. This school has strong connections to rural communities and health care settings where telehealth is beginning to flourish. Our goal is to prepare graduates at multiple levels that can meet both rural healthcare workforce demands, including use of telehealth technologies. It will also propose the work for our future work in telehealth education and nursing with an emphasis on interprofessional initiatives that may be fostered. </p>