Students' lived experience with interactive television in rural undergraduate nursing education: a phenomenological study.

The purpose of this study was to determine the experiences of nursing students enrolled in an RN/BSN outreach completion program that used interactive television (ITV) as a method of course delivery. A phenomenology design was utilized to determine the experiences of 16 rural nursing students. Giorgi's methods of data analysis were used to assess constituents of meanings of the nontraditional students' responses. Students emphasized the need for support from the main university campus, including complete resources, concise ITV course expectations, an on-site mentor, and ITV instructors who understand rural nursing and care about students. ITV instructors and students require adequate orientation to the system prior to beginning ITV instruction. Further research is indicated to assess the success of other technologies, including computer assisted instruction, teleconferencing, audio conferencing, and outreach students' experiences at other levels of nursing education, such as associate, baccalaureate, and master's degree programs