A preliminary evaluation of the first e-learning nurse prescribing course in England

Open Learning has been offered by the University of Winchester since 1991 in a partnership with the publishing company Emap Healthcare. A new on-line module for Independent, Extended and Supplementary Nurse Prescribing was developed by Emap Healthcare to meet a Government initiative to develop the role of nurses. The on-line module was created because of the wide spread national requirement, the need to keep the learning material contemporary and to revise it easily as required. Fourteen students completed the course and this paper reports the preliminary evaluation of the first cohort. Two questionnaires were analysed quantitatively, and qualitatively and both the course management and the e-learning materials evaluations demonstrate the success of thisfirst cohort. Various minor changes to the course management have subsequently been implemented following this analysis.