Management an experimental approach.
An experimental teaching procedure was devised and tested for integrating the nursing process, nursing care plans, the research process and management principals. The integration defined as the problem oriented process (POP) was tested with 16 students over two semesters. The results indicated that the POP was a successful integration that aided the student in "getting it all together." As one of the students put it: This experience will give future students, as it did me, a better understanding of how research is best utilized. The students can use almost all their past learning experiences, bringing it all together in one situation. He (the student) can use his communication skills to detect a problem, his research skills to design planned intervention and evaluation and his interpersonal skills to measure his effectiveness as a change agent. Finally, he can use his nursing skills and knowledge of pathophysiology in a setting most like what he will find upon graduation.