Evaluative Research in Nursing Education: A Study of the Nursing Program at Ryerson Polytechnical Institute Toronto

Abstract

From the time of the Weir Report in 19321, the idea of nursing programs at the diploma level organized within educational institutions began to take shape. During the Hall Commission inquiry into health services in Canada, many nursing groups strongly recommended that a move be made in this direction. The Registered Nurses Association of Ontario (RNAO) believed that such a program should be established on an experimental basis and that a formal assessment be required within a five-year period. In the early Sixties, the only possible location for a nursing program in a post-secondary institution in Ontario was at Ryerson. At this time, a study was carried out by Dorothy Rowles under the auspices of the RNAO to assess the feasibility of sponsoring a program at the Institute. Miss Rowles' report favored the step and recommended strongly that the nursing program be operated as much as possible within the existing policies and procedures of Ryerson2. The first students were admitted to the course in September, 1964. During this period the RNAO made plans to evaluate the nursing program. Through the evaluation, the RNAO sought answers to two questions: