On a recent Saturday morning, nine Rogers High School students interested in nursing careers got a crash course in computer research.
As they sat in front of terminals in the WSU Spokane Nursing building, campus library director Bob Pringle asked each of them to pick a health sciences-related topic to explore. He showed them how to search medical databases to find media articles and studies.
Then he warns them about the rules for using materials they find.
“Has anyone heard the term ‘plagiarism’?” Pringle asked. “If you’re going to use copyrighted material, you have to make sure you give the author’s credit.”
Students nod as they sift through articles on topics such as childbirth and diabetes.
The students are taking this class thanks to a new $894,550, three-year workforce diversity grant from the federal Health Resources Service Administration.
“The purpose is to get more ‘disadvantaged’ students into nursing,” College of Nursing Professor Janet Katz said.
