Making it meaningful: Teaching public health nursing through academic-community partnerships in a baccalaureate curriculum.
Because of the importance, and difficulty, of providing public health clinical experiences for baccalaureate nursing students, a small midwestern school of nursing offered students a three-year assignment to agencies serving vulnerable populations. The program allowed for long-term placement of students, instilling in them an understanding of community health as a prime aspect of nursing care. Students mentored students, which enhanced continuity in the agencies. More than 2,000 community members have been served, and students' responses have been overwhelmingly positive.
Purdue University School of Nursing, West Lafayette, Indiana, USA. vsimpson@purdue.edu
Vicki L
VL
Simpson
D003159:Community-Institutional Relations; D003479:Curriculum; D004508:Education, Nursing, Baccalaureate; D006801:Humans; D008611:Mentors; D015146:Midwestern United States; D011231:Preceptorship / Q000458:organization & administration*; D016730:Program Development; D011637:Public Health Nursing / Q000193:education*; D035862:Vulnerable Populations; D000078329:Workforce