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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
Faye Hummel, RN, PhD, CTN, School of Nursing, University of Northern Colorado, Gunter 3190, Greeley, CO 80639 and Linda Henry, RN, MA, Division of Public Health Education and Nursing, Weld County Department of Health and Environment, 1555 North 17th Avenue, Greeley, CO 80631, 970-304-6420, faye.hummel@unco.edu.
Many nurses lack public health nursing skills. Educational opportunities are often not available while students are in nursing school. Health departments can provide educational opportunities for nursing students.
An innovative collaborative partnership was established between the director of nursing at a local health department and the public health educator at a school of nursing was established. The goals were to: 1) create an active role for nursing students; 2) ensure educational student assignments match the needs of the health department; 3) develop future staff recruitment. Student nurses and health department nurses are paired to implement the activities of a project. Evaluative measure reflected positive outcomes for the Public Health Nursing staff, the local health department as well as the nursing students and the school of nursing. More specific outcomes and activities of this partnership will be discussed.
As the health care system strives to adapt to the nursing shortage and program reductions, it become imperative that we as nursing professionals explore creative solutions that not only enhance nursing students’ learning outcomes but also contribute to enhancing programs in which they learn. Service and education work together today to cultivate future public health nurses of tomorrow.
Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant in this session will be able to
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.