The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA

Abstract #44139

Joanne T Richard, ARNP, PhD¹, Carole Robinson, RN, MPH², and Erin Poe Ferranti, MSN, MPH². (1) College of Nursing, University of Florida, P.O. Box 100187, Gainesville, FL 32610, 352-846-0654, joanner@nursing.ufl.edu, (2) Division of Public Health, Georgia Department of Human Services, 2 Peachtree Street, NW Suite 15-450, Atlanta, GA 30303-3109

Public health nurses need a broad range of population based skills to be prepared to meet the trend toward public health playing a stronger role in relation to population health. Public health nursing practice in Georgia is predominately clinic based. The bulk of public health nursing resources are directed toward providing personal/clinical preventative services. To prepare the public health nursing workforce for this change public health nursing leaders and nurse educators from throughout Georgia began a collaborative partnership to expand the knowledge base and skills of the public health nursing workforce. Summits provided the opportunity for district leaders and educators to dialog and plan. Public health nurses were surveyed to determine their level of interest and preferences relative to a course on population health. The result of the surveys and summits was the development of a course on population health. The course was to be offered for academic credit and would be equivalent to a 4-credit course, with 3 credits for lecture and 1 credit for a clinical project. Summit participants believed the project would provide a valuable opportunity to apply new knowledge. As planned, the projects would be 'real world' areas of need identified by district supervisors. The course has now been offered several times. Student projects have included prenatal care for Hispanic populations, developing a resource manual for a rural area, and implementation of a program addressing men's health issues. Several colleges now accept this course as meeting the requirements of the community health course in the RN/BSN programs. Handouts of the course outline and selected student projects will be made available.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify one reason for educating the Public health nursing workforce about population health.
• Describe the use of collaborative summits for problem solving.
• State the rationale for the use of web based education for the public health nursing workforce.

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.