The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #55400

Sharon Trucker, RN, MS and Jennifer Ciridon Rivera, RN, MSN/MPH, CNS. Public Health Nursing Administration, Los Angeles County Department of Health Services Public Health Nursing, 241 North Figueroa, Suite 347, Los Angeles, CA 90012

In Los Angeles County (LAC), there is only 1 Public Health Nurse (PHN) for every 50,000 residents. This results in an overwhelming workload since LAC has a high rate of tuberculosis, enteric and sexually transmitted diseases, and over two million of these residents have no health insurance. LAC DHS-Public Health Nursing (LAC-PHN) strives to meet the community’s needs, but has significant difficulty hiring nurses with a public health (PH) perspective. Currently eight Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) programs conduct their PH rotations through LAC-PHN, providing field experience to 348 students per year. The experience, knowledge and mentoring each student obtains vary depending on which PH center they are placed in and which PHN is assigned as their mentor. This inconsistency is due to the fact that there are no clear guidelines that the PHN staff can utilize. LAC-PHN is committed to developing the BSN students’ PH perspective and ability to convert knowledge and critical thinking to applicable practice in the field. LAC-PHN’s strategic plan to achieve this includes: (1) Strengthening the collaborative relationships between LAC-PHN (practice) and BSN schools (academia) through the innovative development of the ‘University Affiliation Committee’ and the ‘Council of Five’; (2) Developing and providing a quality, comprehensive and standardized field experience curriculum that incorporates the use of individual PHN mentors, the core PH functions and the PH Nursing Practice Model; and (3) Training the LAC-PHN staff and nursing school faculty on the curriculum. A positive field experience has a direct relationship to recruitment and retention.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe the development of a collaborative relationship between local health departments and colleges of nursing.
• Articulate two of the strategies that LAC-PHN is utilizing to enhance the PH field experiences of the BSN students who conduct their rotation with them.
• Discuss how a quality, comprehensive PH field experience for BSN students will positively enhance nurse recruitment and retention.

Keywords: Public Health Nursing, Public Health Education

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.