132 Annual Meeting Logo - Go to APHA Meeting Page  
APHA Logo - Go to APHA Home Page

Rediscovering PHN settings for undergraduate nursing students

Kathleen M. Nokes, PhD, RN, Hunter-Bellevue School of Nursing, CUNY, Hunter College, 425 East 25 St. Box 874, New York, NY 10010, (212) 481-7594, kathynokes@aol.com

Federal government funding initiatives can stimulate curricula change. In 2002, the Department of Health & Human Services issued a request for proposals to strengthen the field experience component of public health nursing baccalaureate programs. Although Hunter College, City University of NY (CUNY) had a contract with the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), no undergraduate nursing students had been placed in public health settings for a long time. With the receipt of external funding, one nursing faculty received three credits of release time to work within the unique cultures of CUNY and DOHMH. Project outcomes include: 1) during Spring 2004, 20 generic baccalaureate-nursing students are placed in a 1:1 relationship with a baccalaureate prepared public health nurse practicing in a public school setting and 2) the number of lecture hours in the last clinical/theory course are increased from 8 to 12 hours with the content organized using the Association for Community Health Nursing Educators Essentials of Baccalaureate Nursing Education for Entry Level Community Health Nursing Education standards. This presentation will present strategies used to: a) identify the PHN preceptors; b) strengthen partnerships with DOHMH nursing leadership; c) collaborate with nursing faculty colleagues; d) reorganize the 12 hours of lecture content along with test questions; and e) increase critical thinking about the public health setting through journal entries, clinical seminars, and reflection seminars. Funded by a Training Grant from HRSA, Expanding community nursing curriculum to public health.

Learning Objectives:

Keywords: Nursing Education, Public Health Nursing

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.

Public Health Education

The 132nd Annual Meeting (November 6-10, 2004) of APHA