"Settlements" in miniature: Community partnership experiences of undergraduate nursing students

Since the days of Lillian Wald and the Henry Street Settlement in lower Manhattan, New York, public health nurses (PHNs) have continued the tradition of “going to where the people live.” This session will describe how a college of nursing at a large midwestern university prepares undergraduate nursing students to collaborate with partners in the community and develop skills necessary to become novice PHNs.

As a land-grant institution, the university has a rich heritage of immersing its students in the community and takes very seriously its commitment to extend education and service beyond its academic walls. Reflecting this commitment to the community, undergraduate nursing students spend one semester in a community agency in which they complete a community assessment/analysis project and develop projects that are responsive to community needs. By breaking down the divide between student and community and by collaborating with community residents, students obtain a clearer and more accurate perspective of critical needs identified by community members themselves. This assignment of “working with” the community not only helps students achieve their academic learning goals, but also provides valuable services to the communities in which they are placed.

In partnership with a variety of community members and agencies, students have touched many lives with the collaborative community projects. Examples of student projects have included: developing a healthy eating cookbook for parents of Head Start students, working with a faith-based service/support agency for pregnant women, and identifying vulnerable populations for inclusion on emergency preparedness contact lists. Highlights of community project activities will be shared during this presentation and nurse educators can expect to learn new strategies for combining learning needs of students with service to communities. Nurse administrators, practicing PHNs, and school nurses can benefit by learning about effective and mutually rewarding ways of partnering with academic institutions. Such partnering not only helps to prepare future PHNs, but also benefits the agencies and communities where students are placed.