Collaboration: Public health nursing students, local public health agency and local county jail

Collaboration commits two or more persons or organizations to achieve a common goal through enhancing the capacity of one or more of the members to promote and protect health (Minnesota Department of Health, 2001).

Health departments across the county deal with shortages of public health professionals, especially public health nurses, which affects the services that are provided. Cuts to funding have strained the public health system and created gaps in many programs. Schools of nursing have struggled to ensure student placements in public health agencies. Additionally, students often misunderstand and under value the role of a public health nurse, compared to the traditional acute care nurse. A strong collaboration between local public health agencies and schools of nursing can help alleviate these challenges.

From June 2008 through December 2008, undergraduate nursing students from the University of Minnesota enrolled in the Healthcare of Populations (public health nursing) course collaborated with Scott County Public Health in Shakopee, MN to assess and evaluate the resource needs for county correctional health (jail) staff. The project ranged from an initial needs assessment of the jail population to a comprehensive and extensive compilation of community resources utilized by the jail staff. As well, nursing students from the University's informatics joined the public health nursing students to webize the community resource list.

This collaboration was critical for the county public health department, jail and information technology staff as well as the nursing students. The county was able to achieve key aspects of a program that otherwise would not have been completed without the nursing students. The program utilized by the county staff directly helps to support overall improvement of health in the county. The nursing students were able to achieve multiple learning objectives and participate in a real life project. Moreover, the students gained an important understanding of the role of public health nurses. Other organizations/agencies and schools of nursing from across the county can model programs and placements to achieve the same outcomes.