Preparing the Future: A Collaborative Nursing Education Strategy for Service Learning

In 2011 the University of Maryland's Schools of Nursing and Medicine partnered with the JACQUES Initiative of the Institute of Human Virology to educate students to normalize, integrate and routinize HIV testing and linkage to care into their future practice through a didactic and hands-on curriculum called Preparing the Future (PTF) . The CDC recommended that HIV testing be part of routine health care. In 2011-2012, over 100 students and faculty were engaged through a curriculum consisting of HIV 101 (overview of the disease, epidemic, rationale for early testing and treatment and a comprehensive, multi-disciplinary continuum of care), HIV tester training by Maryland's Infectious Disease & Environmental Health Administration, a shadow experience with an HIV tester, an interdisciplinary case conference, and integration of HIV testing in clinical sites. In less than a year, campus-wide interest has emerged, with a current focus on engaging all disciplines (pharmacy, dentistry, public health, social work, law). Nursing and other students have developed higher levels of understanding and skill in primary and secondary prevention, as well as empathic, effective counseling and linkage to care skills. Through PTF, nurses and other health professions students are embracing a sustainable, long-term strategy for routinization of HIV testing is being developed, particularly critical in high prevalence urban areas. By integrating this training into their clinical education, PTF promotes a new way of thinking about HIV testing in emerging professionals, sensitivity to and support for clients faced with challenging life changes, and lifelong treatment and safe lifestyle regimens.