Preparing public health nurses for population-focused practice

Background and Issues: The Institute of Medicine (1988; 2002) mandate to focus on population level practice has not been accompanied by a paradigm shift in how public health nursing is taught. We reframed the baccalaureate level Public Health Nursing course to meet expectations set by public health professional bodies including the Scope and Standards of Public Health Nursing Practice (2007) and the Core Competencies for Public Health Professionals (2010). Description: The course is framed by public health core functions and 10 essential services (IOM, 1988). Emphasis is placed on knowledge and skill development such as epidemiology, interdisciplinary collaboration, mobilization of partnerships, health policy, and essential content regarding communicable diseases, environmental and occupational health, public health literacy, and mass communication. Environmental health content emphasizes the built environment. Learning strategies include using data (e.g., census, crime, traffic, behavioral, epidemiological) to assess the population's health and case studies (Lyme Disease, arsenic, and fish advisories) to apply knowledge to simulated practice. Lessons Learned: There is a dearth of ‘ready-made' materials to support population-focused learning. Select materials developed for this course are being used in local public health departments. We report on the evaluation of this course across 4 semesters and formative evaluation of the community health assessment components piloted in a local health department. Recommendations: Population-focused public health nursing requires an expanded knowledge base and skill set to implement academic and practice mandates. Further work is needed to develop expertise across academic and practice settings, as well as materials to support this transformation.