142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition

Annual Meeting Recordings are now available for purchase

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Re-envisioning the public health nursing practicum: Assessment, advocacy, and partnership through the Tobacco free campus initiative

142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition (November 15 - November 19, 2014): http://www.apha.org/events-and-meetings/annual
Wednesday, November 19, 2014 : 9:30 AM - 9:45 AM

Robin Evans-Agnew, RN, MN, PhD , Nursing and Healthcare Leadership Program, University of Washington Tacoma, Seattle, WA
Heidi Henson, MA, CTTS , Tobacco free Alliance of Pierce County, Tacoma, WA

Background/ Issue: Public health remains a cornerstone of baccalaureate nursing education despite increasing constraints on practicum hours afforded in university programs for immersion, reflection, and practice in the core practices of public health.  Nursing faculty face significant challenges in producing meaningful opportunities for engaging students with community partners in assessment, policy development, and assurance activities within the scope of a ten-week quarter. Description: This presentation describes a partnership between the Tacoma Free Alliance of Pierce County and the University of Washington Tacoma (UWT) Nursing and Healthcare Leadership program to promote a tobacco-free campus policy initiative. Utilizing the Mobilizing Action through Planning and Partnerships model, undergraduate students in their public health practicum engaged in assessment activities, collaborated with the campus student health and wellness center, examined campus policy development processes, and planned assurance activities. Lessons Learned: The tobacco free campus initiative presents a unique opportunity for Nursing schools to engage students in public health nursing and the core practices of public health. Partnership with other undergraduate leaders and across disciplinary boundaries is important for both faculty and students. Weekly leadership from community partners was a powerful pedagogical component to instruction. Urban campus environments such as UWT have a larger variety of affected communities and potential partnerships than more traditional university settings. Implications/recommendations: National policy initiatives that involve the many groups associated with campus communities as a center for practicum activities may provide fertile ground for inspiring public health nursing students and advancing the work of public health.

Learning Areas:

Advocacy for health and health education
Assessment of individual and community needs for health education
Public health or related nursing

Learning Objectives:
Discuss the challenges in developing meaningful undergraduate public health practicum experiences Describe the Fresh Air Campus Tobacco initiative as a practicum experience Identify key pedagogical benefits of campus tobacco policy initiatives for undergraduate nursing education in an urban campus

Keyword(s): Policy/Policy Development, Tobacco Control

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am a university assistant professor and I teach undergraduate nurses
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.