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Partnering with a public school system to promote sexual health and expand clinical opportunities for nursing students
Increased enrollment in the Advanced Public Health Nursing (APHN) program presented a need to expand practicum opportunities for students.
approach
Faculty approached the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) to explore their interest in working with nursing students. Potential student projects and priority needs of CPS were discussed. Two APHN students were placed at CPS to develop and implement a new sexual health curriculum. Implementation of the curriculum was piloted by Graduate Entry Masters’ (GEM) students in two schools with oversight by an APHN student. GEM nursing students now teach sexual health education in three schools as a part of their public health nursing clinical rotation.
product/outcome
Presenters (faculty, APHN and GEM students) will discuss their role in this collaborative effort. Nursing students will discuss the benefits and challenges they experienced, such as capstone and clinical projects. Faculty will discuss steps involved in forming the partnership and highlight examples of student projects. Benefits to CPS are a new, pilot-tested sexual health education curriculum, tailored to their student population. Nursing students describe benefits as learning to work in a system with few resources and many demands, as well as exposure to health inequities.
implications
Partnerships with large school districts are feasible and can open doors for innovative student projects and clinical experiences at the generalist and specialist levels. The success of this collaboration is based on frequent communication, flexibility and addressing agency identified priorities.
Learning Areas:
Administer health education strategies, interventions and programsPublic health or related nursing
Learning Objectives:
Discuss benefits of a public school partnership in enhancing sexual health education in schools and in enriching the education of public health nursing students.
Describe examples of joint APHN specialty and PHN generalist projects in a public school system.
Keyword(s): School-Based Health, Nursing Education
Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: This work was accomplished through my role as an Associate Professor and faculty adviser of Advanced Public Health Nursing Students. I initiated the partnership with the school district that is the focus of the presentation. This work describes student learning activities and benefits to the collaborating schools.
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.