T he American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) has identified the concept of population health as an essential component in baccalaureate nursing education. 1 Strategies to teach and guide students through critical thinking and clinical judgment prepare students for the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) and for their transition to clinical practice. Clinical judgment includes recognizing and analyzing cues, prioritizing hypotheses, generating solutions, taking action, and evaluating the outcomes. 2 A case study is one method to teach critical thinking. The Next Generation NCLEX will incorporate case studies into the examinations to evaluate clinical judgment. 3,4 We describe the development of an unfolding case study to be used in the prelicensure educational setting. This unfolding case study is currently being piloted in community health nursing courses across the United States.
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