Rapid health care delivery system changes combined with the Institute of Medicine's (1988) call for refocusing public health practice into the Core Functions provide an opportunity to shape community/public health nursing (C/PHN) education and practice for the future. Critical examination is the key to clarifying C/PHN practice. What is the practice now? Is it population-focused, community-based, or both? And what do these terms mean today? The purpose of this paper is to share the authors' thinking about what it is that makes population-focused nursing "different" from community-based practice, as well as unique and useful to the health care delivery system, through the examination of old and new terms and concepts. The significance of this article lies in its ability to encourage dialogue among our colleagues. It is hoped that thoughts shared here will stimulate action to define C/PHN practice in broader arenas.

To determine Iron Deficiency Anemia (IDA) perceptions and iron dietary practices of Jordanian female students and pregnant women, a descriptive quantitative questionnaire was administered to 271 participants: 206 female students and 65 pregnant women. This pilot study found that most participants can identify foods containing iron, but lack appropriate iron intake, because of eating habits and finances; more than 50% report daily symptoms of IDA, including dizziness, fatigue, depression, headaches, and loss of concentration and memory. There are no statistically significant differences in IDA perceptions and iron-related dietary practices based on education, and relatively few based on where participants live, their available financial resources, or their position (pregnant women or young women). Culturally sensitive intervention research, which addresses application of IDA education principles, temporary supplementation, and adequate income for dietary modification and long-term iron supplementation to prevent IDA is warranted.

Themes suggested that nursing students gained knowledge about holistic nursing and felt empowered through personal interactions with national holistic nursing leaders. They felt motivated to incorporate holistic nursing principles into practice and self-care. In addition, they expressed an appreciation for the importance of lifelong learning and maintaining clinical competency through attendance at a professional conference. IMPLICATIONS FOR EDUCATION: Nursing students' attendance at a holistic nursing professional conference is a useful educational strategy that has many benefits.

The changing health care delivery system has affected nursing care delivery models. To meet the needs of these shifting sands, health-related professions must examine curricula preparing new graduates. An exploratory, descriptive survey design was employed to discover motivators for and types of curricular changes occurring in nursing programs and determine what supportive educational materials are needed. One hundred sixty-seven (26%) of the 651 surveys mailed to a sample of the whole of U.S. baccalaureate nursing programs were returned. Relationships between and among categories of nominal data culled from the participants' experiences were compared using nonparametric statistics. Findings demonstrated why and what changes were made and what educational materials are needed to support new curricula. Results also indicated that blurring of boundaries between community and general acute care nursing is necessary, and changes throughout curricula, including educational materials, must reflect the real-life community aspects of the health care needs of all individuals.

Critical thinking ability is one of the required outcomes of nursing education and content coverage is a focus of the past (National League for Nursing, 1996). As educators, we must attend to how we define critical thinking, what educational methods support its development, and how we can assure that students have achieved some acceptable level of critical thinking skill (Tanner, 1993). This article describes the emergent development of one critical thinking format in a Community Health Nursing course. Rather than approaching critical thinking from a theoretical perspective or focusing on one type of assignment or experience as a tool to foster critical thinking development in nursing courses, this article shares with the reader a complete package. Problems, pitfalls, new insights, and changes are shared as they developed through the teaching of a semester-long Community Health Nursing course. The authors hope their experiences give faculty ideas about how to infuse critical thinking into nursing curricula.