Ten recommendations are proposed for key skill sets and necessary preparation for faculty to effectively teach C/PHN in baccalaureate schools of nursing.
ObjectiveA collaborative research team of community/public health nursing faculty and public health nurses surveyed public health nurses to explore knowledge, skills, attitudes, and application of the Quad Council Competencies for Public Health Nurses (QCC‐PHN).MethodsEvaluate the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and application of the 2011 QCC‐PHN by public health nurses.DesignA descriptive, cross‐sectional design was used to answer the hypothesis related to the study objective. A convenience sample of 308 public health nurses completed an online survey.MeasurementsANOVA was used to determine the difference between the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and application of community/public health nurses (C/PHNs) regarding the QCC‐PHN based on nursing specialty preparation, years of nursing experience, and years of C/PHN experience.ResultsC/PHNs are described and differences in knowledge, skills, attitudes, and application are delineated. A statistically significant difference was found in knowledge and attitude based upon years of C/PHN experience.ConclusionsRecommendations are proposed for increasing the QCC‐PHN awareness, implementation, and evaluation to effectively enhance the practice of nursing C/PHN.
Enhanced and consistent emphasis on population/global health, and interprofessional content throughout nursing curricula is necessary to prepare providers for practice in global settings. Incorporation of global and interprofessional competencies should be considered in the revision of competencies for PHN practice to enhance productive contributions to community health outcomes. Consideration of proper placement of content gaps within basic and advanced nursing education as well as leveling for community/public health nursing practice needs to be addressed by nursing education and practice. In the interim, a special course or elective may be appropriate, especially for schools having clinical nursing practicums in international settings. Clinical evaluation in low-resource settings needs to be enhanced and aligned with competencies.
In summary, improved population health, population focused care, and community-based networks are the objectives of health care delivery systems. Community/public health nursing education, practice, and research must be re-examined, re-focused, and re-designed to address the challenges of an expanding 21st century health care delivery to populations and communities. Common standards are in place to be utilized by academia, practice and research. With a unified front, C/PHN can collectively play an important transformative role and go forward to meet the ever expanding challenges of the 21st century populations and communities. The Association of Public Health Nurses (APHN) and the Association of Community Health Nurse Educator (ACHNE) have a joint meeting planned in June 2016 in Indianapolis. Please bring your colleagues, stakeholders, and community partners to join the voices of C/PHN to make a positive impact on the changing health care environment through our education, practice and work.
Background
Population‐focused practice is an essential component of baccalaureate nursing education.
The specialty of community/public health nursing (C/PHN) emphasizes prevention and focuses on the multiple determinants of health to improve population health outcomes. This project addressed two problems. How to: (a) Standardize C/PHN education by utilizing a set of competencies, and (b) Evaluate learning outcomes after using the competencies.
Method
As collaborative team applied community/public health competencies to nursing education using the Omaha System and the four phases of the Quality Improvement Model (QIM) and to enhance C/PHN education.
Results
The QIM focused on team‐based participation with mutual learning and engagement for both students and faculty. Logical thinking and continuous assessment improves the teaching process and prepares students to work in multiple health care environments.
Conclusions
Systematic quality improvement enhances population‐focused care by providing a foundation for the integration of education and practice.
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