An Environmental Clinical Experience in a RN-BS Program

Abstract

Registered Nurse-Bachelor of Science (RN-BS) post licensure programs have the luxury of offering the essential elements of baccalaureate nursing education while integrating professional nursing concepts based on a changing health care environment. While many post RN-BS licensure programs have no clinical component, the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) now requires clinical training in online courses. Yet, clinical placements are not only difficult to obtain they are also often redundant for nurses who have been in practice for many years. The impact of the environment on health is increasingly recognized, yet few nursing curriculums offer more than a cursory coverage of this content. It is imperative that nurses learn more about environmental health in order to meet the changing needs of health care today, as well as to work towards preventing health issues that develop within an individual's environment. This article describes an innovative clinical placement in an RN-BS program that provides students with a strong foundation in environmental health. This particular RN-BS program that is discussed includes both traditional and online classes and has always required a clinical component for each nursing class.

Cross-cultural adaptation of children’s environmental health questionnaires for nursing students in England

“…This places nurse education in a key position to equip nurses with the knowledge and skills to pioneer innovative and creative responses to improving environmental child health (McDermott-Levy et al, 2019;Torres-Alzate et al, 2020;Walpole et al, 2019). Similarly, nurses need relevant knowledge and skills to promote children's environmental health (Álvarez-Nieto et al, 2017;Gellar, 2015;López-Medina et al, 2019).…”