Developing community health nursing skills collaboration in a culturally diverse population

The graduate curriculum in Community Health Nursing at the University of South Alabama was revised to prepare nurses to function as a community health specialist. The revised curriculum model includes two semesters that focus on a specific population or high risk group of patients or clients. Emphasis is placed on the skills that community health nurses must have in order to assess communities, identify community needs, plan and implement interventions at the population aggregate or community level. During the first semester, or the practicum course, a community needs assessment is performed. In the internship course, the planned intervention is implemented and evaluated. The purpose of the paper is to describe the process of identifying and accessing a Cambodian population aggregate in a rural setting. The collaboration among faculty, student, preceptor, official agency, as well as lay leaders in the Cambodian community is described.