Empowering nursing faculty and students for community service

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Community Health
• Healthcare Systems

Background:

• Healthcare delivery is shifting from acute care to community-based services.
• Nursing education needs to adapt to prepare students for this evolving system.
• Current community-based experiences lack specialized screening skill training for students.

Purpose of the Study:

• To implement and evaluate a train-the-trainer model for specialized community health screening skills.
• To enhance nursing students' abilities to function in community-based healthcare settings.
• To integrate specific screening competencies into nursing curricula.

Main Methods:

• A train-the-trainer model was employed, starting with faculty certification.
• Faculty then trained undergraduate, RN-to-BSN, and graduate students in four key screenings.
• These screenings included Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment (ESPDT), Denver II Developmental Screening, vision, and hearing screenings.
• Students received guided community experiences utilizing these new skills.

Main Results:

• Faculty successfully obtained trainer certifications for the specialized screening skills.
• A cohort of nursing students across different program levels participated in the training.
• Students engaged in community-based activities applying their newly acquired screening competencies.
• Evaluation focused on the number of certified faculty and participating students.

Conclusions:

• The train-the-trainer model is an effective strategy for imparting specialized screening skills to nursing students.
• Enhanced community-based experiences improve students' preparedness for evolving healthcare systems.
• Integrating specialized screenings into nursing education is crucial for effective community health practice.