Community health clinical education in Canada: part 1--"state of the art"

This paper presents the findings of a survey of community health clinical education in twenty-four Canadian pre-licensure baccalaureate nursing programs. A qualitative research design was used, involving a content analysis of Canadian course syllabi and supporting documents for community health courses. This study afforded a cross-sectional understanding of the "state of the art" of community health clinical education in Canadian schools of nursing. Clinical course conceptual approaches, course objectives, types of clinical sites, format and number of clinical hours, and methods of student evaluation are identified. The findings suggest the need for a national dialogue or consensus building exercise regarding curriculum content for community health nursing. Informing this dialogue are several strengths including the current focus on community health (as opposed to community-based) nursing education, and a solid socio-environmental perspective informing clinical learning and practice. The national data set generated by this study may have relevance to nursing programs globally.