Implementation of a self-health project by baccalaureate students

With increasing evidence that life-style is an important influence on health, three nursing faculty members at the University of Minnesota implemented a learning project to enable students to assess, plan, and evaluate their own life-styles. The goal was to have the students attempt to make positive changes. As part of a "health concepts" nursing course, students became much more aware of social, economic, environmental, and cultural factors that either enhanced or detracted from their ability to achieve their ideal life-styles. The students responded favorably to this assignment because of the potential benefits of investing in themselves while pursuing the rigorous program leading to a nursing degree.