Two Models for Public Health Nursing Clinical Education

To evaluate the impact of two baccalaureate public health nursing (PHN) clinical education models, that vary on level of engagement with community agencies, on student perceptions of PHN.

Two group, pretest/posttest design. Two cohorts of baccalaureate nursing students (traditional n = 62, accelerated n = 64) were included. The traditional students worked with one agency over an 8-week period. The accelerated students worked with several agencies over the same period. Eighty-seven students provided complete data at both time points, and were included in analyses.

Students answered questions at the beginning and end of the Spring 2014 semester to assess knowledge, confidence, satisfaction, and career intention related to PHN.

At baseline, traditional students reported significantly higher confidence working independently and less intention to choose PHN as a career. Both cohorts reported a significant increase in knowledge and independence from pretest to posttest. At posttest, the accelerated group showed a significant decline in likelihood of choosing a PHN career.

In developing PHN clinical curriculum, careful consideration should be given to the level of engagement with the community and faculty. Future work should continue exploring different PHN clinical education models to ensure students are effectively prepared in this area of nursing.