The extended experience: operationalizing the ideal

In general, community health faculty who have utilized Extended Experiences think they provide a unique way of exposing students to working with various professional disciplines, learning about administrative processes and identifying ways in which the community attempts to meet the needs of population groups. It allows students to enlarge their perception of the community health nurses' role beyond the scope of home visiting. We think that experiences such as these would be rewarding attempts by other faculty in assisting students to learn the complex role of today's community health nurse.