Utilizing a community data base system with community health nursing students

The instrument to "go out and study the community" can be awesome and confusing to both students and nurses. The use of the data base management system as described in this paper makes the task a less formidable one. It also systematically classifies data about a community into a usable form so that nursing diagnoses can be identified appropriately. We strongly believe that the concept of community-as-client must become a part of the philosophy of every community health nurse. We see the data base management system as one method of incorporating this philosophy.