Teaching students to become active in public policy

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Health Policy Analysis
• Public Health

Background:

• Nurses are significantly impacted by health policy and have a responsibility to participate.
• There's a growing emphasis within the nursing profession on addressing public policy issues.
• Engaging nursing students in health policy is a key challenge for educators.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and implement a clinical practicum for senior baccalaureate nursing students.
• To equip students with the skills to identify, analyze, and challenge health policy issues.
• To provide a model for faculty to stimulate student interest in health policy.

Main Methods:

• A clinical practicum was developed for senior baccalaureate nursing students.
• Students were placed in diverse community settings.
• The practicum required students to actively engage with health policy issues.

Main Results:

• The practicum successfully integrated health policy into the curriculum.
• Students demonstrated an increased ability to identify and analyze health policy.
• The course design served as a potential model for other institutions.

Conclusions:

• Experiential learning in community settings can effectively prepare nurses for health policy engagement.
• Curricular integration of health policy analysis is vital for nursing education.
• Faculty can utilize this model to foster policy-mindedness in future nurses.