Improving public health nursing education: recommendations of local public health nurses.

OBJECTIVES: This paper reports recommendations for improving public health nursing (PHN) undergraduate, graduate, and continuing education (CE) made by staff-level public health nurses working in local health departments (LHDs). Implications for academia and practice are discussed. DESIGN: A cross-sectional written survey was used to collect data from 424 public health nurses in 76 LHDs in Wisconsin (68% response rate) in 2003. Recommendations for improving undergraduate, graduate, and CE were made through responses to open-ended survey questions. Content analysis was conducted to identify major themes among responses. RESULTS: Major themes emerging from the recommendations for undergraduate education included the need for more clinical public health experiences and population-focused practice content. Graduate education improvement recommendations included addressing access barriers and increasing organizational incentives. Improved access and more public health content were the major recommendations for improving CE. CONCLUSIONS: Implications for academia focus on increasing opportunities for students to experience population-focused PHN and to learn organizational and collaborative practice skills, supporting PHN preceptors and building evidence for PHN intervention through research. Implications for practice include the need to expand opportunities for students with LHDs and to collaborate with academic partners for education and research.

Public health nursing practice change and recommendations for improvement.

OBJECTIVES: This paper reports the characteristics of recent public health nursing (PHN) practice change experienced by staff-level public health nurses. Recommendations for improving PHN practice offered by study participants are reported and discussed. DESIGN: A cross-sectional written survey was used to collect data from 424 public health nurses in 76 local health departments (LHDs) in Wisconsin (68% response rate) in 2003. Characteristics of practice change were identified using a 15-item-scaled response set. Recommendations on improving practice were made through responses to an open-ended survey question. Content analysis was conducted to identify major themes among the responses. RESULTS: PHN practice has become more population focused. Major themes emerging from the recommendations for practice improvement included increasing system and organizational resources, expanding visibility of public health, and strengthening collaboration. CONCLUSIONS: Implications for practice include the need for continuing education in concepts and skills required for population-focused PHN practice, advocacy for more public health resources, and collaboration with academic partners for education and research.