Developing political competence: a comparative study across disciplines.

Political activism is one way that nurses care for individuals and communities, and intervene in the broad range of socioeconomic factors influencing health. Though policy advocacy is a core public health function and a valuable nursing activity, the process of acquiring requisite skills and attitudes for political involvement is not often explored. What crucial experiences enfranchise nursing students toward future policy involvement? What is the student journey toward political competence? Do nursing students vary from students of other disciplines in this process? In-depth interviews were conducted with baccalaureate nursing students and political science students who were near graduation. Content analysis of interview transcripts revealed several themes. Despite rich examples of activism, nursing students viewed public policy as a barrier, and did not see connections between the personal, professional, and political. Nursing seemed grounded in application and service, demonstrating by involvement that they could "walk the walk." Political science involvement originated in theory, and resulted in more articulate discourse on the subject: they could "talk the talk." The data suggest a need for interdisciplinary dialogue, faculty modelling of political competence, opportunities for students to realize personal, professional, and political connections, and a concern of socialization in the context of global citizenship.

Combining traditional and RN students in a senior capstone experience: the student perspective.

BACKGROUND: This study explored the students' perspective related to combining traditional and RN student populations in a senior capstone course. METHOD: In the final semester in a senior baccalaureate program, nursing students (N = 340) completed an investigator-designed 5-item survey. Data were reviewed independently by three investigators for emergent themes. RESULTS: While the course content was applied differently by two student populations, both appreciated a seminar format that allowed increased creativity, autonomy, and flexibility. CONCLUSIONS: Merits of an integrated course were more explicitly stated by traditional students, who viewed the RNs as a source of reality-based learning. Faculty sensitivity to the unique learning needs of each student population is recommended.

Putting prevention into practice.

One of the three broad goals of Healthy People 2000 is that preventive services will be available to all Americans. Although there is professional agreement on the merits of prevention, there are challenges related to implementing preventive health care. Six of these challenges are confusion in terminology, issues related to nursing autonomy and initiative, differing conceptual frameworks, complexity of coordination within a delivery system that does not reward preventive services, prevalent cultural beliefs, and lack of uniform recommendations regarding prevention. The Put Prevention into Practice (PPIP) program is a national strategy to address those challenges. The American Nurses Association and the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners contributed to the development of the PPIP program. These organizations are actively disseminating the information through train-the-trainer methodology and other educational programs that will prepare nurses to improve the health of the population through the provision of preventive health services.

Participatory action research for community health promotion.

Community participation is an important feature of community health promotion. One form is participatory action research. This article describes the process and outcomes of participatory action research conducted by a Healthy City in rural Indiana and public health nurse faculty. The community was integrally involved in the entire process, including framing of research questions, construction and distribution of survey tools, analysis of findings, and taking action on the results. Combining local insights of the community with technical assistance from public health nursing yielded multiple benefits. The role of participatory action research is appropriate for public health nurses because it is consistent with the goals and characteristics of the profession.

Policy research: lessons from the field.

Nursing's involvement in policy development has become a standard and expected part of nursing practice. One avenue of involvement, policy research, is clarified through description and case example. Policy research is described as context-driven, multimethodological, and time-sensitive. Considering these essential characteristics when planning and implementing policy research enhances nursing's ability to positively influence the policy process. A case example of policy research from the criminal justice system evaluated the effectiveness of a diversion program with alcohol and marijuana misdemeanants (N = 1,239). The purposes of the study were to describe the percentage of diversion participants with alcohol or marijuana-possession charges who were successful in completing the diversion program and to examine the incidence of subsequent arrests on alcohol or marijuana-possession charges among those who successfully completed the program. The case example demonstrates the intricate and unique relationship between research and the policy arena. Policy research can equip nursing to enter policy debates with data and to participate as a persuasive agent of social change.