Nursing, Health, and the Environment (1995) / Chapter Skim
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4 Nursing Education and Professional Development
4 Nursing Education and Professional Development
Pages 69-102
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From page 69... ...
These effects require integrated knowledge of prevention and amelioration of environmental health consequences in all health professions education. Of the 17 competencies of health professionals listed in Healthy America: Practitioners for 2005, An Agenda for Actionfor U.S.
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From page 70... ...
Tradition Although professional nursing education has traditionally included the concepts of health promotion, disease prevention, health protection, risk reduction, and population-based practice in its baccalaureate nursing degree programs, the scope and depth of such concepts and content are not consistent among programs. Commonly used nursing texts also vary in their inclusion of environmental health information.
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From page 71... ...
published two documents describing the essentials of baccalaureate- and master's-level education for entry into community health nursing practice (ACHNE, 1992) and advanced practice nursing (ACHNE, l991~.
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From page 72... ...
Official documents of professional nursing organizations endorse the presence of environmental health content in basic and graduate programs. However, accreditation mandates for schools of public health require education in environmental health sciences for graduates of public health programs.
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From page 73... ...
Although particular content themes and practical experiences are universal in nursing education (e.g., nursing process, growth, and development) and the graduates of the three types of nursing programs are eligible to take the same licensure exam (National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses iNCLEX]
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From page 74... ...
Courses in nursing and other science disciplines provide advanced theoretical knowledge, assessment skills, role and leadership development, advanced clinical practice in a selected specialization, and the opportunity to critique and apply nursing theory and research as a scientific base for nursing practice. Increasingly, graduate nursing curricula include core courses such as health assessment, pharmacotherapeutics, health promotion, sociocultural and community health, health economics and policy, theory and ethics, as well as research.
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From page 75... ...
taught the content in community health nursing courses. Fewer than 15 percent reported teaching it in other courses, such as family nursing or epidemiology courses, or the content was integrated in various courses.
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From page 76... ...
In her review of current texts in community health, Neufer identified no text as having all of the factors necessary to address the concepts of environmental health in nursing. She concluded that "although health professionals are becoming more aware of the public health hazards of pollution, community health nurses have not applied their skills in assessing and diagnosing related community health problems." Furthermore, because no text includes all of Neufer's factors, the conclusion follows that these environmental health content areas are not being taught in basic community health courses.
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From page 77... ...
Inclusion of environmental health concepts in all basic nursing curricula was recommended as a strategy for reform, as was a shift to context-of-care and community-based practice skills as foundations for nursing interventions. Participants supported the inclusion of general environmental health content and assessment skills in basic nursing courses, with an integration of environmental science as applied to basic and health sciences in pharmacology, physiology, and pathophysiology courses.
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From page 78... ...
Based on these facts, the differentiation of environmental health competencies for AD, diploma, and baccalaureate levels may seem an almost futile exercise for nursing education and practice. That is, in nursing education, environmental health content is not required for AD and diploma programs and is included minimally, if at all, in the community health component of baccalaureate programs.
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From page 79... ...
Further, the level of environmental health competency an individual has attained does not determine employment opportunities or the lack of them for most nurses. The main purpose of including environmental health content in existing curricula at any level is to enhance nursing practice in all settings by increasing the awareness and integration of environmental health nursing skills and knowledge in the nursing service provided.
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From page 83... ...
Content Areas The following are examples of how environmental health content can be incorporated into existing courses that are usually considered prerequisites to the professional nursing curriculum: · include effects of environmental toxicants in a growth and development course; · include the mechanisms and action of chemicals in the environment that affect health (radon, formaldehyde) in a chemistry course; · include the role of microorganisms and contaminants in the environment (molds, bacteria)
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From page 84... ...
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From page 86... ...
METHODS FOR ENHANCING DISSEMINATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH CONTENT IN NURSING EDUCATION AT ALL LEVELS The success of continuing education can be measured by determining whether the quality of education available to nurses positively affects a person's health and care. The dissemination of information to nurses is the first step in changing knowledge, attitudes, and behavior.
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From page 87... ...
Increasingly, innovative teaching strat Computer technology, interactive video, and other facets of instructional media are now in use in nursing schools, hospitals, and continuing education courses for nurses. The formal education of children in the United States has experienced rapid integration of computers within the learning environment.
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From page 88... ...
The-use of various media in teaching environmental health is also an important way to access the environmental health expertise that is not readily available on campus. Where more traditional teaching methods are still used, basic and specialty programs can strengthen their community health content as well as acute care content by including environmental health concepts that vitally affect the lives of clients, patients, families, and the communities in which they live and work.
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From page 89... ...
Third, the Division of Nursing of DHHS awards funds to schools of nursing and schools of public health to develop dual-degree programs. Faculty can serve as role models for interdisciplinary collaboration by inviting guest faculty from other disciplines to speak about environmental health at schools of nursing, by serving on relevant editorial boards, and by using published materials on environmental health to enhance teaching (see Table 4.3~.
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From page 90... ...
With some assistance, the course faculty could then incorporate clinically relevant material, as well as opportunities to discuss prevention strategies in lectures or small-group, problem-solving sessions with minimal effort. Including environmental health content in nursing curricula will require a planned process of change to prepare the faculty and the students for implementation.
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From page 91... ...
for the change. Faculty preparation for the changes can be achieved in numerous ways; by presentations at clinical conferences, through formal continuing education programs, in scheduled journal club meetings, and by enrollment in relevant courses that may be available at either home or the nearby institution.
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From page 92... ...
The Division of Nursing of HRSA has a duly constituted National Advisory Council for Nurse Education and Practice (NACNEP) composed of nurses in service and education, members of the public, and nursing students that advise the secretary of DHHS in supporting a broad range of projects such as nursing education programs for disadvantaged individuals, advanced practice training grants, primary care preparation, and innovative educational approaches.
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From page 93... ...
One result of nursing practice and preparation studies is skill mix, which is the use of various levels of nursing knowledge and clinical competence. Other federal agencies, such as the National Institute of Mental Health, National Institute on Aging, the Maternal and Child Health Bureau, the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research, also fund projects involving nurses.
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From page 94... ...
Local and state health departments employ nurses to provide services in such areas as public health, maternal-child health, school health, and other targeted areas or to specific populations, and they also serve as clinical practice sites for basic and graduate nursing students. However, funding and revenue sources tend to determine the scope of practice within the boundaries of each state's nursing practice act.
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From page 95... ...
The goal of including environmental health content in all nursing education is to incorporate the concepts into each step of the nursing process. METHODS FOR EVALUATING EFFECTIVENESS OF CURRICULUM The evaluation of a nursing education program is an integral part of its development.
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From page 96... ...
Questions regarding the environmental health content in their particular program and its use in their current practice could be added in order to collect additional evaluation data. To reiterate, a basic nursing curriculum with enhanced environmental health content in diploma and associate degree programs will be most
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From page 97... ...
For a community health nursing course in a baccalaureate program, the impact of adding content on environmental health policy advocacy should be assessed by evaluating a student's understanding and application of policy and its influence in the didactic portion or in clinical work in a public health agency or community health organization. At the graduate level, evaluations of environmental health content in specialty areas need to be conducted within the master's courses associated with the specialty, such as specific environmental health risks for the elderly in gerontological nursing.
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From page 98... ...
Moreover, nurses already in practice will not benefit directly from curricular changes in basic nursing education. Meeting the environmental health content needs of nurses in associate degree and diploma programs, and nurses already in practice requires the development of continuing education opportunities and other kinds of professional support for practitioners.
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From page 99... ...
Licensure and Certification Examinations Recommendation 4.2: Environmental health content should be in cluded in nursing licensure and certification examinations. Rationale: Currently, basic nursing licensure and most certification examinations do not explicitly include environmental health content or questions.
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From page 100... ...
Lifelong Learning Recommendation 4.4: Environmental health content should be an integral part of lifelong learning and continuing educationfor nurses. Rationale: With rapid changes occurring in environmental influences on health, keeping current is an important responsibility of all nurses.
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From page 101... ...
3. Promote institutional support for continuing education in environmental health for (a)
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From page 102... ...
Florence Nightingale as she appeared at the time of tile Crimean War. Engraving by G.E.
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