Community Health Nursing

COURSE DEVELOPMENT

Community Health Nursing Course Development

Part A

Course Overview

BSN nurses must be prepared to practice and function effectively in a wide range of settings. Community health is considered an integral part of the public health sector. For this reason, it remains part and parcel of efforts to not only improve the health and wellbeing of the masses, but also fend off infectious diseases. This course will equip learners with the skills and knowledge required to function effectively in community health settings.

Weekly Course Module Topics

Weekly Key Concepts

Evidence-Based Active Learning Strategies

Citation of Scholarly Sources Using APA Format

1. Definition and nature of community health nursing

Community health as a specialty concerned with the promotion of the mental and physical health/wellbeing of persons within a certain geographic region.

Pause procedure: At various points during the lecture, learners will be asked to review the notes they have made and seek clarification on various aspects of the same after discussing the lecture content in pairs.

Bachhel and Thaman (2014) make an observation to the effect that the ‘pause procedure’ happens to be an instrumental active learning approach in efforts to promote retention of key concepts.

2. Objectives of community health nursing

The primary and secondary goals of community health nursing.

Inquiry-based learning: Learners will be actively motivated to share ideas about what purpose community health nursing serves. They will also be asked to float the relevant queries about the goals and objectives of community health nursing.

According to Attard, Berger, and Mackenzie (2021), this active learning strategy comes in handy in fostering problem solving and critical thinking – which, according to the authors, happen to be crucial in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) related subjects.

3. Stakeholders in community health

Healthcare practitioners, local government, patients, social health groups, charities, etc. as stakeholders in community health.

Concept maps: The diverse roles that stakeholders play in community health as well as possible collaborative engagements between various stakeholders will be demonstrated using a concept map.

It would be prudent to note that in the words of Carr-Lopez, Galal, Vyas, Patel, and Gnesa (2014), “concept maps help to facilitate meaningful learning” (170).

4. The role BSN nurses play in the promotion of community health

BSN nurses as key players in the promotion of community health and wellbeing.

Team-based learning: Learners will actively collaborate with each other in the completion of tasks meant to promote their understanding of the role of BSN nurses in the promotion of community health.

This particular method, as Faezi, Moradi, Amin, Akhlaghi, and Keshmiri (2018) indicate, has been associated with increased student engagement.

5. Community-based nursing interventions

Assessment, diagnosis, implementation; care coordination; behavior and lifestyle change; self-care support and patient education, etc.

Case study: Students will be divided into groups and asked to go through cases depicting hypothetical scenarios requiring community-based nursing interventions

Bonney (2015) indicates that case study teaching method has been shown to be very effective as a content delivery approach – especially in courses rooted in science.

6. Addressing challenges encountered in community nursing

Challenges: Diverse ethical dilemmas, limited management support; personal safety; professional isolation; career development; workplace violence; overtime; low staffing levels.

Brainstorming: On this front, learners will be asked to come up with ideas on the most viable ways of addressing the challenges highlighted. Instructor will offer additional insights.

Case study: Learners will be presented with a case depicting a real-life scenario for discussion purposes. Here, an ethical dilemma could be described and learners asked to present proposed solutions.

Brainstorming, according to Goswami, Jain, and Koner (2017) is a highly effective group creativity method for the formulation of solutions to hypothetical or real-life challenges and problems.

Bonney (2015) is of the opinion that the case study strategy could be instrumental in efforts to develop the ability of learners to apply theoretical concepts in practical scenarios or situations

7. The relevance of cultural competence in community health nursing

Understanding the relevance, impact and influence of cultural as well as social factors on the delivery of care.

Role Playing: In this case, students will be called upon to act out imagined scenarios in which case they simulate interactions between nurses and persons from diverse races, religions, sexual orientations, etc.

This is a very effective leaning strategy owing to the fact that it comes in handy in efforts to promote dynamic interactions among learners – thus enhancing learnt material retention (Stevens, 2014).

8. Review of key concepts

Assessment of student comprehension of key course concepts in relation to the nature of community health nursing and role of BSN nurses in the promotion of community health.

Peer-based strategy: Here, learners will be assigned tasks to gauge their comprehension of key concepts. They will then be asked to evaluate each other’s performance.

Ghesemi, Moonaghi, Heydari (2020), make an observation to the effect that this is an effective approach in efforts to ensure that learners better understand the relevant content and gather new insights – i.e. in the light of the feedback that they get from their peers.

Part B

How the learner would benefit from the course

From the onset, it would be prudent to note that the primary goal of this particular course happens to be enabling the learner identify and understand the role that the BSN nurse plays in the promotion of community health. Towards this end, learners will benefit by being equipped with the skills necessary to thrive and play an active and effective role in community healthcare settings. This happens to be one of the most crucial aspects of the course overview, i.e. ensuring that learners have not only the knowledge, but also the skills needed to improve the health and wellbeing of members of the community while at the same time helping in efforts to either fend off or contain infections illnesses – specifically during this period when the nation (and indeed the whole world) has been battling the COVID-19 pandemic.

Specific concepts emphasized in the course

The course identifies a number of concepts that would be instrumental in equipping learners with the knowledge, knowhow, and capabilities needed to serve effectively in community health settings. The said concepts are inclusive of; community health nursing key objectives, community health stakeholders, BSN nurses as key players in community health, strategies that could be deployed in efforts to address common challenges encountered by nurses serving in community health settings, and cultural competency. To a large extent, these concepts align with the course overview in the sense that they are instrumental in efforts to mold and equip nurses with skills and capabilities necessary to ensure that are ready and willing to secure the health and wellbeing of people in diverse settings – and in this case, at the community level.

Relevance to professional nursing practice

There is need to ensure that nurses possess the skills and capabilities needed to work or function in diverse healthcare settings. This is the only way that the profession would be able to fulfill its mandate of promoting the health and wellbeing of entire populations. Nurses must, thus, be aware of the fact that at any point of their service, they could be called upon to offer healthcare services in various settings, i.e. in community healthcare settings. Thanks to the various concepts emphasized in the course, the profession will benefit by having well-equipped professionals ready to address the unique health challenges that communities grapple with. Equipping the next generation of nurses with the skills and knowledge required to function effectively, which is a key objective of the course, will be instrumental in efforts to ensure that there are no manpower shortages in this realm going forward.

Week 1 (Definition and nature of community health nursing): This module topic will seek to ensure that learners are aware of what community health nursing entails and the role that community health nursing plays in the promotion of the mental as well as physical health of people living within a certain jurisdiction or area. This module topic will serve as a foundation for the further exploration of more specialized course concepts.

Week 2 (Objectives of community health nursing): The goal in this case will be to ensure that learners are acquainted with the primary as well as secondary goals of community health nursing. For learners to be able to align with the role they are to play in community settings as BSN nurses, they need to be familiarized with the core basis of community health. Thus, this will be an introductory piece for Week 4 topic.

Week 3 (Stakeholders in community health): There will be need to ensure that learners identify all those parties that have an interest in community health. Some of the key stakeholders that will be highlighted in this case are: healthcare practitioners (including the nurses themselves), local government, patients, social health groups, charities, etc. Learners cannot be able to comprehend their role as BSN nurses in the realm of community health if they are not aware of the collaborators, partners, and professionals they will be working alongside. This topic will, thus, be supportive of the other core topics.

Week 4 (The role BSN nurses play in the promotion of community health): What roles do BSN nurses, as key stakeholders in community health, play in the promotion of the health and wellbeing of members of a community? This will be the central issue addressed in this case. This particular topic could be deemed central to the course. This is more so the case given that it delves deeper into the future mandate of learners in this case as key players in community health.

Week 5 (Community-based nursing interventions): There will be need to ensure that learners are aware of community health-specific interventions and health promotion efforts. The core objective of week 4 would be unmet if learners are not oriented into the primary health promotion interventions at the community level.

Week 6 (Addressing challenges encountered in community nursing): BSN nurses are not likely to succeed in their health promotion efforts at the community level if they cannot identify and address some of the challenges they encounter in the line of duty. This module will equip learners with the ability to identify challenges/issues and problems they encounter in the course of executing their mandate as community health nurses. It should be noted that this also happens to be a key supportive topic as it prepares learners to better execute their mandate – with specific reference to week 4 and 5.

Week 7 (The relevance of cultural competence in community health nursing): Unlike was the case many years ago, our communities have largely become cosmopolitan settings – hosting people from diverse races, religions, ways of life, etc. Future community health nurses need to be skilled in the art of relating well with persons regardless of their race, religion, sexual orientation, etc. This is topic of relevance to the entire course as it is supportive of the role of the BSN nurse in promoting community health. This is more so the case given that lack of cultural competency is likely to hinder the performance of health promotion roles in community settings.

Week 8 (Review of key concepts): The course would be meaningless if learners fail to grasp key concepts of relevance to community health nursing. This module will gauge and evaluate learner comprehension of key course concepts in relation to the nature of community health nursing and role of BSN nurses in the promotion of community health. Thus, this is an ‘overview’ or ‘revision’ topic to enhance retention of course content.

According to Dyson and McAllister (2019), student centered learning largely relates to “inverting the traditional teacher-centered understanding of the learning process and putting students at the center of the learning process” (197). It should be noted that my weekly key concepts are presented using learning strategies that are firmly rooted in the desire to enable students to be active participants in the acquisition of knowledge.

Week 1 Key Concept: In seeking to ensure that students are familiarized with community health as a specialty concerned with the promotion of the mental and physical health/wellbeing of persons within a certain geographic region, the pause procedure will be deployed. Here, learners will be asked to review the notes they have made and seek clarification on various aspects of the same after discussing the lecture content in pairs

Week 2 Key Concept: In seeking to ensure that learners grasp the primary and secondary goals of community health nursing, an inquiry-based learning approach will be used. Here, learners will be actively motivated to share ideas about what purpose community health nursing serves. They will also be asked to float the relevant queries about the goals and objectives of community health nursing.

Week 3 Key Concept: Here, the goal will be to introduce healthcare practitioners, local government, patients, social health groups, charities, etc. as stakeholders in community health. Concept maps will be used in this case. The diverse roles that stakeholders play in community health as well as possible collaborative engagements between various stakeholders will be demonstrated using a concept map.

Week 4 Key Concept: In this case, BSN nurses will be presented as key players in the promotion of community health and wellbeing. Team-based learning will come in handy. Learners will actively collaborate with each other in the completion of tasks meant to promote their understanding of the role of BSN nurses in the promotion of community health.

Week 5 Key Concept: Some of the community-based nursing interventions that will be explored are inclusive of: assessment, diagnosis, and implementation; care coordination; behavior and lifestyle change; self-care support and patient education, etc. Case study approach will be instrumental. Students will be divided into groups and asked to go through cases depicting hypothetical scenarios requiring community-based nursing interventions.

Week 6 Key Concept: The various challenges encountered in community nursing that will be explored on this front are inclusive of: diverse ethical dilemmas, limited management support; personal safety; professional isolation; career development; workplace violence; overtime; and low staffing levels. Brainstorming and case study approaches will be used. In as far as brainstorming is concerned, learners will be asked to come up with ideas on the most viable ways of addressing the challenges highlighted. Instructor will offer additional insights. When it comes to case study, learners will be presented with a case depicting a real-life scenario for discussion purposes. Here, an ethical dilemma could be described and learners asked to present proposed solutions

Week 7 Key Concept: Here the objective will be to ensure that learners understand the relevance, impact and influence of cultural as well as social factors on the delivery of care. Role playing will be ideal on this front. Here, students will be called upon to act out imagined scenarios in which case they simulate interactions between nurses and persons from diverse races, religions, sexual orientations, etc.

Week 8 Key Concept: In the final analysis, there will be need to assess student comprehension of key course concepts in relation to the nature of community health nursing and role of BSN nurses in the promotion of community health. Peer-based strategy will be appropriate in this case. Here, learners will be assigned tasks to gauge their comprehension of key concepts. They will then be asked to evaluate each other’s performance.

a.

To a large extent, my weekly key concepts align with ‘The Essentials of Baccalaureate Education for Professional Nursing Practice.’

Week 1 Concept is keen on ensuring that learners are familiar with the concept of community health nursing in as far as the promotion of the mental and physical health/wellbeing of persons within a certain geographic region is concerned This is in line with Essential IX – Baccalaureate Generalist Nursing Practice, i.e. in relation to promoting learner readiness to “practice with patients, including individuals, families, groups, communities, and populations across the lifespan and across the continuum of healthcare environments” (American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 2008).

Week 2 Concept is largely concerned with not only the primary, but also the secondary goals of community health nursing. This aligns with Essential VII – Clinical Prevention and Population Health. One of the key goals of community health nursing happens to be disease prevention and health promotion.

Week 3 Concept is a means to ensure that learners recognize the need for collaboration with stakeholders in efforts to deliver competent and quality healthcare services at the community level. This is in line with Essential VI - Inter-professional Communication and Collaboration for Improving Patient Health Outcomes.

Week 4 Concept advances the agenda of ensuring that BSN nurses are capable of practicing across healthcare environments’ continuum. This is in line with Essential IX - Baccalaureate Generalist Nursing Practice (Essential IX).

Week 5 Concept highlights the various interventions that the community health nurse would ordinarily be expected to implement in community health settings. This concept aligns with Essential VII – Clinical Prevention and Population Health because the relevance of the said interventions cannot be overstated when it comes to disease prevention and health promotion efforts.

Week 6 Concept relates to the challenges that the community health nurse is likely to encounter in the course of executing their mandate in community health settings. Among these challenges are various ethical dilemmas. Thus, the concept aligns with Essential VIII – Professionalism and Professional Values. This is particularly the case given that this particular essential zeroes in on professionalism and seeks to underline diverse values of relevance to community nursing practice.

Week 7 Concept deals with the development of cultural competency, which is in line with Essential I – Liberal Education for Baccalaureate Generalist Nursing Practice. It should be noted that a liberal education, as the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (2008) points out, “is one that intentionally fosters, across multiple fields of study, wide ranging knowledge of science, cultures, and society.”

Lastly, Week 8 Concept is essentially a review of key course concepts so as to promote retention. This largely aligns with Essential IX – Baccalaureate Generalist Nursing Practice, in the sense that there is an attempt to ensure that the learner is equipped with the skills and capabilities to function in diverse settings – and in this case, in community health settings.

In as far as the course overview is concerned, it should be noted that this particular course is founded on the need to ensure that BSN nurses are prepared to practice and function effectively in a wide range of settings. More specifically, it seeks to equip learners with the skills and knowledge required to function effectively in community health settings. Towards this end, the weekly key concepts advance this agenda on multiple fronts.

Week 1 key concept, which relates to community health as a specialty concerned with the promotion of the mental and physical health/wellbeing of persons within a certain geographic region, aligns with the course overview by relating to the need to ensure that BSN nurses are prepared to practice and function effectively in various settings, because learners are in this case capable of identifying and appropriately addressing the diverse healthcare concerns prevalent at the community level.

Week 2 key concept, which relates to the primary and secondary goals of community health nursing, aligns with the course overview by relating to the need to ensure that BSN nurses are prepared to practice and function effectively in various settings, because the said concept familiarizes learners with the key objectives (as well as mandate) of community health nursing – i.e. in relation to preserving and protecting the health of members of the community (as the primary goal) and ensuring that family and individual self-care abilities are further promoted (as the secondary goal).

Week 3 key concept (which relates to the identification of healthcare practitioners, local government, patients, social health groups, charities, etc. as stakeholders in community health) aligns with the course overview by relating to the need to ensure that BSN nurses are prepared to practice and function effectively in various settings, because learners are in this case familiarized with the various collaborators or partners that they will be working alongside at the community level.

Week 4 key concept which relates to the presentation of BSN nurses as key players in the promotion of community health and wellbeing aligns with the course overview by relating to the need to ensure that BSN nurses are prepared to practice and function effectively in various settings, because the said concept prepares learners for expanded roles especially in relation to their participation in patient education on maintenance of healthy lifestyles at the community level, provision of the relevant guidelines to patent care givers, etc.

Week 5 key concept, which relates to the assessment, diagnosis, implementation; care coordination; behavior and lifestyle change; self-care support and patient education, etc., aligns with the course overview by relating to the need to ensure that BSN nurses are prepared to practice and function effectively in various settings, because learners are in this case familiarized with the various community-based nursing intervention and provided with crucial skills and capabilities to deploy these interventions in a way that effectively addresses the specific needs of people at the community level.

Week 6 key concept, which focuses on concepts such as ethical dilemmas; limited management support; personal safety; professional isolation; career development; workplace violence; overtime; low staffing levels, etc. aligns with the course overview by relating to the need to ensure that BSN nurses are prepared to practice and function effectively in various settings, because the concept largely zooms in on the challenges that learners are likely to encounter in actual community health settings. In learning about these challenges and how to address them, learners’ chances of success in actual practice settings are further enhanced.

Week 7 key concept which relates to understanding the relevance, impact and influence of cultural as well as social factors on the delivery of care aligns with the course overview by relating to the need to ensure that BSN nurses are prepared to practice and function effectively in various settings, because it restates the importance of cultural competence in serving communities that are increasingly becoming cosmopolitan.

Week 8 key concept, which has got to do with the assessment of student comprehension of key course concepts in relation to the nature of community health nursing and role of BSN nurses in the promotion of community health, aligns with the course overview by relating to the need to ensure that BSN nurses are prepared to practice and function effectively in various settings, because it ensures that learners’ have firm understanding of the conduct and nature of community health nursing.

A course outline comes in handy in efforts to ensure that the learning process is properly planned and systematic. In my role as a nurse educator, this is the only way to ensure that the various course goals are met and, hence, learners are adequately prepared to function effectively in community health settings. It is also important to note that I am aware of the fact that without a clear schedule of activities, it would be difficult to allocate time in an effective manner. The course outline is an instrumental activity-scheduling tool.

Part C

The course outline highlighted a total of three eight distinct strategies. Three of the said strategies are concept maps, team-based learning, and case studies. To begin with, when it comes to concept maps, this particular learning strategy has got to do with the diagrammatic representation of connected ideas (O’Neil, 2014). The author points out that this particular learning strategy is especially useful for visual learners. However, as the author further observes, the learning strategy could be of relevance to just about any learner as it helps in the discernment of the bigger picture. Next, we have team-based learning. In this case, the most crucial aspect happens to be group collaboration. In this case, O’Neil (2014) indicates that learners are held accountable to not only themselves, but also their peers. In the words of the author, this approach comes in handy in the development of “skills such as complex problem-solving, critical thinking, collaboration, and time management” (O’Neil, 2014, p. 135). Lastly, we have case study learning approach which could, in basic terms, be described as a problem-based learning approach. It is especially instrumental in efforts to develop crucial analytical abilities of learners. Indeed, according to Whitton (2015), case study learning strategy happens to be especially useful in developing the ability of learners to apply theoretical concepts in practical scenarios or situations.

As has already been indicated in the course outline, the case study active learning strategy will be deployed in the coverage of the weekly course module topic titled, addressing challenges encountered in community nursing. Some of the challenges BSN nurses are likely to encounter in the course of offering healthcare services to the diverse community population are inclusive of, but they are not limited to: dealing with diverse ethical dilemmas, limited management support; personal safety; professional isolation; career development; workplace violence; overtime; low staffing levels, etc. I could implement the case-study method on this front to develop and further enhance the ability of learners to apply theoretical concepts in practical scenarios or situations – specifically in relation to the resolution of ethical dilemmas. In so doing, I could either select an existing case or create one from scratch – as long as it clearly and concisely captures an ethical dilemma likely to be encountered by a BSN nurse in a community setting. After creating the case, I could then divide learners into groups of three and ask them to read the case and tackle a set of pre-prepared questions at the end of the case study. This could then be followed by a class discussion synthesizing responses and exploring the most viable and practical approaches to resolving the ethical dilemma(s) presented.

a.

To a large extent, the predominant learning style addressed by the case study active learning strategy happens to be auditory style. In this case, learners benefit more by either listening or being given an opportunity to speak in diverse scenarios (Whitton, 2015). According to the author, the said scenarios could be inclusive of group engagements and lecture settings. In the present scenario, those who study best by having the instructor or peers explain concept, or by being given an opportunity to explain concepts, would benefit more. This is especially true given that they would be actively engaging their peers in the exploration of the presented case study, and later on listening to the instructor’s insights on the same.

b.

The case study approach would come in handy in the development of the clinical reasoning as well as self-reflection skills of learners. This, as Whitton (2015) points out, is more so the case given that this particular learning style “opens up the walls of curiosity of decision-making, problem-solving, discussions and more” (497). In seeking the most valid approach to address the ethical dilemma presented, learners would essentially be applying the concepts they have come across in theoretical settings to a practical situation. They would also be motivated to supplement the knowledge they have already acquired in class with well-thought-out ideas and solutions. Thus, the case study would also be expanding the perspectives of students beyond the classroom.

Part D

In seeking to further enhance inter-professional collaboration as well as teamwork, I will be seeking to advance outcomes that are essentially student-centered in diverse learning environments, i.e. in face-to-face learning environments, online learning environments, and clinical learning environments.

To begin with, when it comes to face-to-face learning environments, I could seek to encourage group activities and collaboration between peers in the handling of various tasks. In this case, I would be actively involved in nurturing group engagements as well as relationships from the onset. This is especially important given that learners might need some help while navigating the various stages of team development. In seeking to promote interprofessional collaboration, learners could engage in role plays in which case scenarios are designed to reflect interactions between various professionals. This would be a beneficial exercise in efforts to ensure that learners understand (and appreciate) the roles of other stakeholders in practice settings.