Course Development Community Health Nursing

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

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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. There are also a number of other techniques that could be deployed in face-to-face learning environments to foster student-centered outcomes. One such technique is the jigsaw technique in which case individual learners are required to acquaint themselves with specific concepts, and then make a presentation to their peers. Here, each and every learner gets an opportunity to participate in the said undertaking.

Secondly, in online learning environments, I would actively make use of online discussion boards. Indeed, according to Schmeck (2013), one of the most viable formats of promoting learner engagement happens to be online discussion boards. In this case, I could trigger learner conversations by posting discussion questions on a daily basis. The questions in this case, which would ideally be open-ended, could be designed to make learners achieve deeper comprehension of course materials.

Third, in as far as clinical learning environments are concerned, I would seek to incorporate simulation. The goal in this case would be to ensure that learning takes place in an environment deemed safe, but enabling. Simulation would also promote collaboration as learners work together in an interactive setup meant to mimic real-life settings.