Access to Excellence - College of Health and Public Affairs ...
Access to Excellence - College of Health and Public Affairs ...
Access to Excellence - College of Health and Public Affairs ...
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UCF Nursing in the Community1 2 3Until recently, traditional nursing educationwas based in hospitals. In the 1980s, majorchanges in health-care reimbursement led <strong>to</strong>dramatic changes in learning environments fornursing students. The amount <strong>of</strong> care providedby hospitals decreased, while care byoutpatient facilities increased. In addition,the employment <strong>of</strong> unlicensed personnel <strong>to</strong>assist pr<strong>of</strong>essional nurses increased.These changes greatly reduced the number<strong>of</strong> opportunities for nursing students <strong>to</strong> learn<strong>and</strong> gain experience in hospital settings.“Community-based nursing education” grewfrom the need <strong>to</strong> exp<strong>and</strong> the parameters <strong>of</strong>traditional nursing education — <strong>and</strong> <strong>to</strong> ensurethat students have rich learning experiences.In 1997, the School <strong>of</strong> Nursing exp<strong>and</strong>ed itsundergraduate program <strong>to</strong> include learningopportunities in the community. Students nowgain clinical experience in many health-caresettings, including 306 hours <strong>of</strong> practice in thecommunity <strong>and</strong> 519 hours in hospitalsor similar agencies.Eleven <strong>to</strong>wns <strong>and</strong> cities in Central Floridacurrently provide settings for community-basednursing education for UCF students: Apopka,Bithlo, Cocoa, Englewood, Parramore, PineHills, Oak Ridge, Melbourne, Merritt Isl<strong>and</strong>,Sanford <strong>and</strong> Winter Park. Although thesecommunities vary in ethnic composition <strong>and</strong>location, they share limited access <strong>to</strong> healthcare <strong>and</strong> have large numbers <strong>of</strong> medicallyunderserved residents.In each community, the School <strong>of</strong> Nursingcollaborates with an agency that providesspace for a Community Nursing Center.Each center is managed by a nursing facultymember <strong>and</strong> serves as a base <strong>of</strong> operationfor collaborative projects between facultymembers, students, neighborhood residents<strong>and</strong> organizations. Together, they assess thehealth <strong>and</strong> health-care needs <strong>of</strong> a community<strong>and</strong> subsequently develop, implement <strong>and</strong>evaluate programs <strong>to</strong> meet those needs.Community Nursing Centers provide UCFstudents with opportunities <strong>to</strong> observe, develop<strong>and</strong> practice skills that are indispensable <strong>to</strong>the nursing practice. These include problemsolving,critical-thinking <strong>and</strong> psychomo<strong>to</strong>r skills.The students work directly with clients with adiverse range <strong>of</strong> health problems <strong>and</strong> assess,plan <strong>and</strong> implement individual-care activities.The experience enables them <strong>to</strong> transfertheir knowledge <strong>of</strong> theory <strong>to</strong> practice, developteamwork skills <strong>and</strong> help clients improvetheir health.By providing students with opportunities <strong>to</strong> gainexperience in both community clinics <strong>and</strong>hospitals, the School <strong>of</strong> Nursing is educatingexpert generalist nurses who are well-prepared<strong>to</strong> practice nursing in a variety <strong>of</strong> settingsincluding, but not limited <strong>to</strong>, hospitals.8