Learning about Rurality: From Classroom to Community

Abstract

Ensuring that advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) students have optimal health promotion/disease prevention skills is critical as increasing numbers train and later work in rural and underserved areas. APRN students are more likely to have clinical training in rural areas in response to workforce initiatives designed to create a pipeline from nursing school to practice in rural and underserved communities. Therefore, they need both didactic and experiential learning to truly understand the social determinants of health in a community. We begin with a brief discussion about how APRNs meet needs in both rural America and women’s health. The article continues with an exemplar that considers how to prepare women’s health APRNs for a population in rural California. With the support of a rural consultant, a unique community assessment tool Mind Your Own Business was used by students to explore a new rural clinical placement area in southern California. We present the community assessment assignment and tool, analysis of student reflections; and subsequently identified community needs and offer future implications for education and practice. Nurse educators are encouraged to both enhance curriculum with activities to prepare students to work with rural populations, and expand clinical placements in these areas.