RN-to-BSN Education. Global and Population Health Project: Think Global, Act Local

Abstract

PurposeAn associate degree in nursing (ADN) is an established pathway to becoming a Registered Nurse (RN) in the United States (US) however there is a push for ADN trained RNs to pursue further training and obtain a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN). Within the AACN Essentials, Essential VII: Clinical Prevention and Population Health a Community Health and Population-Focused Health Promotion Activity is required to be met for all BSN trained RNs. This manuscript outlines a novel way of meeting this requirement which allows students to develop knowledge and skills around public health, health promotion and disease prevention at the individual and population level. MethodsThe Community Health and Population-Focused Health Promotion Activity which the RN to BSN students undertook required them to choose a topic that addresses the National Health Initiatives, Strategies & Action Plans. From these broad health topics groups of students (3-4) developed a health promotion activity (HPA) on a public university campus which included a poster during their HPA. The poster presented the health topic and addressed why it was important globally, nationally, locally, and specifically to the university community using a variety of resources specific to the question. Prior to development, students were required to do an abbreviated community assessment on how the health promotion activity task would be presented to interact and engage fellow university students. An evaluation of the health promotion exercise was undertaken through a simple online survey using Qualitrics © accessed either by computers or tablets provided. ResultsAfter the health promotion activity, the planning for the project, the poster and syntheses of the data which was collected on the HPA was presented to their peers in class. Further analysis of the project was done on an individual basis requiring the students to submit an individual assignment on their health promotion topic, the activity and their individual analysis of the HPA. ConclusionThis activity aligns with the Community Health and Population-Focused Health Promotion Activity for RN to BSN which is a requirement for the AACN The Essentials of Baccalaureate Education for Professional Nursing Practice and is a model for alternative practice for RN to BSN curriculum.