The $927,000 grant will be used to develop a BSN Academic-Practice Community Health preceptorship.
Advances in health care and implementation of new policies are changing the role of nurses. New efforts are shifting health care toward health promotion and providing primary health care in community-based settings rather than a hospital setting. Along these lines, the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics is forecasting a 19 percent growth in public health nursing during the next decade.
George Mason University’s School of Nursing has already seen an increase in demand from community-based employers and is expanding curriculum so students interested in public health nursing are prepared with the skills they need to care for patients in the community.
Recently, the School of Nursing received a two-year, $927,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Nurse Education Practice, Quality, and Retention (NEPQR) – Bachelor of Science in Nursing Practicums in Community Settings (BPCS) Program.
The NEPQR program “has a broad legislative authority to address development and advancement of the nursing workforce. The NEPQR program provides grant support for academic, service and continuing education projects designed to enhance nursing education, improve the quality of patient care, increase nurse retention and strengthen the nursing workforce.”
With this grant, the School of Nursing will develop a BSN Academic-Practice Community Health preceptorship. The preceptorship will pair BSN students with community preceptors who work in public and primary care health areas to encourage students to transition to a graduate nurse who works with vulnerable populations.
Further, the grant will focus on three initiatives: 1) address workforce diversity training and education needs for BSN students with a focus on cultural competence; 2) expand Mason’s BSN community curriculum with additional learning opportunities focused on primary and public health care for vulnerable and underserved populations; and 3) enhance the communication channels between academic and practice partners to better prepare BSN students to care for underserved populations.
“Part of our role in the greater community is to work with our partners so that we can anticipate their changing needs and prepare our students to succeed in the workplace. This shift to providing care in community-based settings has changed how registered nurses practice, and in turn, we need to continuously tailor our curriculum so our nursing students are prepared to provide care for our community members in these settings,” said Carol Urban, director of the School of Nursing and project director for the grant.
To learn more about how a degree in nursing might be the right choice for you, visit us at chhs.gmu.edu/nursing.