Role of nursing students at rural nurse-managed clinics.

With stiff competition for clinical sites, one Midwestern university partners nursing students with faculty who provide primary healthcare to clients in 2 rural nurse-managed clinics. Some students are also assigned to follow select clients during weekly home visit rotations for their public health clinical course. The result has been a successful faculty practice and preceptor model that benefits rural communities, a clinical setting that provides opportunities for students to experience client care needs of the underinsured or uninsured in small communities, and student exposure to the financial burdens and challenges of today's healthcare environment in the United States.

Public health nursing student home visit preparation: the role of simulation in increasing confidence.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the role of simulation in preparing senior nursing students for their first home visit and to determine comfort and confidence levels of these students as they prepare for their first home visits. This exploratory study used a convenience sample of public health nursing students (n = 115). A pretest posttest design evaluated the effectiveness of the simulation using a 5-point Likert scale to detect changes in student confidence.