Increasing Exposure to Primary Care Nursing Through Curriculum Revision and an Innovative Nursing Minor.

Background: The changing health care environment dictates a workforce competently trained to address chronic health care issues particularly in primary care settings. Curriculum analysis identified deficits in primary care education and the need to create academic opportunities that bridge the gap between primary health care needs and nursing preparation.

Method: An existing academic-clinical partnership was leveraged to create a primary care minor for BSN students designed to provide a comprehensive adjunct to the traditional baccalaureate nursing curriculum.

Interprofessional education: A disaster response simulation activity for military medics, nursing, & paramedic science students.

Health care providers need to be able to function and react appropriately and efficiently during a community-wide disaster situation. Traditional health care education is not adequately structured to provide realistic experiences with respect to high-risk or infrequently encountered events such as a disaster. As a result, many healthcare providers graduate into practice with inadequate exposure or skills to intervene in a disastrous event.