Creating an optimum environment for learning

The role of the practice teacher is pivotal in supporting the development of students undertaking Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) approved Specialist Community Public Health (SCPHN), School Nursing programmes. It is a mandatory requirement that students of school nursing are supported and assessed by a named practice teacher, who must have met the requirements defined within the practice teacher standard (NMC, 2008). In this series of short papers, Sarah Sherwin and Liz Stevenson explore the developing role of the practice teacher in relation to school nursing, since the advent of the revised standards. Although specifically geared towards practice teachers within the school nursing arena, mentors who provide support to a range of students within the community health setting may also find the series useful

A Renewed Vision for Higher Education in Public Health

We are transforming the educational strategy at the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health guided by 5 principles: (1) development of T-shaped competencies (breadth across fields, depth in primary fields), (2) flexible and modular design accommodating different needs through the lifecycle, (3) greater experiential learning, (4) 3 levels of education (informative, formative, and transformative learning), and (5) integrated instructional design (online, in person, and in the field). We aim to create an arc of education resulting in continuous learning. We seek to bridge the research versus education dichotomy and create research–teaching congruence, adapting the values of peer review and quality assessment that we routinely accept for grant and article review to education