Background:
Challenges in Securing Community Nursing Rotation Sites Eighteen years of providing clinical placement for Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) students has demonstrated that community-based educational opportunities are shrinking due to:
•Increased regulatory requirements
•Competing numbers of nursing schools
•Increasing student enrollment
•Decreasing availability of community resources capable and willing to precept students
These issues present challenges to preparing students for nursing practice. A college of nursing at an urban, academic health center found a solution by working with unexpected partners – maximum security prisons and juvenile detention centers.
A Novel Solution: Partnerships with Prisons
Several factors make prisons an ideal learning environment for nursing students. Prisons serve as microcosms of society, reflecting social determinants of health within confined communities. They allow students to work alongside interprofessional teams experienced in correctional health, mental/behavioral health, infection control, and community health. There is ample opportunity for individual assessment and patient education, as well as population-based care. Finally, working with the diverse inmate population promotes cultural awareness and sensitivity.
Poster presented at:
Urban Health Symposium, Re-Imagining Health in Cities, From Local to Global. An international symposium hosted by The Drexel Urban Health Collaborative at the Dornsife School of Public Health. Philadelphia, Pa. September 7-8, 2017.https://jdc.jefferson.edu/nursingposters/1012/thumbnail.jp
