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Amidst a critical shortage of registered nurses, nursing schools are aiming to expand enrollment while working with ongoing resource constraints. Service‐learning clinical activities can enhance nursing education by improving clinical quality, addressing faculty and clinical site shortages, and meeting increasing enrollment demands. This paper describes a health fair experience that served as a service‐learning clinical experience within an undergraduate public health nursing course. The experience bridged theoretical knowledge with real‐world application, fostering competency‐based learning and addressing community health needs, resulting in a positive impact on students, faculty, and the community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID‐19 pandemic has highlighted the need for public health nursing as an integral part of a strong public health workforce. However, it has also created challenges in preparing future nurses as much of nursing instruction, including clinical experiences, needed to urgently transition learning to a virtual environment. This paper describes the process faculty experienced during spring 2020 to quickly transition public health nursing clinicals from in‐person to virtual learning in response to COVID‐19. Further, faculty lessons learned are shared and include the importance of creating a supportive team dynamic, embracing innovation, continuing to engage with community partners, and adapting to meet emerging student needs during the evolving pandemic. The process and lessons learned may act as a guide for other nursing programs as we continue to navigate nursing education during this and future pandemics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The Association of Community/Public Health Nurse Educators (ACHNE) Research Priorities Subcommittee presents a report on the state of the science of public health nursing education. Design: Whittemore and Knafl's (Journal of Advanced Nursing, 2005, 52, 546) five‐step integrative review was used. Sample: Fifty‐two articles were reviewed. Measurements: Braun et al's. (Handbook of research methods in health social sciences, 2019, 843) thematic analysis methods were used. Results: Four themes emerged: (a) Community/Public Health Nursing Education and teaching strategies/modalities; (b) Clinical teaching and learning partnerships; (c) Environmental health and emergency response; and, (d) Cultural competence and awareness. Conclusions: Themes informed the following research priorities: (a) a need for rigorous scientific studies highlighting the impact and effectiveness of Community/Public Health Nursing Education; (b) a need for evidence on faculty development, support and training related to community/public health activities; (c) a need for evidence on impact of Community/Public Health Nursing teaching on communities and students, and (d) a need for evidence on impact of C/PHNE strategies on long‐term student knowledge, attitudes or behavior (competencies). Finally, a Research in Action Model is proposed as a means for continued forward movement of the discipline, connecting the three fundamental driving mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public health nurses (PHNs) use principles of epidemiology in their work with communities; however, teaching these concepts at the baccalaureate level can be challenging. To reinforce the epidemiologic concepts taught in the classroom, two nursing faculty in our baccalaureate nursing program developed a population health project that allows students to explore concepts of epidemiology within the context of a population health concern. This article describes how the project provides students with a realistic opportunity to research the health issue. As a part of the project, students collect and analyze data about the health concern at the county, state, and national level. The project also requires students to identify local agencies who provide services for people who are impacted by the health issue and describe their role and function within the community. Furthermore, students discuss the roles and responsibilities of nurses in managing the population health concern under investigation. In doing so, students recognize how epidemiology informs population level nursing care. If nursing students understand epidemiological concepts, they will be better prepared to educate the communities they serve after graduation when a population health crisis, such as the recent COVID‐19 pandemic, occurs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An editorial is presented on public health nurses across the country demonstrating the "frontline" of nursing practice. Topics include illuminating gaps in public health resources, public health clinical nursing educators using the pandemic-induced limitations for engaging and preparing students for public health nursing practice; and nursing students providing in-person support in public school-based health clinics focusing on primary care and routine health screenings.