How public, community health virtual clinical experiences enhance clinical reasoning

Common problems in public/community health nursing education include a) a lack of clinical sites; b) lack of qualified nurse educators, and c) a lack of consistent learning experiences for nursing students in traditional public/community health settings. New advances in technology are providing nurse educators with innovative ways to enhance clinical reasoning and deliver nursing education content. One of these advances is screen-based virtual reality software that can be utilized for simulated clinical experiences.

In these virtual clinical experiences, students participate in activities that increase poverty awareness; learn and apply public health concepts related to intimate partner violence, elder abuse, homelessness, and advocacy; develop disaster assessment, emergency response, and post-disaster recovery skills; and facilitate a community assessment. “Family as client” is addressed from a population-based perspective within clinic and home visits. Other active learning experiences include a safety assessment with an aging adult; case management; telehealth; correctional nursing; and mental health from a community perspective. This webinar will discuss how the use of virtual clinical experiences can help students develop clinical reasoning.

Objectives:

1. Examine how technology can be used to support alternative learning experiences for community/public health clinical experiences.
2. Discuss how a series of innovative community/public health clinical experiences can be used to enhance clinical reasoning.