Giving Life to Learning Through Rural Maternal Health Immersion Experiences.

BACKGROUND

Recruiting, retaining, and educating nursing students is essential to meet the growing need for nurses in rural communities. A nursing school enhanced its prelicensure education in rural and public health nursing, and interprofessional care by expanding experiential learning opportunities.

PURPOSE: To describe longitudinal community health-based rural immersion experiences for prelicensure nursing students.

METHODS

A prospective, correlational design evaluated students' knowledge and confidence in understanding rural characteristics, confidence in achieving public health nursing, and interprofessional education competencies.

RESULTS

Fourteen prelicensure nursing students participated in rural maternal health immersion experiences and reported being more confident (21/27 items) than knowledgeable (18/27) in understanding rural characteristics. Over 85% reported competency in interprofessional interactions, and there was a significant difference in confidence in achieving public health nursing competencies between the beginning and end of the immersion.

CONCLUSION

Using immersion experiences may be effective in enhancing students' knowledge, confidence, and competency in rural and public health, and interprofessional care.