Characteristics of quality placement 1
Running Head: CHARACTERISTICS OF A QUALITY PLACEMENT
Report
Qualitative Data Analysis Findings from the CASN Focus Groups:
“Characteristics of a Quality Community Health Nursing Clinical Placement for Baccalaureate
Nursing Students”
Prepared for: CASN Public Health Education Sub-Committee
Prepared by: Robin Ray, R.N., MScN Student, University of Ottawa
CASN PHE Sub-Committee Advisor: Donna Meagher-Stewart, PhD
Submitted on: September 30th, 2008
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Characteristics of quality placement 2
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................ 3
METHODS.................................................................................................................................................... 3
ANALYSIS .................................................................................................................................................... 4
RESULTS ...................................................................................................................................................... 6
THEME 1. FACULTY CHAMPIONS. ............................................................................................................... 7
THEME 2. SUPPORTIVE BACCALAUREATE CURRICULUM STRUCTURE AND PROCESS.................................. 8
THEME 3. STRONG COMMUNITY-ACADEMIC PARTNERSHIPS. ...................................................................10
THEME 4. ONSITE CHARACTERISTICS OF A QUALITY CLINICAL PLACEMENT. ...........................................11
FINAL THOUGHTS ...................................................................................................................................14
AREAS FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION. ...........................................................................................................14
FUTURE CONSIDERATIONS. ........................................................................................................................16
REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................................18
APPENDIX A: CASN PUBLIC HEALTH EDUCATION SUB-COMMITTEE MEMBERS .............19
APPENDIX B: RELEASE FORM .............................................................................................................20
APPENDIX C: CLINICAL PLACEMENT EXEMPLARS ....................................................................21
APPENDIX D: CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK FOR ‘CHARACTERISTICS OF A QUALITY
COMMUNITY HEALTH NURSING CLINICAL PLACEMENT’ .......................................................22
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Characteristics of quality placement 3
Introduction
The Public Health Education (PHE) sub-committee for the Canadian Association
of Schools of Nursing (CASN) received funding from the Public Health Agency of
Canada for a 3 year project to advance public health education in Canadian baccalaureate
nursing programs. One of the primary objectives of the sub-committee is to develop
guidelines and tools for Schools of Nursing to support them in identifying quality clinical
placements for their baccalaureate nursing students. Members of the CASN PHE subcommittee include both academics and practitioners (for a complete list of members,
please see appendix A).
Methods
One of the strategies of the CASN PHE sub-committee to reach their primary
objective was to conduct focus group interviews with community health nursing faculty
and representatives from the community setting. Focus groups explore collective
phenomenology (Sim, 1998), making them effective in this situation as the goal was to
identify characteristics of a quality community health nursing clinical placement from
participants with potentially different perspectives. Nine focus groups were conducted at
national nursing and public health meetings held in May and June of 2008 (specifically at
the 2nd National Community Health Nurses Conference, May 29-31; Canadian Public
Health Association 2008 Annual Conference, June1-4; and at the Canadian Nurses
Association, June 15).
Each focus group was approximately 60 minutes and was facilitated by members
of the CASN PHE sub-committee. Participants were first asked to think of the absolute
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Characteristics of quality placement 4
“best” community health nursing student placement, and then asked to share: ‘What are
the characteristics of a quality clinical placement?’ Probes were used to facilitate
discussion, and were made up of contextual factors that could contribute to a quality
clinical placement:

Intra -organizational factors (resources, infrastructures, etc.)

Inter-organizational factors (processes for student placements between agencies,
etc.)

Inter-personal factors (communication, qualities of preceptors, etc.)

Physical environment factors (transportation, location of practice setting, etc.)
Each focus group consisted of 6-8 participants. Participants were described by their
primary area of work as either research, teaching, management, administration, clinical
practice, or policy. A scribe was selected for each focus group to record the discussion,
and a release form was signed by each participant (Appendix B). Participants were also
asked to share any Clinical Placement Exemplars (Appendix C).
Analysis
The written notes scribed at each of the focus group sessions were collected and
recorded electronically in point form. The data was then assembled in one document and
given to a nursing graduate student to be analyzed in consultation with an advisor from
the CASN PHE sub-committee. The raw focus group data collected needed to be reduced
into prominent themes to provide guidance to the CASN PHE sub-committee. An
established procedure for descriptive qualitative analysis was followed (Miles &
Huberman, 1994).
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Characteristics of quality placement 5
The initial review of the combined focus group data was examined using both the
main focus group question and probing questions as an organizing framework (Miles &
Huberman, 1994). A word that represented the main idea of each data point was labeled
in the margins, which formed the first set of descriptive codes (much like a ‘start list’).
From this point, the data attached to these codes were then clustered and assembled into
categories, following the organizing framework. As the data chunks and clusters within
each category were re-read for meaning and content, the codes were modified into theme
codes. The data was then re-assembled according to these codes, which formed the
categories of the analyzing framework (i.e. the major themes). After this, clustering of the
data into new chunks, and then sub-themes, continued until all of the data was accounted
for.
Ongoing communication and consultation on the development of the framework
and data analysis between the graduate student and advisor occurred. Agreement was
reached on all coding. The coding structure and analyzing/schematic framework was also
reviewed by the CASN PHE sub-committee for validation. Providing an opportunity for
participant verification of the analysis findings is an important step in the process
(Morrison-Beedy et al., 2001) and appropriate changes in the analysis were made to
reflect the actual focus group experiences.
The four major themes that emerged from the data and became the basis for the
analyzing framework were: 1. Faculty Champions, 2. Supportive Baccalaureate
Curriculum Structure and Process, 3. Strong Community-Academic Partnerships, and 4.
Onsite Characteristics of a Quality Clinical Placement.
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Characteristics of quality placement 6
Results
Of the 47 participants in the nine focus groups that took place, 17 were from the
practice setting and 30 were from the academic setting. The data indicated that for a
quality clinical placement to occur, three structures and/or processes were critical,
namely Faculty Champions, Supportive Baccalaureate Curriculum Structure and Process,
and Strong Community-Academic Partnerships. These ‘background’ processes, once in
place, along with Onsite Characteristics of a Quality Clinical Placement (the final major
theme) all contribute to quality clinical placements for baccalaureate nursing students.
Each of these major themes, along with their sub-themes will be discussed in further
detail. These themes and their sub-themes are presented in Table 1.
Table 1: Themes and sub-themes that contribute to a quality community health nursing
clinical placement
Major themes
Sub-themes
Faculty champions
(a) Faculty preparation and commitment to
community health nursing (CHN)
(b) Faculty strategies to enhance clinical
learning
Supportive baccalaureate curriculum structure
and process
(a) Amount, timing, and sequencing of CHN
theory-practice in curriculum
(b) Valuing CHN in curriculum
(c) Relevant content
Strong community-academic partnerships
(a) Formalized agreements and buy-in
(b) Clarity of community and university roles
and expectations
(c) Collaborative planning
(d) Building relationships
(e) New RN grad transition to CHN work
(f) Challenges with collaboration
Onsite characteristics of a quality clinical
placement
(a) Strong nursing identity
(b) Broad exposure to CHN scope of practice
(c) Includes a range of experiences
(d) Competent, well-prepared preceptors
(e) Supportive environment for student learning
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Theme 1. Faculty Champions. The importance of having faculty champions to
help ensure community health nursing theory and practice excellence for students
emerged from the focus group data. It was distinct from the theme 2: Supportive
Baccalaureate Curriculum Structure and Process, yet was discussed in close context with
it. Schools of Nursing faculty and clinical instructors were described as having a role in
ensuring that the baccalaureate curriculum supports community health nursing student
development. Within the theme of Faculty Champions, two sub-themes emerged (a)
faculty preparation and commitment to community health nursing and (b) faculty
strategies to enhance clinical learning.
Faculty preparation and commitment to community health nursing. Having
community and/or public health nursing practice experience came forward strongly as
necessary preparation for both clinical instructors and faculty who teach and support
students in community health nursing. A strategy to assist with supporting this type of
preparation was mentoring community health nursing work among faculty. A strategy for
building faculty commitment in community health nursing was through recognition and
affirmation.
Faculty strategies to enhance clinical learning. Matching student interest with
community health nursing placements emerged from the data as an important practice for
faculty, while it was acknowledged that capturing student interest in these placements has
both challenges and enablers. The challenges for faculty include; students feeling
overwhelmed, having a sense of entitlement, wanting a quick fix to community health
nursing issues, and/or wanting to do only concrete things. An enabler identified as
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enhancing clinical learning was that community health nursing practice leads to less
dissatisfaction than nursing work in acute care settings.
Reflective practice activities emerged as a key faculty strategy to enhance student
clinical learning. One participant stated that: “Reflective writing helps students find the
‘a-ha’ moment”. Another strategy that faculty could use to enhance student clinical
learning is to create more supportive student-to-faculty ratios during the placement
experience. Also, with increased student enrolments and expanded scope of community
health nursing practice, the role of alternative student placements is increasingly being
explored as a method to enhance clinical learning. One participant said: “Increasing
enrolment has necessitated thinking outside of the box to create ‘new spaces’ for
students”. Other strategies to enhance clinical learning for students includes; developing a
community health library for students, allowing students to shadow other students, giving
students the opportunity to teach instead of the preceptor, and promoting ‘praxis’ groups
(a clinical instructor, agency person and teams of four students that meet and discuss
concepts and theoretical application).
Theme 2. Supportive Baccalaureate Curriculum Structure and Process. The
important role that Schools of Nursing baccalaureate curriculum plays in contributing to a
quality clinical placement for students was evident in the data. This theme consists of
three sub-themes (a) amount, timing, and sequencing of community health nursing
theory-practice in curriculum, (b) valuing community health nursing in curriculum, and
(c) relevant content.
Amount, timing and sequencing of community health nursing theory-practice in
curriculum. This prominent sub-theme revealed the importance of community health
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Characteristics of quality placement 9
nursing theory and practice to be taught across all four years of nursing programs. Also,
theory needs to be taught first and then followed by a clinical placement for the student to
more fully understand it. The data also indicated that both long and short community
health nursing placements are needed and that flexibility of the timing and type of clinical
experiences should to be considered. Less emphasis was placed on having community
health nursing concepts introduced early in curriculum, and that a student’s first clinical
placement should start with an overview of community health nursing.
Valuing community health nursing in curriculum. This sub-theme emerged as
necessary, but one that faced some challenges. The data indicated that there was a need to
increase community health nursing courses and placements in the baccalaureate
curriculum and that the curriculum needs to match both community health nursing
practice and practice standards such as, the Canadian Community Health Nursing
Standards of Practice. The data also suggests that the curriculum needs to prepare new
graduates with the necessary competencies to begin working as a community/public
health nurse at the time of graduation.
The challenges in valuing community health nursing in the curriculum were
identified as; a lack of space for community health nursing courses, and Schools of
Nursing/Universities focus on research agendae and not teaching mastery. A strategy for
valuing community health nursing in the curriculum was named as integrating
community health nursing concepts into other curriculum courses.
Relevant content. Participants noted that baccalaureate nursing curriculum needs
to include content that provides students with the knowledge and understanding of the
determinants of health and population health. Other relevant content includes community
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Characteristics of quality placement 10
development, health promotion strategies, key models and frameworks used in public
health, and evidence-based practice.
Theme 3. Strong Community-Academic Partnerships. This theme was discussed
in more detail than the previous two major themes. It describes the elements that ensure
quality clinical placements for students that both the School of Nursing and community
organizations (where clinical placements take place) have a role in developing. Many
sub-themes were evident, (a) formalized agreements and buy-in, (b) clarity of community
and university roles and expectations, (c) collaborative planning, (d) building
relationships, (e) new R.N. grad transition to community health nursing work, and (d)
challenges with collaboration.
Formalized agreements and buy-in. Identified as a valuable tool to help ensure
strong community-academic partnerships for quality student placements were formal
agreements. Examples of effective formalized agreements and buy-in that participants
discussed (in order of most to least often shared within the focus group data) were cross
appointments, teaching health units, placement coordinators, and formal contracts.
Clarity of community and university roles and expectations. To prevent confusion
and frustration of students, faculty and community health organization staff where
clinical placements take place, clarity of each group’s roles and expectations must be
defined. Clearly defined student roles and expectations during the clinical placement
emerged as most important.
Collaborative planning. Preceptor orientation and ongoing training to ensure all
preceptors are starting at same place, understand their role, and mentor students
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effectively is ideally done collaboratively. Other collaborative planning strategies include
recognizing preceptors and conducting evaluations of the clinical experience together (i.e.
clinical instructor and/or faculty and preceptor). These strategies help validate the roles of
both partners in the process.
Building relationships. Participants commented that this is achieved though open
communication and face-to-face contact between the faculty or clinical instructors and
staff at the community health organization. These relationships need to be developed and
sustained over time in order to remain effective.
New RN grad transition to community health nursing work. An enabler that
assists transition is increased funding to hire new graduates (such as provincial
government funding), while some challenges were identified as the lack of availability of
community health nursing jobs upon graduation and furthermore these jobs tend to be
lower paid than hospital jobs. Treating the student as a potential employee of the practice
setting was mentioned as a strategy to support new graduate transition into the workforce.
Challenges with collaboration. Competing demands and bureaucracy within both
the School of Nursing and community organization were viewed as challenging
collaborative efforts that had the potential to negatively impact each organization’s
ability to provide students with a quality clinical placement experience.
Theme 4. Onsite Characteristics of a Quality Clinical Placement. In comparison
with the other major themes, this major theme had the greatest amount of data associated
with it. The previous three major themes provided the background context that support
quality clinical placements for students, while this theme provides the ‘onsite’ context at
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the clinical setting. The onsite characteristics of a high quality clinical placement in
community health nursing include one with (a) a nursing identity, (b) broad exposure to
community health nursing scope of practice, (c) a range of experiences for students, (d)
competent, well prepared preceptors, and (e) a supportive environment for student
learning.
Nursing identity. Nursing identity was described as present in practice settings
where strong community health nursing role-modeling takes place. Participants described
these settings in which a nurse is seen practicing and where faculty are deliberate in
making the community health nursing role connections with the students when the
preceptor is not R.N.-prepared. One participant said: “Faculty need to become the nursing
role lead…bring the role and standards of CHN into the discussion, especially where
other disciplines are doing work which overlaps with nursing standards of practice, e.g.
community development and health promotion”. A participant noted that even in
traditional community health nursing practice settings: “the nursing presence is often
absent, let alone visible”.
Broad exposure to community health nursing scope of practice. Exposure to the
determinants of health, participatory action, population health, and primary health care
principles was identified as important for student learning. This also includes
opportunities for students to work with clients at all ‘levels’ (i.e. individuals, groups,
communities) at various settings. General teaching and learning approaches such as, selfdirective learning, telephone encounters, and appropriate conduct in the community were
also described as part of this broad exposure. Also, for those students who have a clinical
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placement at a public health unit, they need to be given exposure to multiple strategies
and programs.
Includes a range of experiences. Students require the experience of being part of a
multidisciplinary team. They also need experiences that are more than just observation –
provide real hands-on experience, ones where students can see the results from their
work, and those that move students towards independent practice. One participant
explained: “For a rich clinical placement, students need an opportunity to be involved, do
advocacy, policy work, proposal writing, sit in coalition meetings, lead meetings - handson real PHN [public health nursing] work”.
Competent, well-prepared preceptors. Competent preceptors are R.N. prepared or
have similar community health nursing competencies, and are effective role-models.
Qualities of competent, well-prepared preceptors include those that embrace life-long
learning, and have a positive attitude towards preceptorship. Other qualities such as,
helping students apply theory into practice, having a generalist view to their practice,
possessing a good grounding in community, and valuing equity were also mentioned.
Well-prepared preceptors also have organizational support to precept, especially support
given in the form of time to effectively support students.
Supportive environment for student learning. A supportive environment was seen
as including caring, enthusiastic organizations to mentor students, being easily accessible,
a safe placement for students, on-site faculty support, and including a student orientation.
Ongoing communication and face-to-face contact between faculty and preceptors
emerged as important for student learning, as was agencies that were appropriately
staffed.
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A conceptual framework for the thematic analysis is illustrated in Appendix D.
Final Thoughts
Areas for Further Discussion. Before discussing some final thoughts around the
findings from the focus group data, it is important to acknowledge that every effort was
made to represent the meaning of the content as accurately as possible, including
validating the findings with members of the CASN PHE sub-committee.
However, there were some limitations in this data analysis. Since the focus group
interviews were scribed and not audio recorded, no specific data on context, tone and
intensity of the discussion, and/or on the interaction between the participants was
collected. Also, there was no data on the non-verbal communications that took place
during the groups. With this in mind, it is possible that the analysis is flawed as the
context in which the data was given could have been misinterpreted.
In Valaitis et al.’s article (2008) entitled "Preparing the Community Health Nursing
Workforce: Internal and External Enablers and Challenges Influencing Undergraduate
Nursing Programs in Canada", the major themes found to be enablers in influencing
community health content in Schools of Nursing were generally the same major themes
that emerged from this data. This is likely due to the fact that nursing has both theoretical
and practical components to it, so ensuring a quality community placement (mainly
practice) shares many similarities with what influences community health content at the
Schools of Nursing (mainly theory). Therefore, when reflecting on the data analysis
findings from the focus group interviews, it was not surprising to find that a quality
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Characteristics of quality placement 15
community health nursing clinical placement occurs only when both academic and
practice environments invest in student learning through an effective partnership.
Faculty should to be champions, as should practitioners, to advocate for changes to
the baccalaureate nursing curriculum. Together, they also ought to look for opportunities
to integrate a range of community health nursing concepts and experiences throughout
the four years of the curriculum. Community health settings could be used more often to
support theory learned in topics as maternal-child or geriatrics, which often have clinical
placements in the acute care setting. A collaborative effort between academics and
practitioners is a major way to make such opportunities possible.
With the increased demand for creative settings for student placements and the
growing body of knowledge in community, population, and public health ‘science’, it can
be challenging for students to see the nursing role in both traditional and non-traditional
community placements. In traditional community health nursing settings practitioners
should commit to creating and maintaining a vibrant nursing culture, while faculty and
clinical instructors ought to make the nursing role connections stronger when students are
in non-traditional settings.
Engaging students in community health nursing might be facilitated if clinical
placements could match their interests. With the expanded scope of community health
nursing practice and global efforts to promote health, faculty and practitioners could
assist students to practice in creative sites across the country and across the globe.
Providing occasion for students to have a say in their clinical placement opportunities
(activities, area of specialty) may also help capture their interest.
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Characteristics of quality placement 16
Important preparation for both clinical instructors and faculty who teach and
support students in community health nursing, is having community health nursing
practice experience. On the other hand, one quality of competent, well-prepared
preceptors is life-long learning. In keeping with the partnership theme, practitioners could
facilitate opportunities for faculty without community health nursing experience to
shadow clinical experts or take a ‘secondment’ at the practice setting. Academics could
facilitate continuing education opportunities for preceptors, for example giving course
credits towards a Masters in Nursing program.
To help solidify a supportive environment for student learning, perhaps a
compendium of ‘best-practice’ formal agreements for student placements can be
developed at either the provincial or national level. There would need to some
opportunity for modified agreements to be implemented and evaluated to help overcome
specific organizational challenges. This agreement could define community and
university roles and expectations, responsibilities for collaborative planning, focus on
building relationships and detail strategies that could assist new grads to transition easily
into practice.
Future considerations. An important comment was made during a focus group
interview that is best captured as a future consideration. One participant asked: “Why
don't we have any nursing students participating in this focus group on what makes a
meaningful clinical placement for them in community? You need to be sure you ask the
students this question, not just faculty and managers”. Providing recently graduated and
current baccalaureate nursing students with an opportunity to share their views may
reveal many of the same themes that emerged from these focus group interviews, but it
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Characteristics of quality placement 17
also might provide an additional glimpse into characteristics of a quality clinical
placement from the eyes of those who truly experience it.
The data from the focus group interviews has brought forward many important
aspects that must be considered when determining community health nursing clinical
placements for Baccalaureate students. To ensure quality clinical placements for students,
these background and onsite characteristics need to be facilitated as much as possible.
With the increased role that nursing in the community will likely take to provide health
care to Canadians into the future (Vollman, Anderson & McFarlane, 2004), quality
clinical placements are even more essential to the development of competent community
health nurses.
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Characteristics of quality placement 18
References
Miles, M. B. & Huberman, A. M. (1994). Qualitative Data Analysis: An Expanded
Sourcebook (2ed.). SAGE Publications: Thousand Oaks, CA
Morrison-Beedy, D., Cote-Arsenault, D., & Feinstein, N. F. (2001). Maximizing results
with focus groups: moderator and analysis issues. Applied Nursing Research,
14(1): 48-53.
Sim, J. (1998). Collecting and analyzing qualitative data: issues raised by the focus
group. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 28(2): 345-352.
Valaitis, R. K., Rajsic, C. J., Cohen, B., Stamler, L. L., Meagher-Stewart, D. & Froude,
S. A. (2008). Preparing the Community Health Nursing Workforce: Internal and
External Enablers and Challenges Influencing Undergraduate Nursing Programs
in Canada. International Journal of Nursing Education Scholarship, 5(1): article
22.
Vollman, A. D., Anderson, E. T., & McFarlane, J. (2004). Canadian Community as
Partner. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins: Philadelphia, PA
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Characteristics of quality placement 19
Appendix A: CASN Public Health Education Sub-Committee Members
As of June 2008:
Lynnette Leeseberg Stamler, University of Saskatchewan (Chair)
Margaret Antolovich, Public Health Nurses Leaders Council of BC
Sherri Buhler, Manitoba Public Health Managers Network; Parkland Regional Health
Authority
Benita Cohen, University of Manitoba
Susan Froude, Western Health Care Corporation
Morag Granger, Regina Qu'Appelle Health Region
Janet Helmer, Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing
Karen MacDougall, Public Health Agency of Canada
Donna Meagher-Stewart, Community Health Nurses Association of Canada; Dalhousie
University
Heather Pattullo, Canadian Public Health Association
Christina Rajsic, University of Toronto
Pat Seaman, University of New Brunswick
Jo Ann Tober, ANDSOOHA
Ruta Valaitis, McMaster University; City of Hamilton
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Characteristics of quality placement 20
Appendix B: Release Form
CASN Public Health Sub Committee
Focus Group Participation
RELEASE FORM
I agree to take part in discussions at the CASN Public Health Sub Committee Focus
Group which is seeking input and discussion around what constitutes a quality
community health / public health clinical placement for baccalaureate nursing students. I
give permission to Dr. Lynnette Stamler and her project team to use any or all the
comments I offer during this focus group for purposes of developing guidelines and tools
which will assist Canadian schools of nursing (SON) to identify quality clinical
placements for their students. I understand that the Focus Group may be cited as a source
for these guidelines. No comments will be attributed to a particular person in any of the
documentation that comes out of this Focus group.
MY PRIMARY WORK AREA IS:
□ Research
□ Teaching
□ Policy
□ Management
□ Clinical Practice □ Administration
□ Other:___________________
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the parties here to have executed this agreement.
1. Participant
______________________________
(Print Name)
______________________________
(Signature)
2. Witness (Public Health Sub Committee member)
______________________________
(Print Name)
______________________________
(Signature)
Date: __________________________________
Please contact Dr. Lynnette Stamler lynnette.stamler@usask.ca Chair of the Public
Health Sub Committee should you have any questions.
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Characteristics of quality placement 21
Appendix C: Clinical Placement Exemplars
Stories of excellent clinical experiences:
1. Doing project in a “needy” school. E.g. of trying to erase the stigma of a Breakfast
Club – where the thought was children who attended this had parents who didn’t
‘look after them” well. Students worked with staff, got teachers more involved,
shifted menus for 13 weeks. Now the teachers take turns being with the breakfast
club.
2. Working with a high needs population E.g. in Rexdale area of Toronto where there is
an increased population of people with HIV/AIDS. A woman in the community was
working with Grade 6 and Grade 10 students to have them become student mentors.
The students did 13 wks of health promotion. They brought in people with HIV/AIDS
into the school to talk to the students.
3. Working with truckers doing health promotion. Called this an Occupation Nurse
Placement. Some companies paid the workers their wage to take the hours off for
health promotion. (Scary to have several truckers who had had heart attacks while
driving). Taking blood pressure was important for them! Stress was the highest need
that came out of a needs assessment. Also, back injuries. Truckers were interested in
learning about body mechanics.
4. I had a student working in a black community in NS Dalhousie. The preceptor was a
community health nurse that had graduated from the program the student was also
in…the student was able to provide education sessions in the church on issues such as
cancer prevention/diabetes/she was able to build relationships with the community
(contact person for details on the "dream clinical" placement is adele.vukic@dal.ea)
5. I had a student placed in the "infectious diseases section". She was able to do a
presentation on hand washing and infectious diseases. Once she completed this she
went to the student residence and developed a whole program for the student
residence! She also provided hand washing education for the long tem care staff.
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Characteristics of quality placement 22
Appendix D: Conceptual framework for ‘Characteristics of a quality community
health nursing clinical placement’
Onsite characteristics of a
quality CHN placement
 Strong nursing identity
 Broad exposure to CHN scope of
practice
 Includes a range of experiences
 Competent, well-prepared
preceptors
 Supportive environment for
student learning
Strong communityacademic partnerships
 Formalized agreements and buy-in
 Clarity of community and university
roles and expectations
 Collaborative planning
 Building relationships
 New RN grad transition to CHN
work
 Challenges with collaboration
Supportive baccalaureate
curriculum structure and
process
 Amount, timing and sequencing
of CHN theory-practice in
curriculum
 Valuing CHN in curriculum
 Relevant content
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Faculty champions
 Faculty preparation
and commitment to
CHN
 Faculty strategies to
enhance clinical
learning