CONTACT - Volume 8, Number 2
School Receives $100,000 Grant for Resource Center

The Division of Nursing has just been notified that its proposal to the Fuld Foundation for curriculum and faculty development in community-based care received a two-year grant for a total of $100,000. With this grant, the school will establish a Resource Center for Community-Based Nursing Practice (Center) to assist the faculty, students and affiliated community providers in making the transition to a new community-based curriculum.

According to Dean Judith Balcerski, "Increasing pressure from nursing education organizations and employers has caused schools of nursing to remodel their curriculums, reflecting the growing trend toward community-based nursing. This change has not been easy for many schools." Obstacles faced as they transition to a community-based curriculum include student expectations of practicing in fast-paced, high tech hospitals, and dwindling staff and resources needed to accommodate nursing students in community health organizations.

Located at the Division of Nursing, the Center will serve as an incubator for innovative ideas and strategies to implement the new curriculum. A coordinator with advanced preparation in community health nursing and experience working with curriculum design and faculty development will staff the Center. The coordinator will help the faculty develop course syllabi, assignments, and evaluation methods that reflect the community emphasis as they integrate their courses with the goals and objectives of the new curriculum. The coordinator will serve as a mentor, orienting the faculty to community concepts and sites. They will expand and enhance learning opportunities in the community, encouraging students to pursue community-based nursing careers.

Evaluation will be based on results of faculty, student, and agency surveys. Project information will be disseminated in nursing education journals and conferences, assisting other schools of nursing experiencing the challenges of change in an era of limited resources.