Addressing Health Equity and Population Health by Training Undergraduate BSN Students in Primary Healthcare Settings

The university was awarded $2.8 million in July 2018 from HRSA. The four-year registered nurse in primary care (RNPC) training grant recruits and trains undergraduate nursing students and current RNs to practice to the full scope of their license in community-based primary care teams to increase access to care. Over the four years of this program, 96 undergraduate nursing students were trained in primary healthcare concepts and had clinical placements in underserved primary care settings. These clinical placements include both rural and urban communities. By incorporating primary healthcare in the education of students, this addresses health equity and population health and begins to break down the barriers for diverse populations when accessing healthcare (The Future of Nursing 2020-2030, 2021).
Purpose: The RNPC programs seeks to increase the number of students who are committed to practicing in rural and underserved areas, develop a replicable nursing curriculum providing training in primary healthcare, enhance RNs abilities to address population health outcomes and public health needs of underserved populations, and provide career support to students thus increasing the number of BSN-prepared nurses employed in primary care facilities located in various underserved areas.
Description: Primary healthcare training was provided in didactic and clinical instruction at two campuses in Nevada and Utah. This included information on community-based primary care initiatives, chronic disease prevention strategies, healthcare needs of underserved populations, rural healthcare, and the need for interprofessional healthcare collaboration. Practicing RNs receive training in achievement of health equity, population health, social determinates of health, current trends, and issues related to the access of care for underserved populations.
Evaluation/outcomes: The RNPC has enrolled a total of 96 students in 6 cohorts. 43 have graduated. 5 participated in immersive primary care senior practicums. 16 had primary healthcare certificates awarded. 150 hours of primary care training/student were provided. The RNPC grant has offered 8 primary care trainings to RNs in the overview of primary care, addiction, depression, STDs, adult immunizations, self-care for the provider during the pandemic, and pediatric health.
Reference: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (2021). The future of nursing 2020-2030: Charting a path to achieve health equity. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/25982.