Public health profiling prepares nursing students

There was a time when nursing students felt that all care centred on secondary care services.

The new curriculum has evolved to dispel this myth with students having extended placements in the community of up to a year and experiencing the variety of roles that they can undertake on qualification. Embedded in this is their public health role.

As we explain in our article in the July issue of Primary Health Care , classroom promotion of the nurse's role public health may not translate to changes in practice.

There is a need to make this more realistic for students using simulated practice. Having awareness and visiting an area to visualise the health issues that impact on every day life is more powerful to students than classroom based activities.

Building on this by