Abstract:

Elementary schools contain a population of relatively healthy children from a variety of backgrounds. At one time in the history of Canadian health care, public health nurses would provide services to this population of children during regularly scheduled office hours. Due to financial constraints and a predominantly scientific, curative model of health care, schools in most parts of Canada no longer have a resident school nurse. Although there have been many programs developed by various government and non-government agencies to promote health in school aged children, the personnel to deliver these programs is limited primarily to the teachers who are already working diligently to deliver a very full curriculum.
Equally as limited are clinical seats available for nursing students to gain experience in their preparation for professional practice. Health promotion is a significant focus within the Bachelor of Science in Nursing programs in Canada. Phase One of an Interdisciplinary Project Collaboration between the school of nursing and the school of education includes placing third year undergraduate nursing students, studying Pediatrics (Caring for Children), into an elementary school setting to provide health promotion and illness prevention teaching. Although Trinity Western University nursing program has been placing nursing students in elementary schools for the past ten years, in 2010 forty-five third year nursing students worked collaboratively with teachers, staff, children and parents in twelve schools in the lower mainland of Vancouver, and the Fraser Valley of British Columbia, Canada. Phase Two of this project, due to begin in 2011, will include partnering nursing students with education students and encouraging them to explore how their professional disciplines can inform each other’s practice. This will include theoretical discussion in the classroom and joint practicum in the school.
At first nursing students questioned why they should be placed in a clinical experience where there are no longer school nurses and therefore no relevance to their future practice. The goals of this practicum from the faculty point of view was to provide students with the opportunity to be aware of normal growth and development in children, develop lesson plans according to the prescribed learning outcomes of the Ministry of Education ( and to develop their skills as educators as nursing also requires communicating concepts to patients, families and peers), become more aware of the health challenges of children in the classroom and the essential knowledge base for teachers to cope with these special needs ( such as children with diabetes, asthma, allergies, and developmental delays). In collaboration with the teachers, topics, dates and times for presentations were determined. Nursing students were asked to teach topics such as puberty, menstrual development, self esteem, "Just say no" to drugs and alcohol, hand washing, teeth brushing, simple first aid, bullying, heart health, and nutrition and exercise.
The outcome of this collaborative experience was very positive not only for the nursing students but also for the teachers and staff of the school. Evaluative feedback has provided further direction on how to work through the benefits and barriers of this project and how to incorporate the education students into phase two. Although this is still at the stage of program evaluation it is primed for further investigation through research.

Keywords:

Collaborative, undergraduate nursing and education students, elementary school health promotion.