Nursing education perspectives
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Caring is a universal need that is an important component in the delivery of nursing care. Nurse educators face the challenge of teaching the value of caring as a necessary part of nursing. Watson's theoretical framework, which focuses on interpersonal and transpersonal processes in human care, presents an effective model in understanding the concept of caring (1). ⋯ Both models enhance our understanding of caring and provide the theoretical foundation for integrating caring into nursing education. This article describes an associate degree program's effort to thread the concept of caring across its curriculum. It includes an overview of the steps used for integrating caring in individual clinical courses and emphasizes teaching/learning and assessment strategies used in the educational process.
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Recognition that the environment is a determinant of health is deeply rooted in the heritage of nursing. Environmental hazards and their effects on health rarely have simple solutions that can be managed by one discipline alone. ⋯ Primary prevention strategies often involve the participation of professionals from fields other than nursing, and interdisciplinary, collaborative efforts are usually required. This article describes learning experiences about local environmental health issues, several of which were designed to initiate and foster collaboration between baccalaureate nursing students and graduate students in public health.