The Preparation of Community/Public Health Nurses: Amplifying the Impact.

In summary, improved population health, population focused care, and community-based networks are the objectives of health care delivery systems. Community/public health nursing education, practice, and research must be re-examined, re-focused, and re-designed to address the challenges of an expanding 21st century health care delivery to populations and communities. Common standards are in place to be utilized by academia, practice and research. With a unified front, C/PHN can collectively play an important transformative role and go forward to meet the ever expanding challenges of the 21st century populations and communities. The Association of Public Health Nurses (APHN) and the Association of Community Health Nurse Educator (ACHNE) have a joint meeting planned in June 2016 in Indianapolis. Please bring your colleagues, stakeholders, and community partners to join the voices of C/PHN to make a positive impact on the changing health care environment through our education, practice and work.

A Concept Analysis of Conceptual Learning: A Guide for Educators.

BACKGROUND: Concept-based curricula, coupled with conceptual approach to teaching, fosters conceptual learning. There is a need for clarity in the definition of conceptual learning. METHOD: Walker and Avant's method of concept analysis was used. RESULTS: Conceptual learning is a process in which learners organize concept-relevant knowledge, skills, and attitudes to form logical cognitive connections resulting in assimilation, storage, retrieval, and transfer of concepts to applicable situations, familiar and unfamiliar. Attributes identified were (a) recognizing patterns in information, (b) forming linkages with concepts, (c) acquiring deeper understanding of concepts, (d) developing personal relevance, and (e) applying concepts to other situations. Antecedents were (a) learner cognitive potential, (b) organized conceptual framework, and (c) conceptual approach to teaching. Consequences were (a) enhanced synthesis and analysis, (b) improved problem solving, (c) ability to translate theory to practice, (d) appreciation of linear/nonlinear ways of thinking, and (e) enhanced concept construction. CONCLUSION: This analysis provides a referent for recognizing the occurrence of conceptual learning and developing instruments to measure its outcomes. [J Nurs Educ. 2019;58(1):7-15.].