Changes in the U.S. healthcare system are increasing the demand for nurses, especially those with public health and population health knowledge. Public health training is essential for nurses to be able to tackle current and future healthcare challenges.
That’s why we’ve partnered with the Indiana University School of Nursing in establishing two dual pathways for undergraduate students to address population health issues in the healthcare system.
The two pathways include:
- Current nursing students have the option to add a public health minor to their degree, which includes specialized coursework and training to address the barriers to health, how to manage a healthcare team and organization, or developing population health strategies.
- Students pursuing an undergraduate degree in the Fairbanks School of Public Health who wish to pursue the Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing will receive direct admission to the ABSN program, exclusive mentorship, specialized advising, and tailored programming.
“The Health Services Management degree provided me with an understanding of how the health care system functions. I am now planning to combine that with a clinical degree in nursing, through the accelerated BSN program,” said Kimberly Osborne, BSHSM’22.
Nurses trained in public health focus on promoting and protecting health by working to prevent disease and disability. They may support immunizations, infection prevention, environmental health, and health crises like the recent COVID-19 pandemic, the opioid crisis, and the tobacco epidemic.
Public health nurses work in a variety of settings: health departments, schools, homes, community health centers, clinics, health systems and worksites.
“Within a few years, I hope to start my own aesthetic clinic and my background in health services management and nursing will make that possible,” said Shelby Horton, registered nurse, BSHSM’20, ABSN’22.
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