Paper
Friday, July 13, 2007
The UNF Community Homebase Model
Connie S. Roush, RN, PhD, School of Nursing, University of North Florida, Jacksonville, FL, USA
The University of North Florida Community Homebase Model (CHM) provides the foundation for our innovative community-based undergraduate nursing curriculum. Development of this curriculum began with a faculty vision and an ecologic model based in public health theory and practice. Through many iterations and faculty support, the concept of the homebase emerged as a community-campus service learning partnership that is distinguished by the participation of community and non-community faculty and the continuity of student experience across the five semesters of their nursing education. The purpose of this presentation is to introduce the basic tenets of this model and describe it through examples from our experience. These examples will include a description of the first and last semester community courses that anchor the didactic portion of the program and the various types of homebases and service learning projects. Specific examples will be used to explicate changes in student homebase participation as they progress through the program, and the final 90-hour clinical project that makes a significant contribution to the health of their homebase community. With long-term engagement in their community “home”, students and faculty learn to partner and partners participate in the education of nursing professionals with the knowledge and skills to integrate community-based care throughout their career.