Roseman University of Health Sciences was awarded a $2.8 million grant in July 2018 from the United States Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Nurse Education, Practice, Quality and Retention (NEPQR) division. Roseman has implemented this grant entitled, the Registered Nurse in Primary Care (RNPC) Training project, which will recruit and train undergraduate nursing students (RNPC Scholars) and current Registered Nurses within inter-professional teams. This training will allow nursing students and current registered nurses (RNs) to practice to the full scope of their license in community-based primary care teams to increase access to care, including mental health and substance use conditions.
Methods:
Training will be provided in didactic instruction and clinical application related to the need for improved primary care access for various populations including the role of the registered nurse in the provision of this care. The training will be implemented at both the Roseman University Nevada and Utah campuses and the surrounding communities within rural and underserved areas thereby supporting the initiatives of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Healthy People 2020. The undergraduate students will be provided with information and knowledge concerning community-based primary care initiatives; chronic disease prevention strategies; healthcare needs of vulnerable and underserved populations; rural healthcare; mental health and substance abuse conditions; childhood obesity; and the need for inter-professional healthcare collaboration. Practicing RNs will receive training in the following areas: attainment of high-quality, longer lives; achievement of health equity; social and physical environments that promote good health; and healthcare needs related to underserved and rural populations in primary care.
Results:
The inter-professional training aims to achieve a sustainable primary care nursing workforce equipped with the competencies necessary to address pressing national public health issues, even the distribution of the nursing workforce, improve access to care and improve population health outcomes by strengthening the capacity for basic nurse education and practice.
Conclusion:
The goals of the RNPC training seeks to increase the number of undergraduate students who are committed to practicing in rural and underserved areas of Nevada and Utah; develop and implement a replicable undergraduate nursing curriculum that provides didactic education and experiential training related to the primary health care needs of populations who reside in underserved and rural settings that supports the initiatives of Healthy People 2020; enhance practicing registered nurses abilities to address population health outcomes and public health needs of underserved populations, thereby improving the quality of and access to patient care and supports the initiatives of Healthy People 2020; provide career support and guidance to the students to increase the numbers of BSN prepared nurses who will be employed in primary care facilities located in rural and medically underserved areas.