Writing Facilitation of Context-Based Student-Centered Learning: Course Outline
Leavitt School of Health, Western Governors University C919:
Facilitation of Context-Based Student-Centered Learning
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Facilitation of Context-Based Student-Centered Learning
Aspects of the Course
This eight-week course designed for Bachelor of Science in Nursing Students will
explore the arena of community health and health promotion. Materials presented will prepare
Bachelor of Nursing Students to understand health and wellness, health inequalities, and effect
change within their communities. This course will be relevant to professional nursing practice by
allowing the nurse to understand how patients interact with their community and how that
interaction influences their health and well-being. This understanding will impact how the BNS
nurse views the patient and allow them to understand the limitations a patient's environment can
place on them.
In week one, students will learn about the foundations of community health nursing.
Students in nursing study disease pathology, disease treatments, and procedural care of patients.
,This community health nursing course expands past this general knowledge to teach students
how diseases affect a community's health and how community resources can affect a patient's
ability to care for themselves. If a community has limited resources, such as no local access to
fresh fruits and vegetables, a successful graduate of this course would understand and plan for
the implications of a population with nutrient deficiencies and increased obesity rates.
In week two, students will learn about the factors influencing a person's health. Students
in nursing are taught the importance of regular health exams with a primary care provider. This
community health nurse course will expand this general knowledge to show students that many
areas suffer from healthcare deserts, requiring patients to travel great distances to access care.
Students will learn that this lack of access to healthcare affects the community's ability to meet
Healthy People 2030 goals set by the US government. The community health nurse would be
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able to advocate for scheduled resource gatherings such as community health fairs where many
patients could receive care targeted to meet the community's needs. This could include diet and
exercise advice that is understanding that not all neighborhoods have parks and areas where
citizens can get exercise safely.
In week three, students will learn about community assessments and understand how
diversity affects the health and wellness of its members. Students in nursing are taught how to
perform a head-to-toe assessment on a patient and even the general assessment findings to expect
for a specific patient demographic such as a COPD patient. This community health course will
teach nurses to take this foundational knowledge and expand to understand how the community's
physical environment affects the patient's health. For example, students will learn that if a
community is located close to a coal processing factory, there is a high likelihood of an increased
number of patients suffering from COPD. When advocating for the health and wellness of the
community, students thriving in this course can highlight the need for indoor exercise facilities to
allow residents to exercise and improve their health while not being exposed to the pollutants of
the neighboring factory.
In week four, students will learn about health promotion and prevention. Students in
nursing are taught about diet, exercise, and healthy sleep patterns. This community health course
will expand on that knowledge and further teach students to understand the limitations of the
community and how those limitations will affect the community members, such as a lack of
grocery stores within city limits. Students will learn, for example, how the community will affect
how a nurse creates discharge education for a recently discharged COPD patient. One
recommendation would be to instruct the patient to follow a healthy diet, exercise, and get plenty
of rest. The community health nurse will understand that not having a grocery store in city limits