The purpose of this course is to provide nurses with the knowledge and skills necessary to provide optimum care to rural residents and to advocate for the needs of this population. In addition, members of the public may use this course to enhance their personal knowledge of the subject matter presented.
Upon completion of this course, you should be able to:
1. Describe the role of the public health nurse.
2. Discuss the vital functions of public health.
3. Operationally define rural and urban.
4. Identify varying determinants characterizing rural populations.
5. Describe the chronic illness, tobacco use, and cancer issues of rural populations.
6. Outline the injuries and mental and dental health issues of the rural population.
7. Analyze the access to care service issue for rural areas.
8. Discuss the characteristics and issues of the rural public health workforce.
9. Evaluate the responsiveness of emergency medical services (EMS) in rural regions.
10. Discuss the public health agency, hospital, and the community health center.
11. Describe the health issues of American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) populations and the Indian Health Service (IHS).
12. Identify issues of the aged and U.S. services for the aged.
13. Outline health promotion and disease prevention for the rural population.
14. Discuss how advanced communication technology can improve care access.
15. Discuss initiatives to building nursing workforce capacity.
16. Discuss schools and nurses as community health educators.
This 15-hour continuing education course is available for download for professional development; if continuing education credit is desired, please see instructions included in eBook.
