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Practical Experiences, Personal Connections
Nurses practicing in New Orleans regularly care for patients facing an array of health and socioeconomic issues. The city’s population has a high rate of chronic health problems like hypertension and diabetes, and Louisiana as a whole ranks fourth
in the nation for stroke deaths. Like many other cities, its population also includes people who are uninsured or underinsured, veterans and individuals struggling with homelessness – all of whom present unique care challenges.
How can a new nurse practitioner, right out of college, be adequately prepared to care for these diverse populations and their complex conditions? A $1.3 million grant recently awarded to
the LSU Health New Orleans School of Nursing’s Primary Care Nurse Practitioner program o ers unique training opportunities for primary care
advanced practice nursing students, through which they learn skills
for working with underserved and challenging populations.
The grant from the Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) Bureau of Health Workforce’s Advanced Nursing Education Workforce (ANEW) Program provides student recipients with partial tuition. It also funds simulation equipment so they can learn to care for disadvantaged and medically complex populations, as well as develop skills for working with stroke patients and people with communication disorders.
“These are eye-opening experiences that prepare nursing students for what they will face upon graduation and give them opportunities to develop skills for communicating with and meeting the care needs of these patients,” says Latanja
Divens, DNP, APRN, FNP-BC, Instructor of Nursing and principal investigator for the ANEW grant.
Partnerships Give Nursing Students New Perspectives
To o er nursing students experience working with underserved populations, the School of Nursing has partnered with University Medical Center New Orleans’ ambulatory care clinics.
“Our practice partner serves underprivileged populations throughout the New Orleans region,” says Dr. Divens. “Students funded by the ANEW grant spend half or more of their time at these clinics, learning tactics and techniques for caring for medically underserved patients. In some cases, when working with uninsured or even homeless patients, you don’t know if you’ll ever
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