Maria is a recent MSN-Education graduate who turned her practicum experience with a local college into a wonderful career opportunity.  By establishing a solid relationship with her practicum preceptor and identifying the immediate needs of the college’s newly established nursing program, Maria saw the opportunity for a win-win situation and took advantage of it.

Maria’s preceptor for her practicum project was the Associate Dean of the School of Nursing at the college.  Through her conversations with the Dean, Maria realized that the curriculum had not yet been developed for the new community health nursing course to be offered to the senior nursing students of the college’s first graduating class.  Having spent the last 20 years of her professional career in home care, Maria offered to develop a syllabus and lesson plans for the course.  Maria’s initiative was well received, and the Dean agreed to mentor Maria throughout the process. 

Maria’s challenge was to develop a community health course that integrated current evidence-based practice guidelines and research, student-centered and adult learning principles, interdisciplinary collaboration, and embraced diversity to successfully educate students to meet society’s changing needs in community and public health.  Maria successfully created a 15-week, evidence-based, interactive, multimedia community health course to enable students to serve as active members of a multidisciplinary team and deliver quality-driven health care services. 

Maria’s project received positive feedback from her preceptor, as well as other faculty members at the college who confirmed that the goals of the practicum project were successfully achieved.. As a result of Maria’s taking the initiative to address the college’s specific curriculum needs, the Associate Dean offered the vacant faculty position as the community health nurse educator to Maria.  Maria jumped on this terrific opportunity to implement her own practicum project while gaining experience in her new career path as a nurse faculty member in academia.

Written by Nicolle Skalski, Career Services Advisor

If you have a success story to share, please email us at:  careerservices@waldenu.edu