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Abstract: Public health departments exemplify interprofessional collaboration. Nursing and public health education students are required to complete practicum hours or an internship respectively in community health, yet placements at health departments are limited and competitive. This study evaluated the effects of an interprofessional education intervention on community health nursing and health education students' current interprofessional awareness and understanding, and intent to collaborate interprofessionally. Results showed that the majority of participants felt that their interprofessional awareness, understanding, and intent to collaborate increased. This intervention helped bring an example of the health department experience to students and demonstrate its interprofessional nature., Competing Interests: The authors have declared no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2020 National League for Nursing.)

The transition between student and new nurse practitioner (NP) can be challenging. Survival guides given to student NPs may help ease the transition and make it a successful one. This study evaluates the effectiveness of survival guides in two student NP cohorts in the fall 2015 and fall 2016 semesters. Students completed a brief online survey at graduation, and three and six months after graduation. Results support the inclusion of survival guides in NP curricula as a creative way to positively support the transition from student to new NP and improve preparation for NP practice.

Students in health care today are very different than those of past generations. Health care education requires both innovation and creativity to meet the changing needs of students. Soft skills such as leadership, communication, nursing informatics, technology, and professionalism can sometimes be lost in pursuit of scientific knowledge. The purpose of this descriptive pilot study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a product designed to assist in the development of soft skills in a bachelor of science in nursing curriculum. This research did not support the additive value of this particular product but recommended further research at other curricular levels.