What to expect for my community health class

Ours was very heavy on teaching. In the community setting though you have to balance what you want to teach them with what they are capable of doing and what they are interested in. You can only lead the horse to water so be prepared if they do not agree with you. Ultimately listen to the community. When we go in we can do the most good by developing a rapport and addressing what they feel their needs are first. The biggest mistake is to get preachy and possibly alienate them.

You also have to be prepared to deal with various different problems on a case by case basis. You can't assume that the resources are there. We canvased the neighborhood for availability and types of food, open space, and various types of public programs.

Ex: Low income patients who should probably be on the DASH diet. Can't afford fresh produce or live in a food desert. What resources are available in their neighborhood? Some examples could be: Farm to families, food banks or pantries, transportation to supermarket, EBT, WIC.

boredom. I kid you not. I liked the instructor as she had a sense of humor, but the class was bone dry. All but one of us actually enjoyed the class. It's not for everyone, especially the teaching, home assessments, knowing community resources, windshield surveys, readiness plans, disaster planning, and all that jazz. Seemed too political at times too. I didn't open my book once to read (and im one to read every word in med/surg). Thankfully, after we covered 8-10 chapters she gave out a 2-3 page study 'guide' with a rough estimate of what to review.

But honestly i took nothing really from the class. Not the instructors fault, its just that way to me. I do not regret not paying attention either when i scored level 3 90% on my ati community health test.

Each to his own.