Preparing nursing students for the future: Development and implementation of an Australian Bachelor of Nursing programme with a community health focus.

This paper focuses on changes in the educational preparation of undergraduate nurses in line with contemporary primary and preventative healthcare models. We evaluated a new Australian nursing and community care degree programme using focus groups with 38 students in their first years of study, and quantitative performance data (regarding entry, performance and course attrition). Four main themes were identified related to students' course experience: 'I think community health should be an elective'; 'Focus on relevance to practice'; 'Teaching by non-nursing academics' and 'Access to support during transition to university.' Overall pass rates were 94% (first year) and 97% (second year) with a low 11% attrition rate. We conclude that based on prior experiences and stereotypical views, students may be ambivalent about the inclusion of primary and preventative care models which nevertheless are essential to enhance practice and to prepare the future nursing workforce.