Raising a New Generation of Empowered Nurses in Maternal–Child Health

Newborn Care Poster Presentation

Purpose for the Program

To encourage undergraduate nursing students to think about nursing from a global perspective and explore the needs of underserved childbearing women. Furthermore, to introduce students to scholarly writing for professional presentations or publications.

Proposed Change

Typically, undergraduate nursing students who take courses for honors credit write a literature review or give a presentation to peers/clinical staff on a particular topic germane to the class. Though these exercises are valuable, they do not challenge the students to think about nursing from a global perspective, nor do they require them to write at a professional level worthy of publication/presentation.

This program encouraged students to choose a topic related to the health care of underserved childbearing women in the United States and across the globe. Each student chose a different topic and met with the instructor on a regular basis to complete a scholarly paper and an abstract that could be submitted to a professional nursing organization.

Implementation, Outcomes, and Evaluation

Students who enrolled in a maternal–child nursing course decided on a project that would enhance their understanding from a global perspective of the nursing implications for underserved childbearing populations. Students were asked to share resources and findings as they conducted literature reviews for their papers. The students wrote a 200‐word abstract and the combined instructor–student effort resulted in the submission of the abstract for presentation at an international nursing conference.

Students chose challenging topics. Some of these topics included nursing care of pregnant women, incarcerated women, health implications during pregnancy, delivery for immigrant woman with genital mutilation, nursing considerations for the families with surrogate pregnancies in the United States and Europe, and care of homeless pregnant women in the United States and Europe. Students had never written an abstract before this class, but were successful with coaching. The abstract submitted by the instructor/student team to the international conference of Sigma Theta Tau was accepted as a poster presentation.

Implications for Nursing Practice

This program demonstrates that undergraduate nursing students are able to perform scholarly activities that add to nursing knowledge before the official start of their nursing careers. Early guidance and encouragement may lead to novice nurses who are eager to join and contribute to a global nursing community.