At the UK College of Nursing, community engagement occurs by connecting our faculty, staff and students with individual patients and patient groups and health care providers and their institutions, professional organizations, schools, businesses and communities to address priority needs.
These needs include enhancing health, education and the environment, which in turn enhances quality of life. These relationships between representatives of the college and our larger stakeholder communities provide for a mutually beneficial exchange of knowledge and resources in a context of partnership and reciprocity.
Examples of engagement activities by College faculty and staff include:
- Leadership roles on health-related community boards
- Development of community gardens
- Community education about influenza and other communicable diseases
- Community education on smoking, radon and other carcinogens
- Disaster preparedness exercises
- Health screening and education fares for targeted populations
- Vaccination clinics
UK HealthCare
College of Nursing faculty and the clinical nurse experts within UK HealthCare engage in a constantly evolving network of teams, partnerships and various collaborative activities. Nurse faculty members contribute to clinical strategic planning activities, as well as weekly clinical leadership meetings.
Likewise, UKHC nurse experts contribute to the strategic planning and governance processes within the College. Expertise, resources and personnel are shared for mutual benefits. For example, several faculty members practice within UKHC, while several UKHC nurse leaders serve as preceptors and part-time or adjunct faculty members. The College's UK HealthCare partners include:
- Center for Advancement of Women's Health
- Department of Internal Medicine
- Departments of Nursing Services and Psychiatry
- Division of Pulmonary Medicine
- Division of Trauma/Blue Surgery
- Family and Community Medicine
- Family and Community Medicine, Georgetown, Ky.
- Kentucky Children’s Hospital
Lexington and Beyond
In addition to several collaborative partnerships across the University of Kentucky, College of Nursing faculty and staff engage with partners in agencies throughout Lexington and across the Commonwealth of Kentucky. The College's off-campus partners include:
- Baby Health Service
- Baptist Health Lexington
- Lawrence County Health Department
