Enhancing Nurse Roles in Community Health (ENRICH)

Abstract

Registered nurses (RNs) with primary care experience are in short supply, and the employment demand for RNs is projected to grow 15% from 2016 to 2026. 1 Increased demand will occur for several reasons, including an increased emphasis on preventive care; growing rates of chronic conditions, such as diabetes and obesity; and demand for health care services from persons born between 1946 and 1964, as they live longer and lead more active lives. 2 Careers in population health and primary care-based nursing will be among the greatest nursing demand, but only about 10% of nurses choose careers in primary care. 3 New graduate nurses are generally not recruited to work in the primary care settings and are often encouraged to gain practice experience before working in the primary care setting. 3 These current career trends and workforce perceptions indicate an inadequate number of nurses prepared for roles in primary care settings to meet the growing demands. Primary care and ambulatory care are not traditional settings for clinical experiences. Therefore, exposure of prelicensure nursing students to population health concepts in primary care settings is a priority.To address this issue, a nationally funded initiative was implemented to increase knowledge of and exposure to population health and careers in the primary care setting among undergraduate nursing students. The Enhancing Nurse Roles in Community Health (ENRICH): Undergraduate and Workforce Training and Education in Primary Care Fellowship, which began in