Wayne State, Oakland County Health Division partnership seeks to recruit and train nurses in community health
Three Wayne State University nursing students are now serving at the Oakland County Health Division as part of a four-year partnership program. The four-year program focuses on recruiting and training nursing students and current registered nurses to practice at the full scope of their license in community-based primary care teams. “For many years, the health division has provided learning opportunities for several nursing programs that includes serving as a clinical site for WSU CoN students and faculty. Partnering with them for this program is a natural extension of our current partnership and is a first to offer such an in-depth experience with us,” said Shane Bies, Oakland County Health Division administrator of public health nursing. According to Wayne State University, the Oakland County Health Division will take six students in a 1:1 preceptorship over the next four years. There are no faculty, but at least 10 health division registered nurses will be involved in the program. The partnership began in October 2018, according to Dr. Ramona Benkert, associate dean for academic and clinical affairs and associate professor at Wayne State University. Three WSU students are currently working at the health division; one in the children with special needs department, one in the maternal child and nurse partnership program and one in the STI communicable diseases clinic.