Even though it's summertime, faculty at the College of Coastal Georgia haven't stopped working to help meet the needs of the community and those willing to learn. The Department of Nursing will host a pediatric assessment training workshop entitled, "Everything You Wanted to Know About Pediatric Physical Assessment and Communication Techniques for the Public Health Nurse" on Thursday July 11 and July 25 on the College's campus.

The College was asked by the Coastal Health District to lead the workshop for public health nurses from Bryan, Camden, Chatham, Effingham, Glynn, Liberty, Long, and McIntosh counties. The workshops will cover various topics such as, pediatric physical and developmental assessment; cultural health beliefs and practices; age-appropriate communication strategies; and development of pediatric health teaching plans.

Beverly Rowe, RN, MSN, CNE, associate professor of nursing in the College's Associate of Science in Nursing program, will be leading the workshop. In consultation with the Health Department, Rowe is writing the course outcomes and developing the entire course to meet the needs of public health nurses. Approximately 30 nurses will attend each session, thus teaching 60 nurses in total.

Paige Lightsey, RN, Immunization and Child Health Program coordinator with the Coastal Health District, said she is thrilled to have more than 30 nurses from the district receive training. She commended Rowe's commitment to nursing education.

"The training will help our nurses stay up-to-date on the best practices in the area of child health, which is a core public health service," Lightsey said. "Over the years, our partnership with the College of Coastal Georgia's Department of Nursing has proven invaluable. We've been able to offer practical experience to Coastal Georgia nursing students by having them perform clinical rotations in our health departments, and the child health training they are providing our nurses is going to be very helpful. This is a great example of how mutually beneficial community partnerships can be."