NURS 320 - Comm & Mental Health Nurs

The course presents theoretical concepts related to community and mental health nursing skills to assist students to apply patient-centered care to individuals, groups, and aggregates in community and psychiatric settings.

The course focuses on the knowledge and clinical skills required to assess and provide evidence-based, bio-ethical, and socially just, holistic health care to vulnerable populations across diverse community and mental health clinical settings.

Emphasis is on clinical leadership skill development to be applied in the clinical course including, the creation and implementation of individual and community (primary, secondary and tertiary prevention) nursing care plans, to identify and manage health care priorities and needs, optimize outcomes, and reduce health disparities of individuals and populations-at-risk within the community.

Students learn skills to work with clients from a collaborative care model and integrated approach to health care. Students learn to thoroughly assess and identify the unique strengths, priorities and needs of the individual and/or community, to best engage the ‘client’ (individual or group) in a care partnership that enhances the client’s access to appropriate care, health and wellness, and the symptom-management of acute and chronic psychiatric, behavioral health and community health conditions.

Students learn to incorporate unique bio-psycho-socio-cultural client factors, bioethical principles, legal guidelines, and health policy to improve health care access, optimize client functioning and reduce health disparities. Students analyze and evaluate nursing care and outcomes for persons experiencing physiological problems and/or severe and persistent mental illness across diverse community and inpatient settings. Research and epidemiological data are used to guide course and classroom engagement activities and to facilitate student learning, clinical problem solving, formulation of outcome-based practice, and quality-improvement strategies within the community.

Note: This theory course and the corresponding clinical course (N325) provide diverse conceptual and clinical experiences to support the CA-Board of Registered Nursing’s (BRN) Public Health Nursing (PHN) Certification requirements that USF nursing students are eligible to apply for upon passing their NCLEX. (state licensing boards)

The theory course introduces and prepares students to apply these concepts and skills in the clinical course where students are engaged in community learning across diverse community and mental health settings. Students receive onboarding and orientation to clinical as part of the clinical course.


Prerequisite: NURS 270 and NURS 271 and NURS 272 and NURS 275
Corequisite: NURS-321; NURS-322; NURS-325
Restriction: College restricted to School of Nursing and Health Professions; Clinical Course Fee-Undergrad - 175; Malpractice Insurance-UG - 25; Field of study restricted to Clinical Nurse Leader (4+1), Nursing, Nursing (4+1) Major
School of Nursing and Health Professions