A unique opportunity for students: long-term therapeutic relationships with chronically ill clients.

Because of a number of factors, fewer opportunities are available today for students to have independent clinical experiences with home care agencies. At York College of Pennsylvania, community health nursing faculty designed a home health clinical experience with chronically ill clients that would be meaningful to students, fill unmet client needs, and establish or strengthen the relationship between the nursing department and community/home health agencies. In addition to achieving the stated goals, these clinical experiences offered additional unanticipated benefits that resulted from the long-term nature of these client-student interactions.