The Neighborhood is a virtual, web-based community that serves as a platform for the undergraduate concept-based curriculum at the University of New Mexico College of Nursing. The idea was conceived out of a recognized need for nursing education reform.

The Neighborhood features two major sections: Households and Community Agencies. “Households” feature characters within 11 homes that represent a variety of health-related and family issues. “Community Agencies” feature characters who work within a variety of agencies that represent a variety of environmental, organizational, leadership, and systems related issues. The Neighborhood Newspaper reports community events within the neighborhood providing a mechanism to feature contemporary health related concerns shared among individuals living within a community.

Events within The Neighborhood incorporate interactions between the household and community agency characters. Their stories unfold on a week-to-week basis extending over three academic semesters. The stories told through the experiences of characters within the neighborhood support conceptual learning within didactic and clinical courses of the curriculum.