AbstractThe community nurse's birth certificate home visit is a complex situation which requires simultaneous assessment and teaching interventions. The novice nursing student in a public health practicum is often unsure of how to accomplish these requirements during visits to well newborns. In response to this need, faculty designed a ten item card sort assessment technique for students to use on birth certificate calls. The method was evaluated as an objective, economical, and client‐centered means of acquiring information about the learning priorities of new mothers. Although the technique was originally designed for student nurses, it also has implications for the experienced community nurse's practice.