Nursing students from the University of St. Thomas Peavy School of Nursing participate in enhancing the community health by providing high-quality, cost-effective care. In partnership with our community partners, students commit to excellence and compassion in caring for the whole person while creating healthier communities.<\/p>\n
Community Health Practicums<\/p>\n
\u201cThis semester, 55, third-year students were placed at six designated settings for their community health practicum. The practicums are for nine weeks and are supervised by an adjunct faculty member who oversees and evaluates the student progress. Dr. Michael Sullivan, assistant professor in SON, serves as the Community Health Clinical Coordinator. Clinical sites included: Covenant House, Catholic Charities, Angela House, San Joe Clinic, The Brookwood Center, and Magnificat House.<\/p>\n
\u201cCommunity Health practicums awaken students to the realization that health is not merely the absence of illness or the presence of physical health,\u201d Dr. Poldi Tschirch, dean of the Peavy School of Nursing. \u201cAchieving a truly healthy community encompasses \u2013 or works toward \u2013 all the elements that lead to health.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nursing Students Assist with Nutrition Education at San Jose Clinic<\/p>\n
Ten nursing students recently assigned at the San Jose Clinic interfaced with patients by identifying opportunities to advance medical and healthcare knowledge. In addressing this knowledge gap, students created a short video (English & Spanish) for patients and families identifying healthy foods and nutrition choices to maintain health, reduce high blood pressure and elevated glucose (diabetes) while achieving appropriate weight.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt wasn\u2019t difficult for us to see that there was a high incidence of patients coming into the clinic with chronic diseases such as diabetes, but after a few weeks of clinical our group determined that the patients were already receiving plenty of information,\u201d San Jose Clinic Nursing Practicum Student Audra Patterson said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat raised a question in our minds: Why weren\u2019t the clinic’s resources being utilized? We immediately saw the missing link. After researching countless articles about patient education, we thought the best way to present the resources of San Jose Clinic was through a short video that could be viewed in the clinic while waiting on providers, viewed on cell phones, and even viewed through emailed appointment reminders.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Making of the Video<\/p>\n
The 10 students worked together on the video. Initially, the group had a PowerPoint presentation that included the resources they used for the video and how they determined the best way to present this information to patients.<\/p>\n
\u201cThree of us worked on the video portion,\u201d Patterson said. \u201cI created the main video, while Martha Brise\u00f1o and Kiara Sanchez assisted in the final video edit and the translation of the video from English to Spanish.\u201d<\/p>\n