Nursing
Community Partnerships
A PUBLICATION OF THE COLLEGE OF NURSING AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL FLORIDA
CREATING HEALTHIER COMMUNITIES THROUGH SERVICE-LEARNING A
t the UCF College of Nursing, nearly 500 students and faculty members provided more than 30,000 hours of service in the 2007-2008 academic year alone. In the first semester of the five-semester Bachelor of Science in Nursing program, incoming juniors are divided into groups of 12 and sent out to 16 Community Nursing Coalitions (CNCs) in Orange, Seminole, Brevard, Volusia and Flagler counties two days a week. The future nurses work in public schools, community centers, Boys and Girls Clubs and senior centers, performing services like children’s height and weight measurements, vision screenings and blood pressure checks. Since there are never enough health care professionals when the need is so great, the students receive important real-world education while providing a valuable service to some of Central Florida’s most economically disadvantaged residents. On their second day, the students ride public transportation to their assigned CNCs. According to Dr. Pamela Ark, the college’s CNC coordinator, this not only helps them bond as a group, it lets them know firsthand what their clients may go through to access health care. “When a patient tells them they’re late because they had to change buses three times, our nurses can truly say they’ve been there and understand,” Ark says. One CNC activity is delivering Meals on Wheels to senior citizens, most of whom live at or below the poverty level. They bring sustenance, but they also bring smiles and friendly conversation to elders who may not see anyone else all day. While there, the nursing students answer questions about the elders’ medications and any other health-related issues they may be experiencing. Lorraine Schumaker, director of civic engagement for Seniors First, schedules those trips. “They’re such a caring group,” Schumaker explains. “They’re so interested in helping
“Working in the community has made me a better nurse because I now understand all aspects of a patient’s life, especially his or her relationship with health care.” – Senior JENNA BENYOUNES people in need, and it never comes across as something they have to do for school. I wish I could clone all of them.” Being a part of the community through CNC activities has given nursing students a true opportunity to become firsthand observers and initiators. Senior Jenna Benyounes views her experience in the Oak Ridge CNC as an eye-opener, showing her that nursing takes place in the community, not just in a traditional hospital setting. Benyounes, her classmates and their teacher held debriefing sessions every week to incorporate their hands-on experience into their lessons and learn from each other. Now approaching the end of their final semester, Benyounes and her classmates are back in the community, this time as part of a public health nursing class where they look at the bigger picture. Each student will complete an additional 43 hours of service-learning, working on more specific projects like Healthy Start, Open Airways for Schools, and tobacco prevention and cessation programs (see page 7).
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SPRING/SUMMER 2009
IN THIS ISSUE
2
News
5
Shaping Communities
11
Profiles in Generosity
14
Outstanding Alumni