One of the things that impacted Mary Curley the most during her UF Nursing community project, was when the Accelerated BSN student felt first-hand the trust patients bestow on nurses.
Curley was part of a group that partnered with the Gainesville Veterans Affairs Medical Center and the Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center. They compiled a list of programs and services available from different organizations in Gainesville and Ocala, printed them in a pamphlet, and distributed them to veterans, caregivers, VA staff, and visitors at an outreach event at the VAMC.
There they offered veterans the resources they compiled, including pet care. Many opened up to them about their pets and eventually about themselves and some of their struggles.
“It was amazing, speaking for my experience. We’d start telling them about programs and then they would start telling us their stories. It was great to have that connection. Honestly, I wasn’t expecting that,” Curley said. “Having a conversation like that, they may give you information you can use to help them.”
Every BSN student must participate in a community project in their population health course. The project must focus on public health nursing concepts that help with health promotion, risk reduction, and disease prevention.
During the summer, groups of Accelerated BSN students at the Gainesville and Jacksonville campuses designed and implemented community projects. They ranged from creating a video on the proper methods of biohazard waste disposal to developing coping kits for families with critically ill children.
“I was amazed to see their creativity in developing their projects and how much work they put into them,” said Clinical Assistant Professor Reese Felder, DNP, APRN, FNP-C, one of the instructors in Gainesville.
Felder added that the video produced by the students will become part of the UF Environmental Health & Safety training materials. It was just one of the many impactful projects developed by students.
“The students collaborated with agencies taking care of populations across the lifespan, and created projects that were informative, useful, and impacting,” said Clinical Assistant Professor Suzanne Weed, DNP, APRN, FNP-BC, who led the Jacksonville class.
Community outreach and finding where and how best to help are at the heart of the class.
“I think doing more projects like this is what nursing is about. It’s not just about being at the bedside and giving meds. It’s really looking at the patient as a whole. How we can best care for them,” Felder said.
Nicole Cope’s project was a partnership with Planned Parenthood. It focused on creating an Instagram campaign to start conversations about women’s health issues that some patients feel uncomfortable discussing even with their doctors. They made five posts on different subjects and reached some women who would otherwise remain silent.
“One of the things I was really excited about UF was the holistic view they take on nursing, as it really is about the mind, body, and spirit. It’s not just one thing. I think a well-rounded comprehensive education that includes community participation is not something people think about when they think about nursing. But nurses are a really big part of that,” Cope said. “A big part of nursing is learning how to connect and listen and being with a patient in a way that is meaningful, not just assessing and giving meds.”
Clinical Associate Professor Brenda Dyal, PhD, DNP, APRN, FNP-BC, another of the course instructors, felt the projects help students learn how to develop those bonds.
“It was very interesting to see the students become engaged with the community and realize the impact they made,” Dyal said.
Joslyn Massie’s project was to raise awareness among UF Health Shands case managers of Al’z Place, a Gainesville organization providing adult daycare for people with Alzheimer’s disease or severe memory impairment. It included debunking myths that the organization has a waiting list. The students created an infographic with an overview of services, who qualifies for services, and frequently asked questions. They also made a more in-depth resource guide to help guide clients on how to apply for services. The materials will be disseminated to UF Health Shands case management teams for distribution to patients and families.
But ultimately, the project became deeper for Massie.
“We were around a lot of elderly patients. We would talk with them and they would feel safe and start opening up to us. It was really special to know they trusted you and that you could be there for them, even just to listen and provide comfort,” Massie said.
While the students recently graduated and are moving forward with their careers, the hope is they will continue working on the projects. Some of the partnerering agencies have also requested to continue with the projects.
“As far as continuing with any of these projects, students were encouraged from the very beginning to continue with research they started with the goal to either present or publish their work. Once the dust settles and the NCLEX has been completed, those graduates who will remain in Gainesville and Jacksonville, as well as those who may go further afield, should submit and get further credit for all their wonderful, impactful work,” Weed said.