Nursing Students Partner With Villages
"Students were able to observe what it was like for children and adolescents who came into a camp setting with specific health-related needs, requiring daily medication and/or interventions from the nurse at the health center," says Concordia nursing chair Dr. Polly Kloster. "It was a wonderful opportunity to gain an understanding of the pediatric population within the context of community health."
The nursing students gained plenty of hands-on experience reviewing health assessment forms, dispensing medications to villagers, providing treatments, assisting with first aid and more. They spent their days at the health centers, along with interacting with villagers during their classes and activities.
The partnership is the third major collaboration between the nursing department and the Language Villages. Since 2002, sophomore nursing students have opened their first semester in the program by attending a nursing retreat at one of the Village sites.
More recently, students have also been able to complete a summer internship at the Villages, overseen by Linda Erceg, Concordia Language Villages health and risk management associate director, who also oversees the new clinical experience. These students spend a minimum of six weeks on site, helping Erceg gather data and participate in her nursing research and work closely with the other registered nurses.
Kloster says they plan to continue offering the new clinical experience to accelerated nursing program students and hope to expand it to include those in the traditional nursing program.
"We recognize the value of this unique clinical experience between our nursing department and Concordia Language Villages," she says. "It only makes sense to continue to build on our partnership to expand this opportunity for our students."
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