During the fall semester, third-year nursing students take their skills out into the community, where they work with various organizations such as Streets Alive, the Lethbridge Soup Kitchen and seniors centres.
Carina Zhu, a clinical instructor for the course, and 11 students were placed at the Lethbridge Senior Citizens Organization (LSCO) for their community health rotation.
“The focus of this rotation is to work with the community to identify a need and then plan and implement a health promotion initiative that addresses that need,” said Zhu. “One group focused on pelvic health. Their session was well attended; I was so impressed. Another group had a booth on hoarding, and another group focused on horticulture and social interaction between seniors. I’m very proud of them; they’ve worked really hard.”
The group focused on hoarding used a pirate-and-treasure theme, as hoarding can be a sensitive subject. Emilie Brolsma said the group spoke with LSCO members, social workers and employees about the areas of greatest need before focusing on hoarding.
“We tailored our approach to not just spread awareness about hoarding but also try to get people to decrease the amount of clutter in their homes by bringing in donations,” Brolsma said. “We’re partnering with Streets Alive and collecting donations, so we try to get people to see their clutter from a different perspective — as the potential to do good for others.”
“The way we get people to come to our booth is by asking them if they have a relative, a friend or a friend of a friend who has some hoarding tendencies and would like some outreach programs,” said Sidney Holt. “It’s been pretty eye-opening how common it is.”
Elaiza De La Cruz said the booth was a good way to connect with people despite the sensitivity around the topic.
“Approaching it with humour, making light of the topic and making it seem like it’s not such a sensitive topic to talk about was helpful,” she said. “We also learned that the only way to treat this is through therapy. A lot of the research advised incorporating close families and friends in the intervention process.”
Madelyn McCool said working in the community has been a different nursing experience and far different from nursing in an acute care setting.
“It’s been really cool to see it from this angle and promote health in a non-medical way,” she said. “There have been a lot of different interactions, and we’ve learned a lot, especially through our research on how to approach this.”
Another group focused on pelvic floor health and urology information. They arranged to have a physiotherapist with Alberta Health do a presentation.
“We’re just trying to talk about age-related concerns and how they’re not normal and how they can be treated to improve quality of life,” said Megan Morrison. “We talked with the recreational manager here and she highlighted that this is an issue many of their members are concerned about.”
“People seemed interested and excited in this session, and lots of people attended,” said Shannah Gordon. “Pelvic-floor therapy can make a huge difference, and learning how to incorporate it every day can make such a big difference. It’s nice to know there’s something you can do at home and even for us when we’re young to know we can do it too as a preventative.”
“It’s been nice working with the seniors at the centre,” said Jandy Neufeld. “The turnout is amazing, and there’s a need for pelvic floor and urology information and education for seniors. I hope they take a lot away from this presentation and use some of our resources.”
Lauren Thielen said going from caring for an individual patient with an acute illness in a hospital setting to a community setting required a change in focus.
“Being here, we work with a group of people, and we’re doing all we can to contribute to a healthy community instead of just one individual,” said Thielen. “While it was challenging, it’s been extremely rewarding.”
Taylor Schell, Nicole Anton and Jeremy Bizon offered seniors the chance to get their hands dirty. They brought plants for people to take home and seeds to plant, courtesy of The Sill & Soil.
“We realized that a lot of the groups here weren’t socializing with each other; people would come to their classes or come have coffee and leave,” said Schell. “There’s lots of up-and-coming research on horticulture and how it affects mental health and socialization, especially in seniors, who tend to have lower socialization levels.”
“In our research, we found many resources that pointed to plants being very good for mental health,” said Bizon. “Getting in contact with soil and plants helps release endorphins in the human brain, so it’s very good for making people happier.”
The Faculty of Health Sciences nursing program also has a long-standing partnership with the Nord-Bridge Seniors Centre. Penni Wilson (BN ’04, MSc – Nursing ’14), a nursing instructor, and her students planned a health fair, which was established by nursing students and is now in its 13th year, that featured numerous health-related resources and support for senior citizens. The students also worked on other health promotion initiatives during the semester in response to identified needs and interests, including healthy aging and healthy aging in the digital era, especially about scams that target older adults.
Nursing students in Trenna Devoy’s (MN ’18) class worked on campus; one group was in the Housing department and the other was with ULethbridge Health Centre.
For students living in campus housing, the nursing students promoted physical health by increasing awareness of the benefits of influenza vaccination, healthy eating, and physical activity. They offered flu vaccinations, distributed budget-friendly food kits with recipe cards, and organized a Zumba fitness session called "Active U" to encourage physical activity and social connection.
Students working at the Health Centre focused on sexual health topics such as STI prevention, pregnancy supports and gender-based violence. In addition to increasing awareness of the sexual health services offered at the University, they provided a confidential and easily accessible platform for students to access at their convenience.
Students placed with Jenna McDonald worked at a variety of community placements, including Streets Alive and their outreach team, as well as the men’s and women’s recovery programs. They partnered with AAWEAR (Alberta Addicts Who Educate and Advocate Responsibly), engaging in harm reduction walks throughout the community. Students also volunteered at the Soup Kitchen, toured and volunteered at Interfaith Food Bank, and increased awareness and administered influenza vaccines at the Lethbridge Correctional Centre.
The community health rotation is a core course in the four-year Bachelor of Nursing program, offered in collaboration with Lethbridge Polytechnic.