Sixteen first-semester U College of Nursing students have volunteered to head up Caring in Action projects.
These projects get the students involved in a collaboration with organizations in the community outside of school, according to Sandy Taylor, spokeswoman for the college.
“Students are not required to take on these extra curricular projects, but many do, just because they are the kind of people who are going into nursing for altruistic reasons. They like to help people,” Taylor said.
Connie Madden, who is the clinical instructor and co coordinator for the class “essential concepts of nursing,” praised her students’ projects this semester.
“Some Caring in Action projects are through service learning at the Bennion Center, and some occur as an outgrowth of the students’ studies and personal interests,” Madden said. “Before a student can proceed with a project, the college must approve it. Students are then graded on their performance with the project.”
Madden said that there are other ways for students to get the grades that don’t require much community service, so not all students opt to take on a caring in action project.
“The college gives nursing students several project options, and the students choose what they want to do,” Madden said. “We encourage a community-based approach with community partnerships.”
Student Chauna Weyermuller is conducting the adult literacy program at the Ogden Rescue Mission. She will assess the residents’ level of literacy, then tailor her programs to provide individual tutoring to those who are housed at the shelter. She will work through the end of the semester.
Brett Rush is involved with the Spanish language video tape project. He will produce a videotape for Spanish-speaking parents of babies who are in the newborn intensive care unit at Primary Children’s Medical Center. The video will provide education and support for the care of those babies.
“The ICU can be an unsettling and scary environment for people who have sick babies there. They often don’t understand what’s happening.,” Madden said. “Brett hopes that his video will be of real value there.”
Basic health classes in elementary schools is student Annie Tanner’s project. She will be working in three different second-grade classes in Sandy.
“My overall goal is to educate the kids about germs, sleep, hygiene, exercise and immunizations,” Tanner said. “I also hope to educate the students’ parents by sending home literature.”
Shariffa Ramaileh is working with the Kaleidoscope Kids Project through Community Nursing Services, a hospice for terminally ill children.
She will provide the children’s parents a cast of their child’s hand or foot to keep as a remembrance.
“I use dental plaster and alginate to make the casts of the children’s feet and hands. It last much longer than plaster castings they used to make them with,” Ramaileh said. “This is only done at the request of the individual families because it may not be an effective grieving tool for all families.”
All projects conclude at the end of the semester, according to Madden, but it is common for many students to continue their projects throughout their course of study at the U.
“I’m advising some fifth semester students now who are still doing their projects. Most are service learning scholars at that point,” Madden said.