Healthcare students use skills to change lives, change communities
Students in South Texas College’s Emergency Medical Technology (EMT) and Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) programs used their skills to give back to others by taking part in a community health fair hosted by the South Texas Promotoras Association at Mario’s Supermarket in Edinburg. The event brought valuable health and prevention information to colonias around Doolittle and Montecristo, communities that have historically lacked adequate healthcare access.
During the fair, STC’s EMT students and instructor Janelle Billings provided 89 H1N1 and seasonal flu vaccines, and educated participants about fire safety, H1N1 and flu prevention, and careers available in emergency medical technology. The ADN students, who were led by instructors Christie Candelaria and Marissa Smolarski, conducted more than 500 demographic and nursing assessments and blood pressure and diabetes screenings. They also referred 81 patients to the on-site mobile clinic provided by Ashley Pediatrics.
First-level nursing student Joanna Barrera says that participating in the fair was win-win situation, practicing her skills while helping people get affordable, live-saving health screenings.
“Through the experience I learned how great the need is for adequate and affordable healthcare options in the Valley,” said Barrera. “Most of the people I encountered were not aware of what having poor health means and weren’t getting screened for diseases that are silent killers. As someone who wants to work in the neonatal care unit, I know it’s vital to educate the community about preventable diseases and get them to seek treatment before conditions worsen. That is why events like these are so important – we’re providing a service to people who would not visit a doctor otherwise and we’re getting them to start thinking about their health.”
The experience allowed Dominique Hassanpour, who is also a first-level nursing student, to discover that healthcare is about more than sick patients in hospitals.
“It is extremely important to reach out to the community,” said Hassanpour. “It was a great experience and I hope to participate in more of these fairs because I can build my people skills, work in a different environment and gain a sense of community awareness. Few people are able to say they have touched the lives of others, and now I can say this with pride.”
STC’s Center for Learning Excellence at the Nursing and Allied Health Campus is responsible for coordinating service learning experiences within the community. Dores Jay-Pang, center director, says service learning projects help students understand the important role they play in the community, beyond the walls of traditional healthcare facilities.
“We want to show our students the value of working with patients outside of the hospital setting and how they can mobilize to identify new ways to serve everyone,” said Jay-Pang. “Effective healthcare reaches out into communities, not just in traditional patient settings, and that is why service learning is a key component of our curriculum.
“Our thanks go out to South Texas Promotoras Association and Mario’s Supermarket, and all our faculty and staff who participated because by working together to provide education and preventative care, we are contributing to the overall health and well-being our Valley. Through serving learning we are changing lives and changing communities.”
For more information about STC’s ADN program visit http://nah.southtexascollege.edu/adn/ or call 956-872-3070. To learn more about STC’s EMT Program visit http://nah.southtexascollege.edu/emergencymedical/index.html or call 956-872-3178.
