NDSU student nurses apply skills to help fellow students during pandemic

For those in healthcare, 2020 was dominated by the coronavirus pandemic. On college campuses, how students learn and their daily activities were impacted. One group of nursing students found a way to help fellow students. They delivered care bags and checked on students who were in quarantine during fall 2020 semester.

Thirty-eight students in the Community/Public Health course at NDSU provided more than 100 dorm visits since October. The goals included: provide a social distanced, face-to-face visit, let the student know they are supported, provide a kit containing donated supplies from the NDSU Student Health Center Health Promotion team, answer any questions, and bring a sense of well-being/positive mental health to our students in quarantine.

“As a mother of a new freshman, I wondered what I would do if my child tested positive; would anyone go help him if he needed it? What support would he get?” said Nancy Turrubiates, lecturer and public health clinical coordinator in NDSU School of Nursing who supervised the students in the class.

Care packages included hand sanitizer, tissues, acetaminophen, honey for a cup of tea, thermometer, chapstick, cough drop, Self-care tips, a bookmark with mental health awareness, contact numbers for student health and where to go for local help.

According to nursing students Heather and Kaitlyn who participated in the program:Being a part of these support visits is beneficial for everyone, both us as student nurses and for the students in quarantine. These visits are especially important to those in their freshman year as they may not know of all of the resources available to them on and off campus, and may not have built relationships with those on campus to support them through their quarantine.

“We both have participated in providing support and resources to students who have tested positive over the phone through the Student Health Service, but we felt that connecting face-to-face was more beneficial in showing that they are not alone in quarantine. We felt that delivering the quarantine support bags in person helped in showing extra support for NDSU students.”

As a student, there are many different ways to #ExperienceNDSU.

 

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