Students get real-world community nursing experience

Students at Baker University School of Nursing have an opportunity to gain valuable clinical experience, all while helping the Topeka and Shawnee County communities battle the COVID-19 pandemic.

On February 11, about 50 students in Baker’s Community Nursing course started administering COVID vaccines and will do so through the end of the semester in May. The vaccinations are taking place at the Stormont Vail Health COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic, located at the Stormont Vail Events Center in Topeka.

“Students in the communities class not only learn how to improve the health of our local communities but also of the United States and globally. Learning about pandemics, both our current COVID-19 pandemic and past pandemics, are a part of the Community Nursing curriculum,” said Barb Sollner, MSN, School of Nursing assistant professor. “We try to bring as much real experience into our clinicals as we can. We teach our students to think outside the hospital walls. This is a really good experience to see how the system works.”

Plans also are being made for the students to assist with vaccinations for the Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health Department.

“Nurses have learned that to care for our communities, we need to work outside the hospital walls,” Sollner said. “Nurses are uniquely qualified to help clients improve their health in the community setting. Administering vaccines is a great way to do that.”

Baker’s School of Nursing is affiliated with Stormont Vail Health in Topeka, which has received Magnet recognition for its nursing practice.

Carol Perry, RN, senior vice president and chief nursing officer at Stormont Vail, said sending students into the field to administer vaccines was an important step in preparing them for future nursing careers.

“We want our students out there on the front lines, working with expert nurses so they are fully prepared to step into their own careers,” Perry said.