University of Calgary
Nursing
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Nursing students help create healthier communities
The Society for Treatment of Autism CAT with manager Dan Foster: Brooke Verhaeghe, Michelle Jones, Emily Malcolm, instructor Nina Hrycak, Kimberly Fraser, Meagan Van Dorland, Elizabeth Abbott and Hillary Johnstone.University of Calgary nursing students will showcase their Community Action Team projects as part of the Community Health Nursing course this morning from 10 to noon.The Community Action Teams are tasked with helping create healthier communities and link with organizations to assess health needs and develop community based interventions. These future registered nurses go beyond just generating good ideas—they also implement them and leave the communities they worked with stronger and healthier. "Third-year nursing students have knowledge and skills needed to raise questions and issues that help communities understand themselves," says course coordinator Sylvia Loewen, a faculty instructor. Loewen says students are given a unique opportunity to think about how health is impacted by where people live and work. One successful project involved a partnership with Society for Treatment of Autism (STA). Students focused on an intervention project to discover a more efficient means of administering medications in order to prevent potential cross-contamination as well to increase the efficacy and ergonomics of the crushing of the pills. By squashing multi-coloured candies, washing the containers and then examining the residue, the students made a recommendation to the Society on the purchase of a pill crusher known as 'the phantom.' "Our intervention also includes running an in–service for the staff where we will demonstrate how potential cross contamination can occur and how to use the new pill crusher which completely prevents cross contamination and is more efficient and easier to use," says CAT member Emily Malcolm. Additionally, they developed a sustainable relationship with the pharmacist that currently dispenses medications to the clients of the centre. "The relationship with the pharmacist will provide ongoing medication education to all the staff and will provide training on medication safety," says third year student Michelle Jones. Dan Foster, STA's Residential Manager, says the students' contribution was invaluable. "It was remarkable to witness their determination and perseverance on such an important topic," he says. "The amount of research, observation and in-depth interviews they conducted really helped to bring an increased awareness to medication safety; it was such a rewarding experience to work with this great group of student-professionals." "Our experience at the Society has been so positive," adds fellow team member Beth Abbott. "We have been blown away by the team work, enthusiasm and passion for working with the clients." Autism is a lifelong developmental disorder with a wide range of symptoms. Society for Treatment of Autism offers comprehensive treatment, educational services and consultation for Albertans dealing with autism and related disorders. 
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April 13, 2010