Nursing students pull together Health Fair to benefit TCU

Fort Worth, TX

5/27/2009

By: Mary Katherine Freeman and Natalie Kerlick

In early April 2009, the Accelerated BSN Class of 2009 at TCU embarked on a whirlwind project for their public health nursing practicum. The nursing students were informed by TCU Human Resources that around 25 percent of TCU employees were not participating in the university’s health insurance program.

“We discovered this information through feedback collected from a questionnaire,” said Pat Jolley, TCU’s director of compensation. “The questionnaire also revealed a need for more information regarding heart disease, diabetes, and stress management.”

The class of 36 accelerated nursing students determined that they could help TCU employees through a Resource Connections Health Fair that would provide information about health care access and education about healthy lifestyles. The goal of the fair was to provide information on various health topics including stress, diabetes, heart disease and access to low cost health care. The targeted date for the event was only weeks away -- April 24, 2009 – so a lot of work was needed to quickly coordinate the fair.

Harris College of Nursing & Health Sciences supported the project through stipends of $20 per student and the rest was funded through community donations. The 36 students divided into four groups to plan and organize the project:

* Group one focused on stress management and designed booths where employees learned about and participated in demonstrations on yoga positions, guided imagery, and self-massage using a tennis ball;

* Group two focused on providing information about diabetes and heart disease;

* Groups three and four visited local health care resources, including clinics and pharmacies, and constructed a resource guide filled with contact information and locations.

Once the information was gathered and assembled, the next challenge was promoting the event. The nursing students determined that providing healthy food would encourage attendance and they secured donations from Schlotzky’s Deli. In addition to the food, they also obtained donations for prize drawings including a TCU signed football and jerseys, a home blood pressure monitor, a TCU Recreation Center pass for one year, and massage certificates and other prizes. The nursing students promoted the fair by visiting buildings around the TCU campus and inviting employees to the event.

Attendance at the TCU Resource Connections Fair exceeded the goal of 100 employees with over 123 employees attending. A majority of the employees in attendance reported that quality information was provided.

“The best part of the project was forming connections with the community, the TCU employees and the various clinics,” said event team member and TCU nursing student Mary Katherine Freeman. “The nursing students enjoyed providing public health information to enrich the well-being of the TCU community and applying their knowledge to practice.”

According to Natalie Kerlick, event team member and TCU nursing student, “Much of nursing focuses on disease and treatment, but public health nursing undertakes the idea of primary prevention and health maintenance, something that can be achieved with the identification of proper resources, health education, and health promotion.”

“The nursing students came to understand the true worth of knowledge they take for granted and an effective method of disseminating that knowledge,” she continued. “This whirlwind of a journey was well worth the effort and a great way to end a grueling semester. The TCU nursing students came together as a group and left an imprint on the community, perhaps as a way to say ‘thank you’ to the faculty and staff who have ensured their success.”