SXU Nursing Students Host First Aid Workshop
Recently, Saint Xavier University (SXU) nursing students hosted a first aid workshop for the faculty and staff at Most Holy Redeemer School in Evergreen Park. They provided stations that included information on cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), allergic reactions, choking, asthma inhalers, and life-threatening bleeding.
Participating students were part of the NURSP 377 course, the community clinical rotation for the Junior II nursing students. In the course, students primarily learn about health promotion and disease prevention in the community and how social determinants of health affect communities.
The class chose to hold the First Aid Workshop after performing a needs assessment and learning that many members of Most Holy Redeemer School needed a refresher experience. Most Holy Redeemer is the group's clinical location, and because faculty and staff spend so much time with the students, it is imperative that they are trained for emergency situations.
Emergency lifesaving procedures are skills that everyone should learn and have yearly practice experiences for. Though the school had a Stop the Bleed kit near their gym, no one had received training with the equipment. In addition, the use of EpiPens and asthma inhalers in schools have increased throughout the years, and it is vital that all faculty and staff know how to properly use them.
The students appreciated the high-impact learning experience.
"I really feel like I put my nursing skills to use," said Demiah A., a nursing student who taught at the Stop the Bleed station. Alexis K, who also worked at the station, added, "The teachers were genuinely excited to learn this information."
NURSP 377 is taught by nursing professor Christina Kent, who was thrilled with the positive feedback the students received from this event.
"As a professor, my hope is that my students realize how vital health promotion in the community is. I was extremely proud of the hard work the students put in and how they transformed into experts with their topics," said Kent.
Next up, the class is educating middle-grade students on hands-only CPR and AED training, and they hope to continue the training yearly.