Nursing students get credit for H1N1 clinics

In a time of health crisis, the School of Nursing did its part by getting involved to help the University community.

This winter, Penn Nursing students were enlisted to carry out the process of inoculation for the H1N1 virus. At the same time, these students earned credit for the clinical portion of their community health courses — a program which allows the students to get hands-on nursing experience while still in school.

After high–level University officials had a meeting to discuss how to deal with H1N1, it was decided that seniors in the Nursing School could gain invaluable clinical experience from working with nurses from Student Health Service and administering shots to their peers, Associate Dean for Academic Programs and Professor of Nursing Dr. Kathleen McCauley said.

McCauley added that not only did Penn deal with the H1N1 epidemic, but Professors Lisa Lewis and Matt McHugh were willing to count the students’ time spent administering the vaccines as clinical time. Professor Judith Bonaduce, who played a prominent role in organizing this event, also oversaw the clinical portion.

McCauley emphasized that the students in the health–related schools of the University such as the Dental, Medical and Nursing Schools were required to get inoculated first. This was especially important for the Nursing students who were required to get the vaccine before attending their clinicals.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention identified these groups as high-priority for the H1N1 vaccination, according to Public Health Nurse Sharon McMullen.

McCauley emphasized that it is very important for college students to be vaccinated considering that reports have shown that 19 to 20-year-old, young and healthy college students die from lack of immunity to this virus. People with asthma are also at greater risk of dying from being infected with this virus.

According to McCauley, 690 Nursing students were immunized on Nov. 4 — which represents 83 percent of the 835 expected undergraduate Nursing clinical students. McCauley described the vaccine administration process as “a well-oiled machine.”

Public Health Nurse Sharon McMullen said that H1N1 vaccines are still available to students by appointment at the Student Health Service.

“All H1N1 vaccine comes from the US government via a local agency. Our local agency is the Philadelphia Department of Public Health,” she wrote in an e-mail.

Wharton sophomore Natalia Pelcer talked about her experience receiving the inoculation saying, “It was very well organized. The line went really fast and everything went smoothly. Also, it didn’t hurt at all.”

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.