{"id":28883,"date":"2017-12-06T15:29:13","date_gmt":"2017-12-06T22:29:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/?p=28883"},"modified":"2018-06-01T10:24:54","modified_gmt":"2018-06-01T16:24:54","slug":"nursing-program-exposes-students-to-community-health-through-first-time-parents","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/?p=28883","title":{"rendered":"Nursing program exposes students to community health through first-time parents"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Sylvia Metzger, a clinical nursing instructor with the Beth-El Nurse-Family Partnership, plays with baby Carmen during a recent home visit while her mother, Chloe Alqaisi, watches.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Julia Buckingham didn\u2019t know what to expect from a UCCS program that pairs nursing students with first-time mothers, but it ended up showing her the kind of nurse she hopes to become.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Julia Buckingham, a senior nursing student, visits with a mom-to-be.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A teen mom shared with Buckingham and a clinical nursing instructor that her baby\u2019s father had been abusive, but she wasn\u2019t currently in contact with him. Buckingham, a senior nursing student from Colorado Springs, let the mom know she had recently been in an emotionally abusive relationship. They talked for hours and cried together.<\/p>\n

Buckingham left with a different outlook on nursing.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs nurses, we want to fix people, but sometimes we have to step back and see that they are humans\u2014and all someone wants sometimes is to just be listened to,\u201d she said. \u201cIt was amazing to see the holistic side of nursing in action because in the hospital you don\u2019t really see that. You have to jump from one room to the next and don\u2019t have as much time for each patient.\u201d<\/p>\n

The goal of the program at the Helen and Arthur E. Johnson Beth-El College of Nursing and Health Sciences is to give students a taste of alternative nursing roles beyond hospitals, possibly inspiring them to work in public health.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven though we may make small differences on a daily basis, they turn into big differences over time.\u201d<\/p>\n

It is offered through the Nurse-Family Partnership<\/a>, a nationwide community health program for low-income, first-time moms. Nurses visit with the moms at their homes every few weeks starting in early pregnancy until the child turns 2. The idea is offering support and education will result in healthy mothers and babies and better futures for both of them.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven though we may make small differences on a daily basis, they turn into big differences over time. We\u2019re helping the moms feel better about themselves and about making decisions,\u201d said Jennifer Jones, nurse supervisor and clinical instructor for the UCCS program. \u201cThey don\u2019t always know the right path if they were brought up in difficult circumstances themselves. With us, they have a cheerleader standing by, saying, \u2018You can do this.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Nurse Sylvia Metzger weighs baby Carmen.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Beth-El Nurse-Family Partnership has been offered to nursing students during this past year. As more families have enrolled in the program, the number of students participating has increased, jumping from 16 initially to 35 this fall semester. Sixty-seven students are expected in the spring.<\/p>\n

For a day, one student at a time is paired with one of five nurses, all of whom have master\u2019s degrees. The goal is to have all senior nursing students spend a day with a nurse while visiting about three moms, staying roughly 90 minutes at each home.<\/p>\n

Nurses and students may check a mom\u2019s blood pressure, help with breastfeeding issues, and screen for postpartum depression and domestic violence, sometimes referring them to community resources for additional help. They also work with the moms on becoming self-sufficient, which may include getting a GED or returning to college or work.<\/p>\n

They may weigh a baby, measure his height, and make sure he\u2019s reaching developmental milestones such as walking.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s more of a wellness model,\u201d Jones said. \u201cWhen you go to the doctor, they tell you all that\u2019s wrong. With this nursing model, we say what you\u2019re doing right and how to build on what areas may be challenging for you.\u201d<\/p>\n

“Getting to experience this program\u00a0opened my eyes to just how broad the nursing field can be.\u201d<\/p>\n

Matthew Barnes, a senior nursing student from Baker City, Oregon, most enjoyed interacting with families in a one-on-one educational setting.<\/p>\n

\"Matthew<\/a>
Matthew Barnes, a senior nursing student, holds a baby during a home visit.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

“Getting to experience this program\u00a0opened my eyes to just how broad the nursing field can be,\u201d said Barnes, who wants to work in maternal and child health. \u201cIt delved into areas of nursing that I never would have thought of as being viable career options, and I got to see how valuable this is to those involved in the program.”<\/p>\n

Nurse Sylvia Metzger and Elisa Austria, a senior nursing student from Newberry, Michigan, recently visited a young mom and her 8-month-old daughter. Metzger started by asking the mom questions such as what is one thing you do well at home, is there anything in your life that you would want to change, and where do you feel like you are emotionally?<\/p>\n

Metzger talked about the importance of eating foods high in fiber and iron. She brought coconut date rolls as an example of a healthy snack.<\/p>\n

The mom asked questions about how to teach her baby sign language. Metzger, who often asked for input from Austria, showed a brief video on teaching babies sign language before practicing the signs for \u201cI want,\u201d \u201cmilk\u201d and \u201cplay.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you use these signs while you\u2019re doing things with her, she\u2019ll pick it up,\u201d Austria said. \u201cShe\u2019ll mimic your hand motions.\u201d<\/p>\n

When the baby\u2019s father got home on a break from working a double shift as a chef, he said it scares him when the baby, Carmen, sounds like she\u2019s gasping for air while she\u2019s excited.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, this is just excitement,\u201d Metzger said, reassuring him. \u201cThis is exactly what we want her to do. She\u2019s happy.\u201d<\/p>\n

The mother shared that she had signed up for college courses, beginning in January, and hopes to become a veterinary technician and work at a zoo. Before leaving, Metzger hugged her, telling her she\u2019s so excited about her starting classes.<\/p>\n

After the visit, the mom, Chloe Alqaisi, said the nursing program has been vital in helping her family.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause my mom lives in another state and my husband\u2019s mom lives in another country, I didn\u2019t really have anyone. Sylvia helped me with any concerns about Carmen or any concerns in general,\u201d she said. \u201cI don\u2019t think we could\u2019ve done it without her.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing able to positively impact a person’s life is why I want to be a nurse.\u201d<\/p>\n

Austria, the nursing student, wishes she could have been part of such a program when she was pregnant with her first child.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a new mom, you have so many questions, and babies have their own quirks. This program gives young, underserved moms a chance to have those questions asked,\u201d Austria said. \u201cIt changed my mind about home-visit nursing. Being able to positively impact a person’s life is why I want to be a nurse, and this program has a huge impact on these families. It is very gratifying.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Baby Carmen looks at a book in her mom’s lap while nurse Sylvia Metzger and Elisa Austria, a senior nursing student, look on.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Metzger said several students have expressed interest in eventually pursuing roles in this type of nursing. Buckingham, who asked to do even more home visits with Metzger, was one of those students.<\/p>\n

Being involved with a program such as Nurse-Family Partnership is exactly what she wants to do. But she feels she should get experience with acute care in hospitals before transitioning to community health.<\/p>\n

\u201cI changed from this experience. I learned what kind of nurse I want to be. I want to be the one that looks at my patients as human beings and not some disease that needs fixing,\u201d Buckingham said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI also want to be the nurse that my patients can feel comfortable talking to because the healing process is not just about how much medicine we give. It\u2019s also the human aspect, just being there and talking to them and helping them through the process.\u201d<\/p>\n

— Photos by Anslee Wolfe and\u00a0Sylvia Metzger<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Julia Buckingham didn\u2019t know what to expect from a UCCS program that pairs nursing students with first-time mothers, but it ended up showing her the kind of nurse she hopes to become. (More)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":28884,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1,50,13],"tags":[51,197],"class_list":["post-28883","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all","category-health-and-wellness","category-photo-features","tag-featured","tag-photo-feature"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/NFP_005-sm.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1mBpJ-7vR","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28883","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=28883"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28883\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29357,"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28883\/revisions\/29357"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/28884"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=28883"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=28883"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=28883"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}