Hats Off to Student Nurses Who Chose Service Over Self

Kudos to the nursing students at the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing (JHUSNO) who volunteered their time to provide health care and education to people in impoverished areas of Haiti, New Orleans and Baltimore.

I’m sure there were other nursing students from various schools across the country who did the same, but I happened to read about those at JHUSNO. When break time rolls around, it can’t be easy to forego some down time away from intense studies and other scholastic obligations, but three groups of JHUSNO students did just that. Here’s where they went and what they did:

One group headed for Haiti. This was one of many trips for Assistant Professor Elizabeth Sloand, PhD RN, CRNP, who each year takes undergrads to the island for a lesson in global health. The students worked with the Haitian Health Foundation to teach positive health practices to the children and youth of Haiti. They also did some screenings and care.

The 10-day experience benefited the students, too, according to Sloand. They learned to rely on basic nursing skills, and exercised their critical thinking and problem solving skills in a low-tech/ no-tech environment.

The destination of a second group of student nurses was New Orleans, where 11 members of the National Student Nurses Association’s Hopkins Student Nurse Relief Corps took on two projects. The first was in the Lower Ninth Ward, one of the most seriously damaged areas during Hurricane Katrina. They hammered and painted, and laid shingles and tiles, helping to reconstruct damaged and demolished homes. Then they turned their energies toward the Touro Infirmary emergency department at the Lower Ninth Ward Health Clinic, and to St. Anna’s Medical Mission Mobile Clinic, where they used their nursing skills.

The third group of student nurses had only to travel a few miles within Baltimore. Each day for a week, nursing students worked to complete civic, social and environmental services, such as working in programs that focus on problems in urban restoration, domestic violence and homelessness.

It is good to see that nurses understand they have places in both their local and global community, and that fostering good health takes many forms. A tip of my extinct nursing cap to all of these students and any others who demonstrate a selflessness so needed in today’s world.

How are you or nurses in your community making a difference?

Do you think nurses should be expected to give of their time outside of their work, even though it already is a giving profession?

Tell us what you think.