Nursing students with the College of the Rockies will be heading across Canada to present their work and and learning experiences with a community outreach practicum project at a national nursing conference.
Natalie Armstrong and Jessica Wheeler, two COTR students in the Bacherlors of Science in Nursing program, will be heading to St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, for the Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing Conference to share their perspectives gleaned from the college’s Year 3 Community Health Nursing Practice placement.
Both Armstrong and Wheeler developed the practicum experience with a focus on community outreach to people experiencing homelessness in Cranbrook.
“The opportunity to help develop this community outreach project has opened our eyes to the lived experience of those experiencing homelessness, substance use disorder, and mental illness, not only in Cranbrook but in the West Kootenay as well,” said Armstrong. “We have spent a lot of time debriefing about our own biases, feelings, and experiences, and recognizing the importance of nursing from a trauma-informed lens. We are excited to present this project on a national level at the Biennial CASN Conference.”
The project began as a joint venture between the nursing programs at College of the Rockies and Selkirk College, as both schools were looking to expand their practicum opportunities for BSN students. Selkirk students and faculty took on the role of advisors to the College’s team, based on the Selkirk College BSN community outreach activities in Nelson, Trail, and Castlegar.
The practicum project at College of the Rockies has a two-fold purpose — first, to provide student nurses with learning experience in the role of community health nursing, and second, to build a practicum opportunity for students to respond to the health needs of people in our community.
“This practicum project reflects the innovation that emerges when students are challenged to engage in a real-world health issue,” said Norma Sherret, BSN instructor. “Health promotion, community development, advocacy and respect are concepts that shape the Year 3 BSN student learning experience and those same concepts served as the foundation for working together with partners in our community to create this meaningful experience. Meeting people in the context of their lives, hearing their stories and recognizing their resiliency and then, supporting them with their health needs, this is the power of nursing.”
Armstrong and Wheeler met stakeholders in Cranbrook who are working to address the issues related to poverty and homelessness in our community, which included representatives from the province, City Council, Interior Health, local businesses, individuals experiencing homelessness, and existing outreach service providers.
Out of those meetings, a community needs assessment revealed several themes including the need for education to address the stigma attached to the experience of homelessness, secure and accessible housing, increased access to harm reduction supplies, and readily available “on the ground” health services for those not linked to existing service providers.
Armstrong and Wheeler continued their learning journey as part of the Year 4 Leadership Practice course, after recognizing the value in the work they had done through the practicum.
In the Leadership Practice Course, they were required to consider and explore opportunities for student-led activities that would provide meaningful learning experiences for future students. That concluded last December as they presented their practice-based learning to the annual BSN Student Leadership Conference.
Now, Armstrong and Wheeler have handed off the project to incoming Year 3 students Tessa Mitchell and Michael Sullivan. The new student team is focused on creating sustainable partnerships within the community, engaging with community members and members of the College’s health programs to ensure ongoing resources to support student participation in distribution of basic wound care supplies, food stuffs, and warm clothing to people in need.
They have established important links with existing community outreach services and health care providers as partners for future students to connect with and support.