Nursing students get involved

Students in the Department of Nursing spent the fall semester visiting numerous sites around campus, getting firsthand experience in taking blood pressure readings while helping to improve the health of University employees.

The screenings were supervised by staff members from the UD Employee Wellness Center, which is part of the College of Health and Nursing Sciences. After conducting each blood pressure reading, the students showed the employees the range and gave them information about what the numbers meant and about high blood pressure in general.

“It’s a really good experience for us,” nursing student Brittany Robinson, CHNS ’07, says. “We’re used to practicing on each other—on 19-year-olds—so it’s good to get practice on more of a variety of people.”

Marianne Carter, director of the Wellness Center, says the project has benefited everyone involved.

“These screenings have been a win-win situation, in that we can simultaneously provide the service to employees and allow the nursing students to receive valuable hands-on experience,” Carter says.

By the end of the semester, 124 sophomore nursing majors had participated in at least one of the hour-long screening sessions, according to Judy Herrman, instructor in nursing. “The students have really stepped up to the plate with this one and have done a great job,” she says.