More Than a Shot in the Arm
This spring, some 麻豆影院 State nursing students are getting a lot of practice giving shots.
They are assisting at mass vaccination events, led by the Portage County Combined General Health District, that are being held by appointment only at the 麻豆影院 Field House every Tuesday through the spring. Future dates may vary based upon the amount of vaccine received by the county.
At the first event on March 23, approximately 60 nursing students volunteered to give the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine to more than 2,000 area residents, including some 麻豆影院 employees.
Kaley Kralovic, a senior who will be graduating with a BSN this spring, was eager to sign up when the College of Nursing offered the volunteer positions. 鈥淭his is history and I wanted to be part of it,鈥 she says. 鈥淚t was really cool to participate in this as one of the first groups of nursing students to go through a pandemic in our lifetime. Everyone was just so excited to be there and get their vaccinations.
鈥淚 thought I was just going to be giving shots and moving people along. But we also got to sit down with people and ask questions; for example, to see if they had any allergies. And we鈥檇 document which vaccine they got and at what time. So it was a lot more than just putting a needle in an arm. It was making small talk and connecting with people as they came in.鈥
Kralovic also gained experience in handling people who are terrified of needles. 鈥淚 learned very quickly that you don鈥檛 say, 鈥楢ll right, I鈥檒l count to three and then I鈥檓 going to give the shot,鈥 she says, laughing. 鈥淚nstead, I would say, 鈥楢ll right, are you ready for this?鈥 And as they were answering, I was sticking the needle in. You鈥檝e got to hit them at an unexpected time so they鈥檙e not nervous. And then they鈥檇 say, 鈥極h, that鈥檚 not so bad鈥攂ut you tricked me!鈥 And I鈥檇 say, 鈥業 know I did, but it didn鈥檛 hurt, did it?鈥 鈥
鈥淭he nursing students give more IM [intramuscular] injections in one day than they鈥檙e most likely going to give in their entire careers,鈥 says Taryn Burhanna, MSN, APRN, community health nursing coordinator for 麻豆影院 State鈥檚 College of Nursing. 鈥淎nd we鈥檙e rotating them through all the stations so they don鈥檛 just administer shots, but they also get to see what it鈥檚 like to run a mass-scale point of distribution center. Even better, students of all levels, sophomores to seniors, are interacting, which brings a new level to experiential learning. It鈥檚 wonderful to see that peer-to-peer teaching and comradery in these times.鈥
For Kralovic鈥攚ho was selected for a six-week internship at Cleveland Clinic in 2020 and recently finished an ICU intensive care unit rotation鈥攙olunteering at the vaccination clinic was one more good opportunity to gain real-world experience before she graduates.
She鈥檚 already accepted a position with Cleveland Clinic at the main campus in the emergency department. 鈥淚t will be very fast paced, very exciting,鈥 she says. 鈥淚 figured I might as well just throw myself completely in as a new nurse. I鈥檓 a little nervous, but I think it鈥檚 going to be a great experience.鈥