The_Rambler_1998-11

              \OiJ Ml-: 71 I SSI E.J
S l M h I MVUiSi n Oi \i:\V YOHK M l AliML\(.DMJ:
STUDENT NURSES IN ACTION AT NASSAU COUNTY
MEDICAL CENTER
H\ Sara
Student nur>cs at Farmingdale ate both
encouragcd and required to do some
communir\- service as pan of their train-ing.
so when Carol Citera, RN III of the
Acedemic Center lor Educational
Services (A C E S ) extended an invita-tion
to the Student Nurses Association
(S N A ) to participate in Nassau County
MedicaJ Center s fit^t Health Fair, the
answer was a resounding ^ ES'
Nassau Count> Medical Center
provided a list of topics to be covered to
e a c h .
aspects of the disease, including upcom-ing
changes in the laws regarding test-ing
.Also C PR shields, to protect the
health of people performing ("PR were
made a\ailable with a carrying case for
a small charge These are still available
through the S N .X for mterested parties
f'he living w.ill and end of life
decision area attracted a lot of attention
because of it's great display, complete
with the Gnm Reaper in full black robe,
and ho<xl Forms for living v.ills. organ
donation, and not Resuscitate"
group Fach group selected the topics
they wished to cover on a first come,
first serve ba.^is Fanningdale selected
H I \ \ Hepatitis, and S T D s. Pediatnc
Asthma. Immunizations, and waiting
roiMiis. Living wills and end of life deci-sionj).
and Substance abuse
First, the topics had lobe diMd-ed
am(.>ng the da\ and evening Student
Nurses AsstKiations Prof Cirace K(^h!
organized the students into groups by
topic .Arrangements were made to
insure faculty coverage for the entire
event Each group uas responsible tor
collecting It's own data and creating it's
oun displays The leader of each group
delegated tasks to individual group
members All in all. a great deal of
preparation and ccx)pcrai:on went into
creating a \er\ impressive showing at
the Health Fair The day and evening
S N .A vvorked together to creaic a
seamless presentation that attracted a
great deal of interest from visitors t<i the
Fair, as well as the other participants
The H I \ . Hepatitis, and
S T D s display, designed by the mem-bers
of the daytime S N A featured
numerous educational pamphlets on
how the disea.se is transmitted, how to
avoid infection, where to get tested
and or treated, as well as red I D S
avvareness ribbons These weie all
made available to visitors free of charge
The students were extremelv well
informed and were able to discus^ all
orders were made available to visitors
Traditionally, this is a very dilTiciili sub-jec:
to talk about because nobody wants
to think about a situation where they are
physically unable to communicate their
wishes to their Doctor vr family
I nt'ortunately. it
happens all the
tin;e If \i'u have
not c(>mpleted a
form with \ our
vM<;hes and given it
to a trusted party,
the hospital mu>i
take every measure
to save vour lite
featured numerous pamphlets on how to
identify and treat drug problems from
alcoholi.sm to crack and cocaine addic-tion
Information on programs for treat-ment
and prevention, as vvell as identifi-cation
of illegal substances were made
available There was also an informa-tive
display on prescription drug abuse
When asked to identify the most com-mon
substance abuse problem in the
communitv. the students response was
alcohol Most people don't think of
alcohol in terms of substance abuse
because it s legal to those of us over 21
Lnfonunately, alcohol accounts for
more iniuries, deaths, and rapes than any
other drug Something to think about
before the holiday season slips into full
gear, huh''
The Pediatnc display was a
joint etTort by the day and evening
S N A "model" pediatric waiting
room was set up by the students There
were activities that inform children
about doctor visits, putting the emphasis
on helping the child to participate in his
or her own health care The display
illustrated how to creaiv a healthy non-confrontational
atmosphere where chil-dren
can feel safe and comfortable 7he
Pediatric displav also featured a large
chart with accompanying pamphlets that
provided parents with a schedule of
essential immunizations for children
There was a very interesting section in
pares him or her for what might happen
dunng treatment at a dcKtor s otTice or
hospital setting
When asked about the possibil-itv
of future health fairs. Ms Citera
responded, '1 would like to do it again
She also said that the Fair "was gixxl
preparation for working in a hospital or
clinical setting" Cathy .Adamcewicz,
president of the daytime S N A . said of
tlie ev ent. " The mission of the S N .A is
to help educate the public about impor-tant
health issues This is important
training for the student'^ to improve their
skills in patient education " When asked
where the students got their information
and pamphlets. Melissa Chermak, secre-tary
of the S N A responded "A lot of
the material was gathered on the internet
and through sources like L I A C (Long
Island A I D S Coalition) and P W A C
(People with A I D S Coalition) '
Other participants in the Health
Fair included C\'S pharmacy, the
Schtx)l for Holistic Nursing, Molloy
College, Nassau Community College-,
and Nassau 13 O C E S Some of the
other topics covered weie nutrition,
heart disease, breast self-exams, testicu-lar
cancer awareness, prostate screening,
mammography, cholesterol monitenng.
diabetes and glucose monitering, car
seat safety, accidental poisoning, and
ev en It IS not
what you w;
The addition of the
Gnm Reaper
added a touch of
levitv that was.iust
right for the situa-tion
and tcwk some
of the chill ofT a
veiy ditTicult sub-ject
There are all
sorts of myths and inaccuracies regard-ing
this subject If you want to make
suie that your wishes are respected
when you are unable to speak for your-self
it is absolutely necessary to plan
ahead Forms for interested students
and their families are still available
through the S N A
The Substance .Abuse displav
the Pediatric section that dealt with the
diagnosis and treatment of children with
asthma The display educated parents
and health care workers on how to
explain about asthma to the child who
has It Demonstrations with a nebulizer
and 3 peak flow meter were available for
children and. or their parents Education
in this area is useful because it reduces
the fear that the child might feel and pre-drug
interactions
Because so many students par-ticipated
in the program, it would be
impossible to credit them all in this arti-cle
Those whose names were not men-tioned
that participated, please accept
our thanks and appreciation
Congratulations on a job well done'"
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