Nursing students partnering in COVID-19 vaccine clinics
Dozens of students administer hundreds of vaccines to underserved communities
By Cody Boteler on April 14, 2021
It鈥檚 a chilly morning in March as Katie Lastova 鈥�21 is preparing doses of Moderna鈥檚 COVID-19 vaccine.
The nursing student, wearing surgical gloves and a mask behind her face shield, carefully holds the vial at an angle and draws separate doses into syringes. Over her shoulder, supervising, stands Mary Lashley, a professor in the Department of Nursing and a clinical specialist in public health nursing.
After drawing five doses, Lastova hands four to other nursing students before sitting down at her station with one. She quickly cleans a client鈥檚 arm, gives a quick poke with the syringe and applies a Band-Aid.
Lastova advises the man to wait for 15 minutes to make sure there are no adverse side effects and reminds him to come back for his second dose in a few weeks. She hands him an information sheet and deposits the syringe into a specialty disposal bin.
鈥淚t makes me happy to see that people have signed up to come here and get vaccinated,鈥� Lastova says. 鈥淚 want the pandemic to end. If I鈥檓 available to help, I will.鈥�
She鈥檚 one of about 70 nursing students from Towson University鈥檚 main campus who have administered vaccines at , a nonprofit in Baltimore City that provides outreach to people experiencing homelessness.
The vaccine operation is a partnership between TU, Helping Up Mission, Greater Baltimore Medical Center (GBMC) and the Baltimore City Health Department, Lashley says. The nursing students participating are in a public health nursing clinical course and about to graduate.
Towson University is the biggest provider of healthcare workers in the state. These ongoing vaccine clinic partnerships are not the first time that 快活视频has leveraged its role as an anchor institution to benefit the state amid the pandemic: Twice last year, nursing students exited their program weeks early so they could get to work on the frontlines.
鈥淭he students are involved in all aspects of the vaccine clinic,鈥� Lashley says.
That includes preparing and administering the vaccine as well as organizational and logistical work, like entering data that gets shared with the state to track the rate of COVID-19 vaccinations.
Lisa Plowfield, dean of the College of Health Professions and a registered nurse, says 快活视频nursing students "reflect the best our profession has to offer."
"I have been impressed by our students' overwhelming dedication and interest in running toward an end to this pandemic by working on the front lines," she says. "Our faculty continue to pair student learning with community outreach, bringing real world experience, and healthcare work, into focus for our students."
As of April 12, more than 3.4 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered, and more than 1.3 million Marylanders have been fully vaccinated, .
The patients being vaccinated by 快活视频students are part of a population that 鈥渞eally needs鈥� access to the shots, Lashley says. Vaccinating people who are unhoused serves the entire community by reducing spread of the virus.
The situation is a win-win for everyone, she says. The clients get vaccinated, Helping Up Mission and GBMC get support staff and the nursing students get to engage directly with patients.
鈥淔or the students, it is an incredible learning opportunity for them. It is a living classroom,鈥� Lashley says.
Towson University students are helping with vaccine distribution across the state too. Dolly Kemerer, an assistant clinical professor at TU鈥檚 Hagerstown nursing program, says there are about 16 nursing students participating in central and western Maryland.
Students in the program rotate through administering vaccines at a hospital in Hagerstown or a clinic set up by the Frederick Community Action Agency.
鈥淭hese students are getting an opportunity of a lifetime to be part of ending the pandemic,鈥� she says. 鈥淭here has been no other time in their lives, or when any student of mine, has had this opportunity.鈥�
Matthew Gramkee Bernal 鈥�21, has been to both western Maryland clinical sites. He says it鈥檚 been good clinical practice to administer so many vaccines and fulfilling to help end the COVID-19 pandemic.
鈥淓very time that someone walks in, they thank us, they have a big smile on their face, they know that they鈥檙e taking a step into normalcy that we鈥檙e all looking forward to seeing,鈥� he says.
Importantly, Lashley says the nursing students experience how successful community partnerships can be in promoting public health. Working in community health settings is another way that Towson University prepares nursing students for all realms of health care.
鈥淭he students get to see how something like this is formed from the ground up,鈥� Lashley says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a great example of an academic and community partnership working."
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