Author Archives: Khristine Carino

UBC Nursing Students: Getting the Information Across!

By TORI ARFIN

Sexual health education and its presentation to students in schools can be a very controversial topic. Many teachers, participants working with school boards, and parents have mixed views on when and what they want their children to be introduced to. Regardless, this information is imperative for our youth to understand and utilize, when and if they are proceeding in sexual activities. With this information, students can make informed decisions regarding their sexual health and do so in a safe manner. They will also have increased awareness on where to access health services. A study in the Canadian Journal of Public Health identifies that adolescents report their main sources of information is from peers and the media. However, they also knew this information was not always accurate. Additionally, the participants in the study reported not knowing where to access health care services and want improvements.

UBC nursing students took the initiative of teaching sexual health education across various Richmond and Vancouver schools. We approached the lessons in a diverse, open, and inclusive way. This helped to ensure that students were comfortable taking part in the class, asking questions, and increased their understanding that there are many ways to practice safe sexual activities. We used multimedia presentation, activities about statistics, and case scenarios to keep the students engaged and identify correct information. We also stressed where the students could go and call if they had any concerns. Overall, we received great feedback and hope that this helps encourage the dissemination of knowledge by students to peers and aids the students in their future endeavors!

DiCenso, A., Borthwick, V. W., & Creatura, C. (2001). Completing the picture: Adolescents talk about what’s missing in sexual health services. Canadian journal of public health, 92(1), 35.

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UBC Nursing students’ footcare clinic project wins BC Patient Safety & Quality Council Award

By NARISSA MAWJI

Snowflake Diagram

A project team of nursing students and faculty members participated in an 8-week I-CAN project sponsored by IHI Open School to take action in improving pre-existing services provided at monthly footcare clinics run by nursing students at the Union Gospel Mission (UGM). Foot care disorders impede the health and well-being of the underserved inner city clients at the UGM and promoting health and preventing disease is a goal of providing quality nursing care.

The I-CAN curriculum, provided by IHI Open School provided the students with tools in improvement, leadership and community organization to help create change in a real-world setting. By participating in this project, students were able to connect with various stakeholders, including UGM staff the clients themselves, to be able to gauge what their foot care and other medically related needs were. The team of students were then able to interview stakeholders in the area to build capacity, build mutual respect and work as a team to mobilize resources to meet the requested needs of connecting them to primary care health services in the Downtown Eastside. The outcomes of the project included 3 deliverables that could be used by nursing volunteers during the foot soak clinic:  a “Foot Care Tips” card for clients; a referral process for clients and staff; and videos on foot assessment for student volunteers.

Although the nursing students initially believed that making an impact in such a short amount of time and within a new and challenging environment would be difficult, they were soon inspired and impressed with their ability to enact change, describing the experience as “empowering”, “energizing”, and “eye-opening. In addition, this project team was recently named runner-up for the Quality Culture Trailblazer award from the BC Patient Safety & Quality Council. Congratulations to the team!

https://bcpsqc.ca/quality-awards/2017-quality-awards/quality-culture-trailblazer/quality-culture-trailblazer-runner-up

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Ranjit Dhari: Capturing the History of Public Health Nursing and its Transformation from Nurses’ Work Experiences

By RANJIT DHARI

My friend, Gilda Mahabir and I are passionate about Public Health Nursing, having had long careers as Public Health Nurses. As we observed many of our colleagues retiring we wanted to capture the stories of their amazing careers as Public health nurses. So we engaged in a project to capture the history of Public Health Nurses in British Columbia through their work as nurses.

The video below features a talk I gave at the Consortium of Nursing History Inquiry on March 9, 2016.

 

In a study of influences affecting public health nurses’ capacity to engage in health promotion work, public health nurses expressed a strong interest in preservation of their professional history. An oral history project was initiated in collaboration with the UBC Library and Archives to retain the history of public health nursing in BC Lower Mainland. Using a team approach, we conducted a series of oral history interviews with former public health nurses. This lecture highlights the process of oral history and the team approach of bringing public health nurses, faculty, students, and volunteers together as a way of engaging with nursing history and building capacity. Through the interviews we gain knowledge on the evolving PHN role and scope of practice in BC from nurses who experienced changes in practice first hand and often took a lead in implementing new practice initiatives.

 

Ranjit Dhari is a lecturer for the UBC School of Nursing. Passionate about Public Health Nursing, she worked for VCH as a Public Health Nurse for 29 years. She received her BSN in 1980 from the University of Manitoba and her MSN from UBC in 2013. Her Master’s Thesis is titled, An Exploration of Factors Influencing Public Health Nurses’ Capacity to Engage in Health Promotion.

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WORLD BREASTFEEDING WEEK 2016

 

This year’s theme, “Getting It Right from the Start”, was celebrated by a Breastfeeding Celebration held simultaneously at Richmond Public Health, 8100 Granville Avenue and at the Birth Centre and NICU in Richmond Hospital on Oct 3 morning. At Richmond Public Health, moms, dads, grandmas and babies from 18 days of age and up, came together to celebrate and share their stories. The goal of all displays, games and fun was to promote, support and protect breastfeeding, with UBC SON students (June Chan & Kyle Lescisin) along with BCIT nursing students being instrumental in the planning and implementation of the event.  At the hospital, 14 moms celebrated their babies’ arrival and breastfeeding their newborns with cake, prizes and gift bags. This year’s theme emphasized the need for good, ongoing support from partners, families and health care professionals to help women be successful when choosing to breastfeed their babies. In the coming months, Richmond Health Services will be working towards becoming the first community in Vancouver Coastal Health to earn the World Health Organization designation of being “Baby Friendly”. This is an important step that will consolidate excellent support for mothers’ as they work toward optimal feeding for their babies.

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