READING, Pa. — For the first time, Penn State Berks and Penn State Health St. Joseph are partnering to provide practical nursing students with hands-on patient experience.
Penn State Berks practical nursing students will be joining hospital staff to provide flu shots to hospital employees and their family members during the “Family & Friends” Flu Shot Clinic at the hospital’s Bern campus Oct. 13 and 15. The students will also participate in a public flu shot campaign from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Oct. 17. More than 20 Berks students will help deliver flu vaccinations to as many as 2,000 people during the campaign, which coincides with a tailgate-themed special event on the campus to celebrate St. Joseph's transition into Penn State Health.
The nursing clinical partnership began in September 2015 and is a required part of the clinical rotation for Penn State Berks licensed practical nurses. The student nurses do clinical rotations on general nursing units where they help with patient care, assessments, and medication administration. They will also have the opportunity to observe in both the Breidegam Family Birthing Center and pediatrics at the Bern campus and at the downtown Reading campus at Sixth and Walnut Streets.
Both organizations are looking forward to further developing the nursing program, according to Louise Frantz, the coordinator of Penn State Berks' practical nursing program.
“Our students are most impressed by the friendly, welcoming nature of Penn State Health St. Joseph,” she said. “The students notice how everyone from support staff to physicians and nurses are very kind and very helpful. We value how the staff nurses collaborate with our students. This interaction is very positive and is making our students certainly feel welcomed and feel like the health care professionals they want to become.”
“I am proud of the warm welcome our staff has given to the Penn State Berks practical nursing students and the positive relationships developing," said Cindy Hinsey, nurse education, Penn State Health St. Joseph. "I hope we can offer additional experiences for the students as our partnership grows.”