Nursing students at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford are helping to educate the community about coronavirus and its vaccines, including administering them to residents.
On Tuesday, six full-time registered nurses studying for their bachelor's degrees gave COVID-19 vaccines at the clinic held at Pitt-Bradford's facility on West Washington Street, formerly St. Bernard School.
For Michelle Garlitz, who will graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing on May 2, giving COVID-19 vaccines was a bright spot in her studies.
“I love seeing the expressions on people’s faces,” Garlitz said. “I’ve never seen anyone so happy to get a shot from me.”
She said that giving COVID-19 vaccines at clinics has made her more committed to her chosen profession as a nurse.
Garlitz and five other full-time registered nurses studying for their bachelor’s degrees at Pitt-Bradford have been immersed in the world of COVID-19 vaccines this semester as part of a senior-level Advanced Clinical Practicum meant to build skills in leadership, analysis and research.
Each year, nurses pursuing their BSN study a public health research topic together with an eye toward providing useful information to the community. Past work has focused on immunization rates and food insecurity.
Dr. Jean Truman, associate professor of nursing, knew that this year, she wanted the students to focus on providing members of the Bradford community with factual information and best practices to prevent people from getting coronavirus.
At the time she selected the topic last fall, the Bradford area had yet to be severely affected by the virus, and there was a lot of misinformation that needed to be corrected.
Truman spoke with Bradford Regional Medical Center Quality Officer and Pitt-Bradford alumna Dr. Jill Owens, who supported the project.
Since January, students have evaluated the ever-changing literature about coronavirus vaccines and best practices for stopping the spread of COVID-19. Each selected an area to study and recorded a public service announcement video.
Students also worked with BRMC Pharmacist Laurie Schiafone, Manager of Infection Prevention Julie Kenyon and Educator Amanda Brzezinski. They learned some of the choices hospital personnel had to make in distributing the vaccine and how it was being regulated due to availability shortages.
Students also gave vaccinations at weekly clinics held for health care workers at BRMC.
They found themselves becoming the go-to source for family and friends with questions. “It’s nice being able to explain things to them,” said Ashley Campbell, a student nurse from Woodbury, N.J.
One of the challenges of the project was having to evaluate information that was constantly being updated. Student Samantha Walker of Kane said that they learned to evaluate whether sources of information were credible.
Another issue was that some things about the virus and vaccines just aren’t known yet, said student Shaniah Hudson of Clifton Heights. “People don’t like not having answers to questions,” she said.
Campbell, however, said that all of her research made her very confident in the answers she did give.
Hailee Weader of McClure agreed. “You really need to know and be confident in the information you’re telling people,” she said.
Of the six students graduating from the Bachelor of Science in Nursing program this spring – Campbell, Garlitz, Hudson, Walker, Weader and Alexis Brown of Bradford – half have already secured jobs for after their graduation.
Weader will be a registered nurse in the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit of Geisinger Medical Center in Danville. Hudson will work as a nursing resident in Charlotte, N.C., and Walker will return to her hometown of Kane to work at UPMC.