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Nine nursing students from Georgian College in Owen Sound, are applying their skills at the Kincardine hospital which is part of the South Bruce Grey Health Centre.

Studying to be Registered Practical Nurses (RPNs), they are in Kincardine for 14 weeks, now until the end of April, which takes them to the end of their second year in the program. They then write an exam in September to qualify as an RPN.

During those 14 weeks, they spend Monday to Wednesday in the classroom, and Thursday and Friday, 
7 a.m. to 1 p.m., at the hospital. There, they practise the skills they have learned, under the watchful eye of their instructor/mentor Registered Nurse (RN) Shannon Quennell of Southampton, and the hospital's nursing staff.

Last semester, the students' placement was at Grey-Bruce Health Services in Owen Sound.

The nine students include: Kelly Webb of Owen Sound, Jessica Wharton of Owen Sound, Kyla Johnston of Walkerton, Stacey Flood of Sauble Beach, Maddy Westover of Chesley, Nikki Barker of Southampton, Lesley Wattman of Kincardine, Karen Shepherd of Paisley, and Juliewin Quizon of Port Elgin.

Four of the students were available for interviews at the hospital Thursday morning, while the remainder were on rotation at the college's simulation laboratory and in other departments. At that point, they had been in Kincardine for two weeks.

Webb, formerly in banking, embarked on this second career choice because she wants to help people.

Wharton also wants to help people, and was inspired to become a nurse after spending time with her grandmother when she was sick.

Johnston is completing her RPN for now but wants to become an RN once the program is available in Owen Sound. "I worked in the kitchen at a long-term care facility and I liked watching how the nurses cared for their patients," she said.

The students are able to do injections, catheterization, tracheotomies, give out medications, take vital signs and do health assessments, while supervised.

They said they like working in Kincardine because there is a variety of things to do and a varied clientele. At the Owen Sound hospital, they went into specialized units, such as cardiology. In Kincardine, they are working with every age group, from toddlers to seniors.

"We've done some wound care," said Johnston. "Our instructor tells the nurses here what skills we have and we can do those things under an RN's supervision."

One interesting program offered here but not in Owen Sound, said the students, is electronic health records. They agreed that these are safer and more confidential.

"There are a lot of protocols we have to follow," said Webb. "I did a saline IV (intravenous) flush today."

"I removed an IV," said Wharton.

"There are a lot of chronic care patients here," said Johnston.

Quennell said this is her first time working with students at the Kincardine hospital. "It's been terrific," she said. "The staff is excellent - very welcoming and caring. Kate Kincaid (director of patient care) was wonderful in offering us such a great opportunity here."

She said the hospital has a variety of cases from which the students can learn. It also has on-site specialists, Community Care Access Centre representatives, and physiotherapy.

"We're pleased to offer our skills to this community and we greatly appreciate being allowed to come here and learn," she said.

Kincardine hospital head nurse Grace Wilson said it's a great experience for the nursing students as they perform skills they have learned in class.

"They're keen and it's exciting for them to be here," she said. "It's good for us to have extra hands on the job. Plus, these are second-year students who are about to graduate. They're excited about doing things that we do every day so it makes it kind of exciting for us too."

She said the program receives plenty of positive feedback, as the students work in acute care, view in the operating room, and help at the specialists clinic.

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Sunday, January 29, 2012