By: Maya Carlyle, Recruitment and Events Associate, The Valley Foundation School of Nursing
In The Valley Foundation School of Nursing (TVFSON), nurses work every day to educate, mentor, and support the nurses of tomorrow. This is no simple task! Challenges abound; from those found in all classrooms, to unique challenges faced by the wider healthcare community.
One such challenge is that of numbers. Every semester, TVFSON adds a cohort of 60 students to the roster, and those students all need to get into healthcare facilities twice a week in order to learn some of the vital hands-on skills which will make them life-saving nurses in the future.
Over many Saturdays this Fall semester, one nurse clinical instructor, Carolina Cacho, DNP, RN, NPD-BC, CRNP, CCRN—K, had to get creative ensuring her 11 students received “quality experiential learning opportunities…” as she brought her class into a facility experiencing several healthcare challenges: a small unit with an average of 24 to 26 patients; only 5 to 6 nurses on staff and up to three Hospital Services Assistants (HSAs); and ongoing renovations of the floor below the unit (causing a reduction in space, and sometimes a reduction in the number of hospital staff on duty) which meant that at times there were more students than hospital staff!
Neither Dr Cacho, nor the hospital staff let that stop them from providing students the best education possible. With an assist by another amazing TVFSON clinical instructor, Marilyn Reiss-Carradero RN, MSN, CCRN, some creative solutions were found as connections with nurse leaders in the Wound Care Department, Cardiac Monitor Room, Rapid Response Team, and the PICC/USGIV Team were established.
“The goal was to [have students] spend time with the nurses [and/or] cardiac monitor techs during their clinical time… they were able to learn and understand these other roles and how they impact the role of the nurses. These shadowing experience opportunities made a big difference…”
On the purely logistical side, the 11 students were able to be rotated through, in both their primary unit and the other partnered units and teams, making sure the primary unit was not overwhelmed with learners.
The real winners, though, are the students.
“These shadowing experiences were well received by the students,” Dr Cacho reported, “And they all looked forward to their clinical times. They loved sharing their experiences during our post-course conferences.”
For more information about The Valley Foundation School of Nursing, please reach out to:
Email: Nursing@sjsu.edu
Phone: 408-924-3131