Combating COVID in 10,000 Ways

TESU NURSING STUDENTS ARE ON THE FRONTLINE OF TRENTON’S ONGOING VACCINE EFFORT

During a routine year, pre-licensure nursing students at Thomas Edison State University can count on a sequence of clinical onground experiences at local hospitals and community organizations. But for students enrolled in its W. Cary Edwards School of Nursing and Health Professions’ Accelerated BSN Program, 2021 was anything but routine.

In a real-world scenario that would unnerve the most seasoned health professional, the School’s students and staff have administered more than 10,000 COVID-19 vaccinations to area residents since the City of Trenton Department of Health and Human Services’ program rollout began in February 2021. Many who continue to receive the vaccine are from high-risk populations.

“We are incredibly proud of our nursing students who continue to volunteer at vaccination clinics across our city, and our staff who work alongside them,” said Dr. Ana Maria Catanzaro, associate dean of Graduate Nursing Programs, who has shepherded the students through recent clinics.

“Throughout the effort, our students were assisted and mentored by our RN to BSN, Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) and Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program students, they expanded their public health competencies and learned volumes about issues that affect a diverse urban community.”

According to Dr. Lia van Rijswijk, associate dean of Undergraduate Nursing Programs, the students are emblematic of the next generation of nurse leaders. Several of them, already fluent in more than one language, immediately helped answer vaccinerelated questions from non-English speaking members of the community.

“The students represent a new generation of healthcare professionals who are deeply focused on community health issues and rise to emerging challenges in extraordinary ways,” noted van Rijswijk. “They have also made the courageous decision to become nurses amid the most significant public health crisis of our time.”