SOURCES: JOSHUA CLARK/UIC AND SUBMITTED PHOTOS
FOCUS ON EDUCATION
BSN student Eva Cancino administers the COVID-19 vaccine at the Credit Union 1 Arena in Chicago.
Making history
Prelicensure students in Chicago, Springfield and Urbana got an unprecedented learning opportunity by taking part in the mass COVID-19 vaccination effort. Presches Keck, BSN ’21, says she hadn’t previously given an intramuscular injection as a bachelor’s degree nursing student in Springfield, although she’d practiced the skill in the simulation lab. But she quickly became adept at it after giving more than 40 back-to-back COVID-19 vaccinations at a community vaccination clinic at HSHS St. John’s Hospital as part of her population health class. She and her classmates delivered some of the first COVID-19 vaccinations to the Springfield public. “You would’ve thought it was Christmas for many of them,” she says. “It was nice to be a part of that moment for so many people.” Hundreds of prelicensure UIC Nursing students across degree programs and campuses participated in the
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College of Nursing
COVID-19 vaccination effort, both through classroom opportunities and as volunteers. Beyond offering feel-good moments, the vaccination clinics provided valuable learning experiences for students, many of whom had limited in-person clinical opportunities during the start of COVID-19. “Our students and faculty have eagerly embraced this opportunity to be leaders and active participants in promoting and protecting the health of our community,” says Krista Jones, DNP ’11, MS ’07, RN, PHNA-BC, director of the Urbana campus. “For those students on the cusp of professional practice, this offers an evidence-based, service-learning opportunity to apply knowledge to practice and positively impact the health of our population. It is such a remarkably rewarding experience for them and our faculty.”
