Proud - Youngstown State University

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HOSPICE VISITS TEACH STUDENT NURSES EMPATHY, COMPASSION Facing death. It’s a reality for everyone, but even more so for health care professionals who inevitably encounter end-of-life issues as part of their workday. Student nurses at YSU start preparing for that reality very early, in their sophomore year, by partnering one-on-one with critically ill patients who are under the care of Hospice of the Valley or MVI HospiceCare. Each student is assigned to spend several hours weekly as a companion to a hospice patient, said Pamela Schuster, professor of nursing. “One thing they discover is that hospice patients are like any other patients,” she said. “They’re just trying to make the best of every day.” Corey Velk, a student from Lake Milton, said her hospice patient was a 61-year-old woman suffering from end-stage kidney failure who spoke little during their visits. Sometimes they would watch a game show or listen to the patient’s audio tapes of the Bible. Velk generally stayed two or three hours, well beyond the required time. “One day, as I was leaving, she said: ‘I know we don’t talk much, but I really appreciate your company.’ That made me feel it was all worth it,” said Velk. Students Jennifer Hunter and Melinda Maloney, both of Boardman, were companions to a grandmother in her 80s, a nursing home patient. “We loved to gossip like a couple of teenagers,” said Hunter with a laugh, describing the friendship that grew between her and the patient. “She didn’t like the food at the nursing home, so she was always after us to bring her food. I like to bake, so I’d bring cookies; Melinda brought her spaghetti.” Matthew Bishop’s experience was much different. His patient was a woman in her 60s with an advanced case of Alzheimer’s disease who couldn’t communicate verbally, so he and a student partner would read her stories and poems. They knew that she had been an animal lover, so they’d tune in television programs featuring animals. “There wasn’t a lot we could do,” said the Struthers student, “but sometimes she’d look at me and just grin. I felt like I really did something to make her life better.” Schuster collaborated with a colleague, clinical faculty member Donna Bricker, to add the hospice program to YSU’s eight-hour Professional Nursing I course about 10 years ago as a way to teach therapeutic communication skills. Students spend some classroom time studying death and dying, the grieving process and how it relates to coping and stress before they start working with their patients. In one classroom exercise the students write their own eulogies. “We bring a lot of Kleenex that day,” the instructor said. The students often form relationships with patients and their families, continuing their regular visits even when the course requirements end. Many have attended the funerals of their patients and even offered to sing or speak at the funeral services. “There’s a place for every type of person in nursing,” remarked Schuster. “But the ones with the most empathy and compassion are the ones who shine in this program, and they will be the shining nurses.” Working with hospice patients also gives the students a chance to interact with other professionals, such as social workers, chaplains and therapists. “They’re learning a tremendous amount,” she said. The community benefits too. YSU student nurses contribute thousands of volunteer hours a year to health care facilities in the region, Schuster said, through the hospice program as well as through the community service components that have been incorporated into every course in the nursing program. Nursing is one of YSU’s fastest growing programs. New admissions average 100 per year, more than triple the number of students enrolling in the program in 2001. Nursing students participating this spring in the Hospice companion program included, from left, Melinda Maloney, Corey Velk, Jennifer Hunter and Matthew Bishop. 32 Youngstown State University
Building Bridges YSU engineering students designed, fabricated and constructed an 18.5-foot-long steel bridge capable of supporting 2,500 pounds as part of the American Society of Civil Engineers’ 2008 Ohio Valley Student Conference. YSU’s ASCE chapter sponsored the conference April 3 to 5, which brought more than 300 students from 14 Ohio, Pennsylvania and Kentucky colleges to the YSU campus. Summer 2008 33
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Proud - Youngstown State University

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