REUNION ISSUE A Publication of The Frances Payne Bolton School ...

Their latest effort, however, is a little closer
to home. Bachelor of Science in Nursing
(BSN) and pre-licensure Graduate
Entry/New Career in Nursing students
are administering the H1N1 influenza
nasal spray vaccine to students, staff, and
faculty on campus, in conjunction with
the University Health Service.
“It’s a great opportunity for our nursing
students to get real-world experience
around a major public health issue,” says
Irena L. Kenneley, PhD, APRN-BC, CIC,
assistant professor at FPB and coordinator
of the nursing student-run vaccination clinics.
On Wednesday, Oct. 28, the Case
Western Reserve community took
advantage of the opportunity to receive
the free live nasal spray vaccinations, with
more than 500 individuals taking part in
the first few hours of the first clinic.
Students said they expected the number
of patients at the remaining clinics to be
even higher once word spread about the
quick and painless procedure.
“At first people don’t know what to
expect,” said Marisa Ross, a junior from
Pittsburgh, PA, during a clinic outside
The FPB nursing team after a successful first clinic.
Miss McKee demonstrates a nasal spray vaccine.
Frohring Auditorium. “We’re doing a lot
of educating today.”
For every patient, a student nurse simply
pumped one spray of the vaccine into
each nostril. The virus contained in the
vaccine is attenuated (weakened) so it will
not cause illness.
While people were curious about the nasal
spray vaccine, the student nurses reported
that paranoia about H1N1 seemed
to have died down on campus. Other
students were talking a lot, however,
about health and wellness. Nick Frank,
a junior from Kent, Ohio, explained
that non-nursing friends came to them
regularly for health information.
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“Our friends do ask us [nursing students]
a lot of questions,” he says. “Not just
about H1N1, but about other health
issues as well.”
Frank’s classmate, Leigh Ann McKee, also
of Pittsburgh, said she was glad she had
the chance to provide such an important
service to the campus community.
“This has been a great experience in really
educating the public,” she said. “We
learned a lot about informing patients
and helping them understand the issues at
hand.”
According to Miss McKee, after learning
more about H1N1 and the nature of
the nasal spray, many patients seemed
comfortable about receiving the vaccine
and even patients who were uneasy about
getting vaccinated were happy they had
done so in the end.
“It’s over quickly,” she said. “They all seem
very relieved and say ‘I can’t believe how
simple that was.’”
The Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing Case Western Reserve University 23