Ball State students learn outside the classroom

[cougarnurse]

Nice article.......: Ball State nursing students learn outside classroom | thestarpress.com | The Star Press

From the time she was a little girl, Jessica Sallee knew she wanted to be a nurse.

She also knew that in order to be a good one, she'd learn more about her future profession from a real person than from a textbook.

Luckily for her and other nursing students at Ball State University, the local nursing program is more than a study into a profession, it is a study into the Muncie community.

From community health fairs to assisting local organizations in women's health clinics, BSU nursing students have made venturing into the community an essential part of the educational curriculum.

"We learn how to talk to people and how to be competent," Sallee said. "Plus, when you're out in the community, you're not going to get the same person twice -- so when we go out, we learn as they're learning. We're all together and it makes us well-rounded."

Instructors in the nursing program have encouraged students to engage in community activities as much as they can while enrolled at BSU.

They feel community activities give students the practical application textbooks can't and it helps build their confidence, too.

"It gets them thinking about patients and to learn what patients need," said Carol Keihn, a BSU School of Nursing instructor. "I think it's good for them because (the students) see why they're doing this. They actually see why they're doing this."

Interacting with the surrounding community isn't a new exercise at Ball State University, though.

Students from the university's Teaching College regularly work with area schools and the BSU counseling practicum clinic offers affordable therapeutic services to local residents while also giving students a chance to practice what they've learned in the classroom.

But for BSU nursing students, interacting with the Muncie community also assists local agencies by offering well-needed volunteers to meet the increasing demand during free health screening and local health fairs.
And it gives students an opportunity to hone their skills and meet the diverse communities in Muncie and Delaware County.

"It's been a great experience. (Going out into the community) makes students realize there's more to nursing than a hospital setting," said nursing student Dustin Sucése. "I would always say there's room for more interaction ... but I think we're heading in the right direction."