Living on a college campus for the first time is a transition in itself, but being sick or getting treatment far from home can be scary and make students feel alone.
That’s where campus nurses come in. They provide care and comfort, and even serve as surrogate parents to college students in their time of need.
“We’re their home away from home,” said Pepe Bowman, RN, nursing supervisor at Georgia Tech’s Stamps Health Services.
Nurses are often the sole health care resource for students away from home, so nursing on a college campus requires a different kind relationship with patients.
“Because they are young adults, that makes them different. They aren’t young children, teenagers or middle-aged adults,” Bowman said.
Nurses help students make the transition from living at home — under the care of their parents and family physicians — to being on their own, she added. Although students may not realize it, campus nurses not only care for them, they teach them about the health care system and basic safety.
Georgia State University senior Randy Flemister has visited the school’s health clinic and was impressed with the care he received.
“Anytime there’s anything wrong, they [nurses] handle it well, no matter what the situation,” Flemister said.
When treating students, campus nurses do everything they can before sending them to specialists or the hospital. If a student is hospitalized, nurses from Stamps Health Services routinely check in on them by phone or stop by to visit.
“It’s the mom in us,” Bowman said.
Georgia Tech nurses also encourage students to keep their parents updated about what’s going on with them medically.
Some of the most common conditions the nurses at Georgia Tech treat are sexually transmitted diseases, eye problems, sprained ankles and sinus infections. They also administer allergy injections, H1N1 vaccines and immunizations.
“We do it because of the students. They keep us young,” Bowman said. “They’re so fun to be around, and they’re full of life.”
“This type of nursing is radically different,” said Anne Nichols, MSN, FNP, health clinic director at Kennesaw State University. “It’s more independent. There’s a much larger teaching role in showing patients how to be managers of their own health care.”
Nurses at Kennesaw State University make a direct impact on students not only in the clinic, but by going to dorms to talk to them.
To help patients learn about and treat health conditions after they leave the clinic, Kennesaw State nurses offer Internet resources such as www.uptodate.com and www.cdc.gov. “Our patients are incredibly computer-savvy,” Nichols said.
In fiscal year 2010, the Kennesaw State University Health Clinic treated 26,132 patients.
“We treat everything from an infected hangnail to malaria,” Nichols said.
Nichols enjoys the personal interaction with students. She gets e-mails from students and alumni thanking them for their care and continued support.
“It’s the best job in the world,” she said.
