While most Marquette nursing students want to practice in clinical settings, there are always several who pursue careers in public health. Those students can get their start at Milwaukee Academy of Science, presenting on disease prevention to kids from elementary school to high school.
“Nurses don’t just exist in hospitals,” says Sophia Thompson, a senior in the College of Nursing. “When people think about the health care system, they don’t often think about what goes on outside the hospital, and I think it’s important that we show young students there’s a space for them if they want to work in the community.”
Thompson worked with the students through the Marquette Nurse in Residence program, an initiative that embeds a College of Nursing faculty member and seven to eight nursing students within MAS. While students complete a clinical rotation there, Clinical Assistant Professor Dr. Kameela Jackson oversees the future nurses and advances public health at the school, in addition to providing support for long-term planning of health initiatives at the school.
“This is a charter-based school, and the reason we chose it is twofold: fostering community partnerships in our neighborhood on the Near West Side and the alignment of our mission, which is exemplary leadership in STEM professions,” Jackson says. “A lot of charter schools do not have in-house nurses. While I’m not a school nurse, I am there to be a health guide and consultant, with the goal of providing a healthy, school-based environment where children can flourish.”
The program’s impact is evident through initiatives like Jackson’s advocacy for vision screenings. She noticed that Milwaukee Academy of Sciences students did not have regular eye exams, which makes it less likely that those suffering from vision deficiencies would know the extent of their problems. After receiving support from the school’s administration for routine screenings, Jackson worked with Marquette students to conduct the exams.
Speaking with students helps future nurses directly address the social determinants of health. Thompson recalls having conversations about healthy dieting with a student who has Type 1 Diabetes, while fellow nursing student Miles Lewis created a personal care plan for a student whose family did not have the resources to manage a chronic condition. Activities such as these create a tight, enduring bond that is hard to replicate in a hospital.
“By the time a patient has gone to the hospital, you’re really doing a lot around just managing their symptoms. I feel like with the community side of nursing, you can really get at the root of the problem,” says Lewis, a senior in the College of Nursing.
Strengthening the college’s community engagement is exactly what Dean Emerita Dr. Janet Krejci and former Director of Health Systems Leadership Dr. Shelly Malin had in mind when the program was launched. Both leaders viewed community partnerships as a core value of Marquette Nursing.
“It’s a very personal kind of nursing where you develop deeper relationships,” Jackson says. “I find myself wanting to solve all things health in community settings, but then I remind myself that community health outcomes are progressive and happen over time. However, it’s well worth the time investment because you are making a difference with your patients every day; you get to be around them long term and see it.”
While the program’s primary mission is to teach and improve public health among school aged children in a community setting, it has another: to expose high school students to the idea of studying health care in college. Lewis and Thompson held a forum with some of the school’s older students to answer questions about college affordability and the day-to-day life of a nursing student.
The program’s joint missions don’t seem obviously connected. However, they share a common theme: breaking down the barrier between health care workers and diverse populations. School-aged students come to trust the health care system through early interactions with future Marquette Nurses, experiences that allow them to be more proactive about health management regardless of if they go into the profession.
“Working in the community clinical allowed us to think about health literacy. We gain all this knowledge about how to be healthy throughout nursing school, now we need to practice getting this knowledge to the general population in ways that will let them take ownership of their health,” Thompson says.
