USask Students Join GGP for Community Nursing Placement
Currently, four fourth-year nursing students from the University of Saskatchewan are spending Thursdays and Fridays with GGP as part of their Community Nursing Placement. Over the four-month practicum, they will complete 216 hours with us, applying theories of health promotion, protection, and maintenance. This placement offers them valuable opportunities to interact with individuals from diverse backgrounds and cultures, while developing and implementing programs, practicing leadership and teaching skills, and gaining hands-on experience in community nursing.
On their first day at GGP, the nursing students were happy and eager to join in on Coffee and Conversation which they still consider to be their favourite program. Being one of our first programs, they were able to gain a great understanding of what our organization is about and hear firsthand from our clients. All four students emphasize their love of this program and continue to join in whenever they have the opportunity to. They note the importance of this program not only to help clients practise English but create community and lasting connections.
The nursing students have also been able to join our clients in BrightStart!. BrightStart! is a program for vulnerable immigrant and refugee mothers and their preschool children. The students have found these weekly sessions to be a great way to get to know the experiences of newcomers and, in particular, the experiences and struggles of newcomer moms. This program also gives them the opportunity to be around newcomer children and have exposure to teaching kids.
Two of the students are very happy to be situated in our WELL program. This program has been a highlight of their practicum as it has given the students freedom to develop curriculum and planning. They have found this to be a great environment and are happy to be involved because of their passion for women’s health.
Healthy You is a program fully developed and run by the nursing students to discuss barriers to health, health risks, and the systems that create these health risks. They find it important to make this program interactive for clients to participate fully. Topics include the skeletal system, the cardiovascular system, mental health, and the GI system.
One of the students’ favourite day at GGP was Halloween and being able to join in on our office-wide theme, storybook and fairytale characters, where they dressed up as Goldilocks and the Three Bears. They highlight the incredible community at GGP and that each and every interaction with the staff and clients has been overwhelmingly positive.
They have quickly developed relationships with our clients and are honoured when clients approach them and value their thoughts and input. They are thrilled that the welcoming and homey atmosphere at GGP has extended to them. Both staff and clients will approach them with stories, questions, and trust.
The students are excited to take away many new perspectives and values from their time at GGP. This includes their confidence in their ability to find resources in the city, their ability to slow down and take time to connect with who they are working with, and preparation for facing uncertainty in their careers. This experience gives the students “hands-on experience with people from so many different backgrounds and stories,” and has opened them up to being “more empathic to where people are coming from, being more aware that when someone is from somewhere else, they may have lower [English] literacy, and being cognizant when describing what is going on with their health using skills developed from here.” The student’s approach “every interaction with an open mind because there’s so much to learn from each other.”
The students extend a huge thank you to the staff at GGP for their positive experience where they truly feel like a part of the team. They are so happy to come in each week and create connections with our clients, engage in reciprocity, and witness resilience. They note that on top of what is being taught in each program, they have witnessed the creations of deep-rooted connections and a powerful community.
We want to thank Mia, Shanza, Madison, Anureet, and their instructor, Dawna, for their time at GGP. It has been such a pleasure having these four students in our office and to have them be so eager to immerse themselves in Global Gathering Place’s community.
