UWF nursing students gain hands on experience while supporting community partners

University of West Florida Usha Kundu, MD College of Health students are using their education and passion in public health to make a real difference in the community through a newly launched Community Impact Project initiative.

Dr. Sallie Shipman, lecturer in the UWF School of Nursing, joined UWF in Fall 2024 and had the opportunity to implement the initiative at the University, after seeing its successful outcomes  during her time at the University of Florida and the University of Alabama Birmingham. At the beginning of the fall semester, students in her population health course were assigned a community partner to work with and the students asked the community provider what they can do to help them address health challenges or concerns. Next, students developed a semester-long project to serve those needs.

“It was easy to make this work here at UWF and in Northwest Florida with all the wonderful sites and partners we have,” Shipman said. “The best part about this is that it provides students with hands-on experience while also helping the community. It’s a great opportunity to make a difference in the world.”

From September through November, 41 undergraduate students worked with 8 local providers on 10 projects ranging from improving access to prenatal care to balancing nutrition on a budget for the homeless. Each project identified a problem, created a solution based on the evidence and implemented a conclusion.

Shipman and three other faculty assisted students with the collaborative Community Impact Project. Over the course of the semester, students spent 40 hours working with their agencies to develop curricula and material for a sustainable project, some of which are being continued this semester.

At the Bayview Senior Resource Center, students worked on a project to educate older adults about healthy food choices and proper dietary adherence. A flyer was created for a vital sign screening event at the center, and the group of students created an instructional cookbook that included simple healthy recipes, dietary recommendations and food label interpretation. A cooking class and educational event was conducted at the center with the aim of improving health outcomes of older adults with diabetes and heart disease.

“After multiple meetings, research and brainstorming sessions, we realized that hosting a cooking class for the senior citizens who utilized the center would offer us a unique opportunity to combine great food and good company with education,” said Toni Koehler, who graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing in Fall 2024. “Specifically, we aimed to empower our attendees with easy-to-understand nutritional information to help them make healthier dietary choices. We hosted our International Cooking Class, featuring our group member Nympha Hixson’s lumpia recipe, where we gave a presentation on the role that good dietary choices play when managing chronic health conditions, taught the attendees how to make lumpia at home, and distributed various forms of the informational cookbook we created. While this project, like any other, came with its challenges, I was grateful to have an opportunity to give back to the local community. Under the stewardship of Dr. Shipman, Dr. Mutchler, and the extraordinary employees of the Bayview Senior Center, we assisted our local community in such a lasting way. For that, I am genuinely thankful.”

To learn more about the Usha Kundu, MD College of Health, visit uwf.edu/ukcoh.