FAIRBORN — A dedicated group of Wright State University nursing students was among those working to administer hundreds of COVID-19 vaccines in Greene County last week.
The eight nursing students helped administer the vaccines on Jan. 28 at the Adult Ed Building in Xenia.
Having dubbed themselves The Greene County Health Crusaders, the students are part of a class partnering with the Greene County health department to slow the spread of COVID-19. The students worked on the vaccine rollout on a volunteer basis, as part of their course credit. Each member of the eight-student teams can average 12 vaccines in 15 minutes over a five-hour period, Wright State said Wednesday.
The students are under the direction of Ann Stalter, professor of nursing at Wright State and research chair of the Association of Community Health Nursing Educators.
“The students performed an excellent job giving shots and volunteering their time and talent while learning about public health nursing and earning course credit,” Stalter said. “The goal of the class is to partner with the health department to combat the COVID-19 virus in an attempt to reach herd immunity.”
Rayna Edwards, a senior nursing major, called it a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
“The most challenging thing was that we were new to the environment, but once we got the hang of everything, we felt very comfortable,” said Edwards, whose career goal is to be a travel nurse. “It was gratifying when we would have clients tell us how professional we were at the clinical. I hope to be back there soon.”
Other students in the group include Caleb Ricks, Madison McCoy, Brandon Conklin and Justine Turner. The nursing students plan to continue administering vaccines throughout the spring semester, Wright State said in a release.
One team of female students affectionately coined themselves the “Nightin Gals” to commemorate Florence Nightingale’s efforts of promoting community health. In 2020, nurses around the world celebrated the founder of modern nursing’s 200th birthday, dubbing it the Year of the Nurse. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the celebration was extended into 2021.
Greene County Public Health is currently in its Phase 1B of vaccine rollout. This week, Ohioans 70 and older became eligible to start getting the jab, as well as K-12 staff and personnel. Starting the week of February 8th, Ohioans 65 and older will also be eligible to be vaccinated.
