Kaitlyn McCarthy, Kalie Stam, Dana RenaudFirst-year nursing students Kaitlyn McCarthy, Kalie Stam, and Dana Renaud host a quiz game testing grade schoolers on what they learned at the Healthy Bodies Health Fair, Tuesday in the Alumni Auditorium.

Nursing students share health knowledge with grade schoolers

Hosting a health fair for grade school students is a great experience for UWindsor nursing students, says professor Kate Beaumont.

Students in her first-year clinical course hosted Grade 4 and 5 pupils from Ford City and West Gate public schools for the Healthy Bodies Health Fair, Tuesday in the Alumni Auditorium.

“Besides bringing in the involvement with the community, this event is also great for instructing our students in the teaching and learning aspect of the profession,” Beaumont says. “As nurses, they will be expected to educate patients in the hospital, in their homes, or in schools.”

Nursing major Rita Esho was part of a group that designed displays and activities about the digestive system. She says the experience helped broaden her skills.

“I really learned about how to interact with kids that age,” Esho says. “My previous clinical placement was with geriatric patients, so kind of the other end of the spectrum.”

This was the first year that Ford City school participated, and teacher Andrew McEwen says he hopes to return.

“It’s vital for our kids to get experience outside of the classroom,” he says. “The connection to the Grade 5 curriculum is spot-on, and the nursing students go into a lot of detail with each body system. Their activities are more hands-on than we can offer.”

The fair will welcome children from Brock and Marlborough public schools Thursday.

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