Cheri Hernandez

Living one week as patient fosters empathy in nursing students

It’s hard to be sick.

That’s the lesson students in professor Cheri Hernandez’s class “Chronicity in Health Care” took from a project which challenged them to adhere for one week to a regimen prescribed for patients living with chronic illness.

“I wanted them to be better nurses,” Dr. Hernandez said Wednesday, after hearing presentations on the student experiences. “Health professionals who have empathy recognize that complete adherence is impossible.”