As part of a program begun three years ago at Early Childhood Center School No. 82, undergraduates are pinpointing student needs and developing programs on topics such as proper tooth-brushing, the difference between good and bad "germs" and the dangers of cigarette smoking.

"The classroom becomes the students' responsibility, which allows them to practice some of the roles commonly associated with the school nurse," said Jacqueline Thompson, associate professor of nursing, who oversees the program. A member of the ECC 82 health committee, she began the program at the committee's request and out of concerns in the nursing field about children's health and well-being in public and private schools.

Students play important role

Carrying on the tradition last semester as part of the "Nursing in the Community" course were Sheila Czeladzinski, Lorraine Holden, Heather Jackson, Sheryl Cowan and Scott Kurzdorfer.

ECC 82 does not have the funding to provide a certified school nurse for its more than 650 students. Erie County provides a public-health nurse to the school two days a week. UB students have helped fill the gap during a four-week period each semester.

"Everyone can understand that you need a nurse every day in an elementary school," said Principal Kathleen Franklin. "Teachers can't tell kids, 'You can't get sick on Mondays because we don't have a nurse here,'" she added. "The UB students are an important resource for us because it gives the children more much-needed time spent with a health professional."

Franklin, as well as Valerie Turner, the school's public-health nurse, said the nursing students have discovered previously undiagnosed problems among the school pupils.

"Two of my children were having difficulty readingŠif the students hadn't checked their vision, I wouldn't have known why," said teacher Marna Burstein.

The nursing students evaluate each child in the classroom to which they are assigned and use therapeutic play to address emotional, physical or psychological concerns expressed by the children.

One-on-one assessment

Turner believes the one-on-one assessment provided by the nursing students is extremely valuable, since she is unable to see each student in the two days she is at the school each week.

"The UB students are able to bring to my attention health problems which would never be recognized or admitted by the parents. They also provide needed health information to students and faculty." The information, in turn, increases community knowledge of health issues.

Czeladzinski said it was important for her class of 4-year-olds to learn about health issues because they are just learning how to take care of themselves. "Health greatly impacts their learning and development," she noted.

Thompson said nursing students are assigned to address concerns about activities of daily living, particularly issues of self-control, appropriate socialization and dealing with emotions.

Teacher Marilyn Covey said she was thrilled to have nursing student Cowan talk to her class about "feelings."

"These kids often do not have the language to express many of their emotions and they don't know how to express them appropriately. Having someone in the health field come in is wonderful, since many kids here don't get to talk about a lot of these issues at home," said Covey.

Burstein noted that many of her children do not have private physicians. "This program is a wonderful addition to the school. Children can't learn if they're not healthy," she added.

New career insights

From the nursing students' perspective, the program offered new insight into another nursing opportunity. "I like working with the kids...it's nice to be in a different nursing setting," said Heather Jackson.

Jackson was impressed at the opportunity for evaluation in the classroom program, compared to traditional clinical work. Since they were required to prepare teaching plans, as well as conduct pre- and post-assessments with their classes, the nursing students were better able to evaluate and see the results of their efforts.

"This program also allowed us to do health promotion, which is especially important this time of year. Part of health promotion is educating kids before they get sick and teaching them how to prevent infection," explained Jackson, who demonstrated "germs" to her class using petri dishes to grow various cultures.

Kurzdorfer, who plans to enter the geriatric field, is using his classroom experience to focus on the similarity between nursing techniques used with children and those applied when working with Alzheimer's patients.

The program is one of several activities Thompson has coordinated involving the nursing school and ECC 82. She helped the school obtain a grant from Fisher-Price to fund a toy-lending library, the only one in the Buffalo Public Schools. She recently arranged an informational program for teachers in the school on drugs used to treat attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder.