As part of their senior Collaborative Practice course, students in the IUPUC Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program complete a project in which they collaborate with a community partner to create a project of benefit to the community. Students can create a grant proposal and receive a mini-grant through East Indiana Area Health Education Center (EI-AHEC) to fund the implementation of their specific projects.

Through these projects, senior nursing students learn about grant writing and grant-funded project implementation, both of which are important skills for future nursing leaders. Throughout the semester, the faculty and Executive Director of EI-AHEC, Jeff Hartz, provide feedback and recommendations.

The course projects enable students to practice teamwork and interprofessional collaboration in a community setting, and work with other professionals, such as social workers, teachers, faith leaders, first responders, social services agency staff, and community program volunteers as part of a broader team that share goals of promoting health within the community. They also learn how to be more effective client advocates for some of the more vulnerable members of our communities.

This semester, students in the course have worked on projects that include vulnerable populations such as homeless individuals, people living with autism, young mothers in low-income situations, middle-school-age students in a low-resource school, and Afghan refugees at Camp Atterbury through a community hospital partner. One group created a prototype of essential supply bags that could be distributed by first responders as they respond to emergencies and calls within the community.

The students pictured (Hartlee Chadwell, Emily Coffey, and Mariana Kohler) implemented a project to create bags of essential items, such as socks, toothbrushes, and other small hygiene products for distribution by the Love Chapel in Columbus, Indiana. The group worked with the Love Chapel staff to identify the items that would be of benefit to those clients who use the services of the Love Chapel.