Nursing students teach emergency preparedness to Macomb County fifth graders

Nursing sophomores Kristiana Hila (left) and Jennifer Vajcner (right) look through the youth emergency preparedness bag packs that are used for presentations in Macomb County upper elementary classes.

NRS 213 (Basic Clinical Competencies I) and 216 (Health Promotion I) are taken simultaneously to provide training on youth emergency preparedness, as well as creating community engagement by presenting lessons to upper elementary classes.

Oakland University School of Nursing students are teaching emergency preparedness to upper elementary students in Macomb County.

As part of the program’s teaching initiative, students are working with the Macomb County Health Department (MCHD) to teach disaster preparedness.

“It ties into our health promotion course objective by teaching health promotion education to children and their families by increasing community resiliency,” said Kim Holka, OU nursing adjunct instructor.

MCHD and the Macomb County Health Department Medical Reserve Corps partnered with the Macomb Intermediate School District, Health Occupation Students of America and Oakland University’s School of Nursing to present emergency preparedness lessons to fifth grade classrooms throughout Macomb County. This pilot program was made possible through a grant received by the MCHD for their “Youth Emergency Preparedness Outreach Initiative.”

“We’re enthusiastic about our partnership with the Macomb County Health Department,” said Holka, who is also a member of the Macomb County Reserve Corps. “This course has helped students get involved in the community.”

The collaboration between MCHD allows nursing students to learn about emergency and disaster preparedness in class and then utilize their training within the community.

This initiative increases community awareness by teaching fifth grade students how to talk with their parents about basic emergency preparedness, including communication plans, first aid kits, and evacuation materials. By becoming leaders in the outreach program, nursing students gain risk communication skills that will benefit them if deployed in an emergency.

“The class helped me to better communicate with different age groups,” said nursing sophomore Kristiana Hila. “The fifth graders were very engaged with our presentations, so I think they took a lot from it.”