Over the course of the three-day event, 10 public health, 10 pharmaceutical sciences and nine nursing students participated. Four clinical nursing faculty oversaw the operation.
At an interprofessional student-led event, volunteers from the UCI Program in Public Health, the Sue & Bill Gross School of Nursing, the School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences, and the Student Health Center provided flu shots to nearly 400 undergraduate and graduate students in a three-day, pop-up clinic at Anteater Plaza.
In total, 10 public health students, nine nursing students, and 10 pharmacy students volunteered their time and expertise to help their fellow students.
Additionally, four nursing clinical faculty members and several other staff members stepped in to oversee each day’s operations and supervise students.
Julia Cowell, a fourth-year bachelor of nursing science student volunteer, was heartened to be able to serve her peers at UCI.
“It was an amazing experience and I enjoyed the opportunity to give back and there was the added benefit of collaborating with my fellow College of Health Sciences peers,” she said.
Flu vaccine protects millions
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the influenza (flu) vaccine prevented an estimated 7.52 million illnesses, 3.69 million medical visits, 105,000 hospitalizations, and 6,300 deaths during the 2019-2020 season.
“Public health is important because it maintains the health and well-being of everyone — our entire community — not just one individual,” said Nancy Loi, a second-year public health sciences undergraduate student volunteer.
The idea for the pop-up clinic started with the need to conveniently administer flu shots to students who hadn’t found the time to visit their healthcare provider or the UCI Student Health Center.
Bernardo Cortez, a public health student, and pharmaceutical sciences student Charles Liu.
A UC Policy, implemented in October, stated that all students, faculty, and staff were required to receive a flu vaccine this season to stave off a flu outbreak amid the ongoing pandemic.
“This was an important event as we aim to increase the number of students in compliance with the mandatory flu vaccination policy,” said Megan Nguyen, PharmD, founding associate dean of student affairs within the UCI School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences.
“The flu can be deadly and cause many health issues so the more protected people are, the better.”
Bernardo Cortez, a third-year public health policy undergraduate student volunteer, agreed with Cowell’s sentiments.
“This has been such a gratifying experience, showing our students that it’s okay to get a vaccine. I’m always the first in line to get a vaccine, because it’s important each year to do so, but now more than ever.”
A vaccine, then health education
In addition to being able to get a flu shot, students were able to ask health-related questions and receive information on how to maintain their health during the flu season.
“It was inspiring to see how our health sciences students were impacting and educating their fellow students,” Cowell added.
Nursing students Haley Kurz (left) and Julia Cowell.
Haley Kurz, a fourth-year nursing student, says it was a new and exciting experience to be able to work with her health sciences peers.
“Collaboration in the healthcare field is so important as we all are working towards the common goal of ensuring the health of our communities,” she says. “I look forward to hopefully working closely with other healthcare students at UCI in the future.”
Pop-ups a success, more planned
The event was a resounding success.
“With little notice or promotion, there were lines each day at times and we were consistently vaccinating,” said associate clinical professor Leanne Burke, director of nursing prelicensure programs.
“This push is especially big this year because of COVID, students returning to campus and the upcoming winter break.”
Burke notes that there may be more events heading into winter until the student population is fully vaccinated or they run out of supply.
“Currently, the student vaccination rate is at 73 percent and growing daily, thanks in large part to the success of the pop-up flu clinics,” says Charles Adams, administrative director of the UCI Student Health Center.
More pop-ups are being planned. After the new year, says Adams, they will be held for the remainder of the season.
For more information, to support a future nurse or nurse-led research, please connect to Juliana Goswick, Director of Development at jgoswick@hs.uci.edu.
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