Mega Doctor News
Prevention can be a key factor in maintaining good health and a wellness exam improves the chances of catching a medical complication in its early stage. That is why South Texas College medical and surgical nursing students, under the supervision of Nursing and Allied Health faculty, are providing weekly well-being check ups to the Pecan campus community this semester.
Jada De Leon, a third-level nursing student, said she appreciates the opportunity to learn and practice her skills while helping people in her community.
She is one of the students sharing important health information with visitors, along with checking blood pressure, blood sugar and other vital signs.
“It’s a very important lesson in giving back to the community,” De Leon, 21, of Mission, said. “The most important thing is helping others expand their knowledge about the importance of having themselves checked frequently.”
The nursing students are eager to share what they’ve learned with STC students and staff as well as earn their community hours, said Dr. Maria Rosas-Castro.
“The nursing students need community hours to complete their program,” Rosas-Castro said. “I asked, “Why not do the community hours on campus? They train at different places throughout the Rio Grande Valley and it’s been a great opportunity to include our campus population.'”
De Leon added that accessibility can make a difference to a person’s health.
“I think this is important to the students since we (students) don’t always have time or resources to get our wellness checks,” De Leon said. “It’s already here on campus so you won’t have to go to a doctor’s office and wait hours.”
STC Nursing Instructor Deepa Biju said participants will initially have their weight, height, blood pressures and blood sugar levels checked.
They will also receive education about exercise and pamphlets that list American Diabetes Associate and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines and recommendations.
“Students are designated to educate patients based on normal or abnormal results and offer recommendations,” Biju said. “They also provide flyers to teach them how to improve their condition.”
She added, students may have experienced stressful situations over the last few years that could have impacted their health and should take advantage of the check-ups.
“Check-ups are really important, especially because most students are under stress after COVID,” Biju said. “There is a lot of unemployment as well and health issues in the Rio Grande Valley, so this is an opportunity to check ourselves and take care of myself.'”
Manju Joseph, Associate Degree in Nursing instructor, said the nursing students have also done community programs in nursing homes and educated those patients about diabetes and hypertension.
“This is the first time we do this at the STC campus,” Joseph said. “I think it’s been welcomed because so far we’ve had around 20 patients, both students and staff. One of the staff members said she felt better after learning her blood sugar was good because of her family history of diabetes.”
Valerie Murillo, a third level Licensed Vocational Nursing to Registered Nursing student from Peñitas, said she enjoys how interactive the wellness checks are.
“I feel like we’re actually helping a lot of students,” Murillo said. “Maybe some don’t have access at home, and, especially here in the Rio Grande Valley, there’s a lot of people who either have diabetes or a family history of diabetes. I feel like this is a good preventative measure and at no cost.”
Erica Ruiz, an STC Criminal Justice major, said she was curious about the event after hearing about it around campus.
“I was especially interested because it’s STC students getting hands-on training and teaching other students,” Ruiz, 19, said. “There’s certain things that students don’t typically know about or consider on a day-to-day basis when it comes to their health.”
Ruiz said she thinks it’s important for the younger generation to be active in helping the Rio Grande Valley improve overall health.
“It’s very important to get our community to be more aware of these issues,” Ruiz said. “I’ll definitely attend again and will tell everybody else about it.”
The well-being check ups are free and hosted in the Jag Room in Building K, room 2.802 on Wednesdays at the STC Pecan campus from 8 a.m. to noon.
For more information about the South Texas College Division of Nursing and Allied Health, visit nah.southtexascollege.edu.
