Nursing School and Head Start Collaboration
In the spring of 1992, St. Paul, Minnesota, Head Start (Ramsey Action Programs) and students from the University of Minnesota (UM) School of Nursing got together in the Head Start classrooms in a mutual collaboratoin.
Nursing students, working to meet requirements for their courses, entered the classrooms with stethoscopes, dental health curriculums, and a willingness to elarn more about the health and well-being of Head Start's preschoolers.
Since that time, each semester has had a new group of nursing students enter the Head Start classrooms with enthusiasm and creativity. Some of the experiences the nursing students have had include designing and running exhibits at Head Start health fairs. Nursing students have also conducted adult educatoin classes at parent group meetings.
Student nurses have consistently reported that their experiences with the Head Start program have been worthwhile, states Karen Alaniz, R.N. and Associate Education SPecialist at the UM School of Nursing.
Patti Kester, Head Start, says that the collaboration between UM's School of Nursing and the RAP Head Start has been a warm and meaningful one from which both parties have realized practical gains.
For additional information on this program, contactt Ms. Kester at RAP Head Start, 215 East Sixth Street, St. Paul, MN 55101.