The College of the Rockies hosted an informational community health awareness fair on Thursday, Feb. 7, showcasing what their Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) students have been working on. Topics includes the benefits of exercise, stress management, transitioning from independent to assisted living or long term care, sun safety, vitamin D, sexual health, sleep hygiene, and food for thought — which discussed the new Canada food guide.
First-year BSN student Sheena Polman said that the event is “an opportunity for us to connect with the community and practise teaching and learning.”
The event took place at the Baker Street Professional Centre. Inside, the students had informative booths set up on their respective topics, with many having interactive components. The variety of subjects tackled made the event appealing to people from all age demographics and the fair was very well attended.
“It’s fantastic, it’s been a good turnout,” said Karly Flannigan, another first-year BSN student. “I find the community engagement here is really strong and it’s so nice that everyone comes out and supports.”
BSN Instructor Jennifer Ham was also on hand at the event, and said:
“Without the public it wouldn’t have happened. And a lot of our student groups contacted people in the community to gather information, to use as resources, to further their own knowledge, so they did a lot of research on their own but they also looked around the community to see what kind of and resources are available to them. And people were very generous with their time and sharing with them.”
The students were definitely appreciative of the community support, especially considering the amount of work they put into their projects.
“We’ve been prepping for the last two and a half weeks,” said Flannigan. “So research time, a lot of time out of class, we were allotted time in class but a lot of it was us coming together, late nights early mornings to make everything happen.”
“It’s a big project for the students to do but they really have demonstrated leadership,” added Ham, “and I think growth and in researching their topics they’ve become like little mini experts on those topics which they can share with each other as well, which is one of the extra added bonuses.”
This was the fourth year running for the health fair and Ham said that each year she has been able to learn something new, as she is also given a topic to research by the students.