Temple College, Central Texas College, the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor and Texas A&M University-Central Texas nursing students will all join forces to help the Texas Emergency Management System’s efforts in administering COVID-19 vaccines.
“A little different look at where we can make a difference and help to keep our communities healthy. We can really take some of the strain off of our coworkers and colleagues who are in the hospitals caring for the patient,” said Texas A&M University - Central Texas Department of Nursing Director & Chair, Amy Mersiovsky.
The partnership comes after a request by David Shaw, district coordinator II - 23 of the Texas Division Emergency Management in Killeen.
Normally this time of year, local college students help give flu shots, but this year the shots will be COVID-19 vaccines. One of those students is Temple College nursing student Allison Nye.
“Most of our education so far has been online, so it’s been amazing to come and apply everything and do it hands-on and really see how everything runs together,” she said.
Nye says she’s participated in several vaccination drives, even when she served in the military. She says this experience is more community-based.
“In the hospital, from our clinical experience so far we’ve had, it’s been mainly with the other nurses and the patients. Here, working with the Temple Fire Department, we’re working with other nurses, we have doctors here. We have EMTs and civilians just here volunteering,” she said.
Students will be a part in each of the three main phases of the operations - patient intake, vaccine administration and then follow-up patient observation. The effort is currently scheduled to last until the end of April.
