Thursday, March 23, 2006
Joint efforts contribute to learning
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Leah Greene of Princeton, Indiana, and Gary Whitney of Central City, Kentucky, are two of more than 250 USI students from the Physical Education Department and the College of Nursing and Health Professions who are participating in a coronary heart disease study. Students of nursing, nutrition, and community health are conducting cholesterol and blood glucose screenings and measuring height, weight, and body mass on students in PED 186, a fitness and wellness class in the core curriculum. The testing is done in the Human Performance Laboratory and in an adjoining laboratory in the Health Professions Center in March 2006. The curriculum in the physical education class requires each student to establish behavior modification strategies to address personal health concerns that need improvement. The screening results will provide the physical education students individual documentation of what areas need attention. Greene and Whitney are testing cholesterol and blood sugar of the students from physical education. Greene is a senior in the RN to BSN program in the College of Nursing and Health Professions. She plans to graduate in May. She is currently working at Deaconess Women’s Hospital in Newburgh, Indiana. Whitney is a graduate student who is taking courses through distance education. He works at the Regional Medical Center in Central City. Both students agree the hands-on learning is beneficial. Greene said she finds it is useful to practice, and she learns the healthy and not-so-healthy ranges of the screenings. Whitney likes the classroom setting and talking with other students since most of his course work is done over a computer. He admits the distance education classes are a convenient resource for the nurse who works full-time like he does. Gale Hoehn, instructor in nursing, said the event offers a safe setting to learn. She said nursing students learn to use the equipment, how to administer the test and record findings, and talk with other students about risk factors under the supervision of the faculty. Students enrolled in community health classes are interviewing staff from offices and areas of campus that have an impact on the health of students. They are talking to Residence Life staff, food services people, and vending machine operators. The interviews will be part of the study. Dr. Glenna Bower, assistant professor of physical education, said the interaction between students and the faculty is all important. This collaborative effort shows what can be done in terms of research when groups of people work together on a project. She said the results of the study will be distributed to campus departments who can benefit from knowing what health risk factors USI students exhibit. Other faculty members working with the students are Stephanie Bennett, Dr. Raymond Leung, and Dr. Guoyuan Huang from physical education and Dr. Julie McCullough, Julie St. Clair, Beth Thompson, and Lesa Cagle from nursing and health professions. The study is being funded from grants offered by the USI Bower-Suhrheinrich College of Education and Human Services Faculty Enhancement efforts and the Indiana Association of Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance. |
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