By establishing free and low cost clinics for community
members requiring healthcare services and speech therapy, our CSUSM students
are taking advantage of unique opportunities to apply theory and coursework
…and are making a significant impact outside of the classroom. We currently
staff three nursing clinics in Ocean
Beach and Oceanside and are preparing to open a new and expanded Speech
Language Pathology clinic on July 7 off-campus in San Marcos.
The CSUSM School of
Nursing Student Healthcare Project incorporates the three clinics in San
Diego County, both of which are staffed by nursing faculty, volunteer
providers, as well as graduate and undergraduate nursing students. The Project clinics
provide free medical care for acute and chronic diseases, case management,
social services, health promotion and education. Students apply the theory,
pathophysiology, pharmacology, and nursing or nurse practitioner skills learned
in their classrooms and skills labs to provide care to underserved,
unsheltered, uninsured and under-insured residents of San Diego county.
At this time, funding for the community nursing clinics is
derived solely from donations and grants. In 2013 the clinics served 1,947
patients and so far this year, more than 150 nursing students have served community
clinic patients. Faculty are on track to donate more than 4,000 volunteer hours
to staff and manage these nursing clinics.
Another dynamic program is our Speech-Language Pathology
(SLP) clinic. For nearly five years we have been running a SLP clinic out of a
dorm suite on campus and we are very excited to be expanding into a 1,600 square
foot office space this summer. SLP students working in the clinical setting apply
skills in assessment and treatment of individuals with a broad array of
communication and swallowing disorders, relationship-based Intervention, counseling
and aural rehabilitation. Students transition gradually from classroom
instruction to clinic participation and their last semester is spent solely working
at the clinic.
When we open our expanded SLP clinic in July, we will be providing
services to individuals with stroke or traumatic brain injury completely free of charge throughout the
summer months. Beginning in fall, we
will provide low cost services on a sliding scale basis. Services like this are
vital for those who run out of insurance or Medicare funding and still need
therapy for voice and fluency disorders, deafness/hard of hearing or cleft
palate. Click to learn more about Speech-Language Pathology at
CSUSM.
Do you know someone who could benefit from our community
clinics? Do you see other opportunities for us to be of service? Would you like
CSUSM to consider developing or expanding a clinic in your community? To
connect with us and share your voice, please visit us on Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter or email me at eldeanblog@csusm.edu.
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