Nursing students assist with Mammogram Day

10/27/2014 5:39 PM

By Danielle Fitch ‘15

Bradley nursing students assisted local health agencies with Mammogram Day at Pekin Hospital on October 17. With help of the Bradley students, staff from the Tazwell County Breast and Cervical Cancer Coalition in conjunction with the Tazwell County Health Department and Pekin Community Hospital performed free mammograms and osteoporosis screenings for people who otherwise couldn’t afford preventive health care.

Funded by various grants, the free services included the entire day’s outpatient screening services and the resulting follow-up care.

Bradley students taught participants about the importance of breast self-examination and steps to prevent or slow the advancement of osteoporosis and heart disease. While educational for participants, students also benefitted from the learning experience.

“The opportunity to teach clients was excellent practice for me,” said Halyse Cole ’16. “I learned a lot about the procedure used during mammograms and the way the technology works as well as the funding and grants that Tazwell County received in order to make this day happen.”

Students received a firsthand peak at the process of mammography, an uncommon opportunity for women under 40.

“I enjoyed getting to follow a patient throughout the entire process,” said Joee Gordon ’16. “She was very thankful for my presence throughout the entire visit, and she said that she learned a lot from us. By the end of the day, I had gained a lot of knowledge on topics that I previously did not know a lot about.”

Because routine outpatient services are often not the primary focus of health education courses, students were given the opportunity to see how instrumental the field of outpatient health services truly is to promoting a healthy community.