UA nursing students are creating an educational video that will teach patients how to use the incentive spirometer. This will allow the students to gain new skills and demonstrate their dedication to nursing.

The video, made for the University of Arizona Medical Center-University Campus, will be used to help patients understand how to correctly use the device, which is designed to help them breath. Their knowledge of how to use the device is crucial to the patients’ progress once they’ve completed their treatment at the hospital.

Over the past month, six senior nursing students have volunteered their time to write a script for the film under the direction of Kara Snyder, a clinical nurse specialist at the medical center. They will film the video this coming Tuesday.

The students said the video will educate patients in a straightforward, engaging way. Having the video available to patients will also increase efficiency in the hospital, they said, because nurses will be able to spend less time teaching patients how to use the device.

This project has taught the students communication, collaboration and leadership skills that they will carry with them into their professional careers, they said.

“We get exposure to the different steps it takes to put something into motion and to affect change at a hospital,” said nursing senior Deidra Reiff.

Additionally, the students said, the project has enabled them to extend their reach beyond the classrooms and the simulation labs. The video will allow them to directly impact the lives of patients.
“It’s our way of getting out in the community,” said nursing senior Megan Graham.

According to Doug Cunningham, a clinical instructor at the College of Nursing, creating the incentive spirometry video has helped the students connect the material they have been studying to the work they will be doing in the field. Additionally, he said, the project has allowed them to establish a network within the hospital.

“In a competitive field, it’s good to know people in good positions,” he said.

Snyder has been overseeing the students’ work and said the project is an effective way of involving both the College of Nursing and the medical center in improving the quality of service the hospital offers.

“I think it’s a wonderful collaboration between our two organizations,” Snyder said.

The incentive spirometry video is only one example of how the College of Nursing and community hospitals work together. Linda Perez, a clinical instructor at the College of Nursing, said students work with St. Joseph’s Hospital, and many of them volunteer at various health events, such as the annual stroke fair. Work with community hospitals helps students understand where they want to apply for professional positions in the future and gives them a chance prove their skills, she said.

According to Snyder, students provide fresh ideas and solutions because they are new to the hospital environment. Snyder said the medical center is hoping to involve itself more fully in the school’s activities and improve the partnership.

“The collaboration is only going to get more exciting,” she said.