“I’ve always wanted to be a nurse since I was a little girl. I want to help people,” said Shanna Delvard, an Immokalee Technical College practical nursing student who aspires to become an operating room circulating nurse. The desire to help people was echoed by all nine of Shanna’s classmates so when the Collier County Health Department asked iTECH’s Health Science practical nursing instructor James Leavor, RN, if the students could assist at the COVID-19 shot clinics in Immokalee, the students were eager to have the hands-on experience.

“The students had a chance to work in the community and could see what a difference they were making,” boasted Leavor, “There was a lot of teaching going on in the field and a lot of assessment.”

The Collier County Health Department and the Healthcare Network, assisted by the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, set up a COVID-19 shot clinic at the Winn Dixie Plaza where the iTECH nursing class assisted every Tuesday and Thursday, 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., from February until the first week in June. Because of the impact they made in the healthcare of the community, the 10 nursing students are being honored as Immokalee Technical College’s July Students of the Month.

The students worked on a rotating basis registering people and helping them complete the COVID vaccination form; translating into Spanish and Creole; checking the forms; managing patient flow; sanitizing pens, clipboards, chairs and workstations; and comforting patients.

“We had to stay calm and collected so we could help the people stay calm and make them feel OK,” remembers nursing student Brian Arreguin Arreola.

“At the beginning we had patients who were 65 years and older. Then they dropped the age to 18. Then it was 12 to 16 year olds with permission from a parent,” recounts April Duron.

Jessica Sales Godinez added, “Some people were afraid of needles and scared of the vaccine. We had to educate them.”

Since all of the student nurses are bilingual, fluent in either Creole or Spanish as well as English, their translating abilities were an integral part of the success of the clinic. “We probably translated for three out of four people,” said Heiry Juarez Cano.

Isabel Franco chimed in, “Translating the paperwork was the biggest challenge. We had to learn some of the medical terms in Spanish. Before I translated, I had to go to the Internet to be 100% sure.”

“The people would ask if the vaccine was good, if they should take it. The people would trust us because we speak their language, said Vilbonneur Byssainthe.

The clinic served as a real-world classroom in which the student nurses experienced for the first time hands-on patient care while learning all about infection control. Social distancing, managing patient flow and meticulous sanitizing were all part of the daily routine. Kimberly Maciel offered, “We were doing social distancing, washing the clipboards, and sanitizing everything.”

Nayleah Cantu agreed, “We even sanitized the pens after people used them. We had our masks on, and we weren’t worried about getting sick.“

Some of the LPN’s and RN’s who administered the vaccine at the clinic were former graduates of the iTech nursing program. They served as excellent role models for the nursing students. Jose Garcia recollects, “I learned two techniques to give injections when I was shadowing them.“

Cynthia Hantzis, iTECH Health Sciences Coordinator, praises the students, “As future nurses, our students quickly learn the importance of community service. Working alongside the Florida Department of Health, and Healthcare Network of Southwest Florida, they took it to the next level. They participated in numerous Covid screening and vaccination clinics, with the goal of keeping their community safe, and healthy.”

The iTECH practical nursing program runs 3 semesters with a summer break. This class started in January and will graduate in April of 2022.