USCA Nursing Students Gain Clinical Experience Shadowing SRS Medical
Friday, November 17th, 2023
Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS) is a proud supporter of educational development within the surrounding Central Savannah River Area. For several years, SRNS has partnered with the University of South Carolina Aiken (USCA) to bring nursing students on-site to participate in the Savannah River Site (SRS) Medical job shadowing program.
The objectives of this program are to give nursing students an opportunity to experience an occupational medical environment and gain insight into the practice of occupational nursing in an industrial setting. This fall, 12 students came to the Site and received credit towards their Community Health Nursing Course, and more are scheduled to come in the Spring.
Over the course of eight weeks, students were rotated through SRS Medical. Each week, two different nursing students were given opportunities to learn more about occupational health and safety.
Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, a Fluor and HII partnership company, is responsible for th
“I never knew that SRS offered nursing services for their particular community,” said Persepolis Hemingway, USCA Nursing Student. “This was an enjoyable experience; it was beneficial to witness the role of an occupational nurse and the services they provide. I was able to apply my skills in real-life scenarios while gaining new knowledge to help in my future career.”
Through this program, students were able to observe nurses as they interact with employees, review employee health history forms, perform audiometry testing, pulmonary function tests, vision testing, electrocardiograms and treatment of occupational illnesses and injuries.
Site Medical Nurse Manager, Amber Collins, stated, “The nurses in Medical have greatly appreciated the opportunity to share hands-on application and insight of what it is like to be a Savannah River Site occupational nurse with these USCA nursing students. This job shadowing experience allows them to see nursing from a whole different perspective in more of a specialty field that emphasizes the importance of health and safety in the workplace. We are privileged to host these students on-site and help broaden their outlook to the opportunities of occupational nursing.”
management and operations of the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site, located near
Aiken, South Carolina.
