On Wednesday, March 29, 2023, members of the eTHRIVE team had the opportunity to guest lecture for the UT College of Nursing senior undergraduate students in their NURS482 Population Health Course. The focus of the lecture was to share opportunities to reach people beyond the walls of the hospital through public health opportunities and telehealth. Over 150 students were present for the lecture throughout the day during two sections.

“The speakers for the eThrive grant have significantly impacted our nursing students and shown them the heart of nursing: the power of fusing nursing science with compassion. Their stories and experiences have given our students renewed hope for the future and demonstrated how their work could make a positive difference in the world,” said Dr. Christina Brown, NURS482 faculty.

Jeanne Sangster, an ICU nurse at UTMC and Board Member of Tikay, a nonprofit organization in Haiti, shared about her experiences in global health and her continued involvement in telehealth with the Tikay organization. Vicki Gregg, Remote Area Medical(RAM®)’s Clinic Manager, shared about RAM’s mission and service to provide free, quality healthcare to those in need. Dr. Susan Hebert, Ricco Summeour, and Dr. Lisa Davenport shared about RAM Telehealth and eTHRIVE’s collaboration over the past 2 years. They were also able to share a demonstration of the telehealth tools through a mock telehealth visit for the students. Students were engaged and seemed genuinely interested in all the information shared.

Prior to the lecture, the students were asked, “Why did you want to become a nurse?” The below word cloud was developed from their answers and shared at the end of the lecture. The team’s hope is that the information shared will spark a passion for them to think about ways to impact their community through their nursing careers beyond the walls of the hospital.

Thank you to Dr. Chris Brown, NURS482 faculty, for the opportunity to share with the Population Health students!