Marina Gaytan / The Collegian
Perhaps it̢۪s all the media hype surrounding the flu this season, or maybe students just wanted to take advantage of Wednesday̢۪s low-cost flu shot clinic offered at California State University, Fresno. Whatever the reason, students flocking to the clinic to get the flu shots caused the scheduled five-hour clinic to run out of vaccinations in an hour and a half.
“There was a huge line of students before I got there, which was before 9 a.m.,â€Â said Arlynn Hurtado, a third semester nursing student who gave injections at the clinic. “The line was pretty long, I’d say at least 30 to 40 students. So, we had to be pretty quick.â€Â
Hurtado was one of about 15 to 20 nursing students who volunteered to help at the flu shot clinic. Fresno State̢۪s nursing department and Student Health Center organized the event.
The on-campus clinic took place at the Pavilion, located on the first floor of the University Student Union. It was scheduled to take place from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. but operations were cut short less than two hours later.
“We were not planning to give that many. I don’t think anyone was expecting that huge turn-out,â€Â Hurtado said.
She said the clinic was prepared with 200 vaccines, an amount thought to far exceed demand.
Marina Gaytan / The Collegian
Phillip Bautista, a second semester nursing student and clinic attendee, said everyone there was cooperative and those waiting did not seem upset.
“There were a good number of nursing students there because some of our clinicals require us to have a flu shot vaccine, but a lot of people there were just regular students,â€Â Bautista said.
Bautista said he took advantage of the clinic because it was offering flu shots for only $10. Fresno State̢۪s Student Health Center charges $15 for its flu shot and pharmacies such as Walgreens charge around $25.
“As a student I think it’s important to get [the shot],â€Â Bautista said.
The clinic was staffed by nursing students, with nursing department faculty supervising the event. Only students in their third semester or higher were allowed to give the actual injections.
Professor and chair of the department of nursing, Michael Russler, said nursing students played an important role in the success of the clinic.
“There are the organizational skills, the management skills, the supervision that go on and they kind of got to play a little bit of both with coordinating and doing the injections as well,â€Â Russler said.
Hurtado said she enjoyed practicing her patient-care skills while communicating with the students.
“We learned in a skills class how to give injections and we had given it a couple times in our clinical experience, but this was more direct and hands-on,â€Â Hurtado explained. “It was great for those who got it, and for us because it gave us experience.â€Â
Bautista said no one seemed to mind that the staff consisted of nursing students honing their injections skills.
“Everybody seemed pretty OK with it,â€Â Bautista said.
The nursing staff informed both students who received the vaccine, and those they had to turn away to come back in a few weeks for the H1N1 vaccine. Hurtado said a similar clinic will be held and will be planned to accommodate even more students.
“For the H1N1 they’ll probably get more vaccines and see if we get the same population to come out and want the vaccine again,â€Â she said. “Maybe even more so because students will probably go tell their friends and even more will come out.”