Feeling the Pressure
Written By Everett McKee
The UH Hilo Nursing Program Blood Pressure Educator Project Team. In order from left to right: Kyle Chun, Frans Sy, Johanson Quist, Anjulie Larson, and Evelina Kocharov. Photo taken by Marissa Yoshida and courtesy of Frans Sy.
The Nursing program at the University of Hawai’i at Hilo is known for being highly competitive for admission, and the quality of its students helps to demonstrate why. Frans Sy, a senior Nursing major at UH Hilo, spoke out about a project that is highly successful in helping to educate the public as well as providing personal growth for the students who develop and deliver it.
Sy was a member of the School of Nursing’s Blood Pressure Educator Project (BPEP), a community outreach program that works in collaboration with Community First, the East Hawaii Independent Physician’s Association and KTA Superstores. Five UH Hilo School of Nursing students, under the guidance of faculty, embarked on the Blood Pressure Educator Program from Fall 2014 through Spring 2015.
Frans was just one of the students who were able to work on this project. “I was inspired to become a nurse by a near-fatal car accident that occurred to my daughter. The nursing team allowed me to participate in her care as I followed my daughter’s recovery through intensive care, critical care, and acute rehabilitation,” said Sy.
Students from UHH School of Nursing with their faculty advisor. In order from left to right: Kyle Chun, Evelina Kocharov, Dr. Cecilia Mukai, Anjulie Larson, Johanson Quist, and Frans Sy. Photo courtesy of Frans Sy.
According to nursing students, their goal was to increase awareness of high blood pressure and decrease its prevalence in East Hawaii. They did this by providing sixth grade students with the opportunity to learn about blood pressure and the impact that chronic high blood pressure has on an individual's health.
“Nursing is all about building relationships with your patients and their families. Good rapport is crucial to providing care and offering comfort through the hard times,” said Sy. It is for this reason that she believes communication is the key component to effective nursing. By communications Frans does not believe you should only listen to others but also yourself. “The ability to listen with your whole heart and mind is crucial to being a good nurse and collaborative member. Each person has his/her own side to every story. A good listener gives the speaker the opportunity to be heard and understood," Sy said.
The curriculum provided in the BPEP Program involved training 281 sixth grade students from seven East Hawaii schools to accurately measure blood pressure using an automatic blood pressure cuff. The sixth graders took the cuffs home for a week and recorded 2,414 blood pressures. After identifying 34% of their family and friends as having high blood pressure, the students provided information regarding blood pressure reduction and suggested medical management. In the future Sy stated, “ [I] would like to participate in community-wide health initiatives that benefit [all] the residents of Hawaii County.”
This project empowered students with the ability to make informed decisions about their own health and also have the confidence to educate their families about the dangers of high blood pressure. The value of this project was in reaching out to the East Hawaii community, providing accurate information, and raising blood pressure awareness.
If this sounds like the kind of work and motivation for you then go check out the school of Nursing website at http://hilo.hawaii.edu/depts/nursing/.
