Six nursing students from Algonquin College’s Bachelor of Science in Nursing program have come together to promote student organ donation registration through their project, SLiDE Organ Donation 2022.
Every year, students in the Nursing program undertake a clinical placement in which they work on community-related health projects to become acquainted with the different fields of practice in the health sector. Through the placement they gain valuable exposure to the many facets of community nursing.
Ella Leduc, a student at the project’s helm, explained how the group’s work has advanced their knowledge of nursing and community health.
“Our efforts to promote organ donation have helped us develop community nursing skills, such as population assessments and community building,” said Leduc. “Shifting from working with individual patients to entire communities has been challenging; however, the SLiDE 2022 Organ Donation project has highlighted for us the importance of community-based nursing and healthy advocacy.”
The project hopes to enroll 2,500 eligible students by the end of November. The team is using a variety of campaign tools to increase donor registration numbers such as hosting four campaign days at the College and a student raffle. Students are automatically enrolled in the raffle when they register as an organ donor through the project. Raffle prizes include gift cards to Starbucks, Connections – The Campus Store and the Wolves Den.
“While this project is an assignment for our program, we all share a passion for health advocacy and hope that students, through our project, see the value in registering as an organ donor,” said Leduc.