December 2, 2024

Nursing students champion heart health

Pop-up blood pressure stall promotes hypertension awareness during men’s health event

A Friday luncheon is the last place you might think to stop to get your blood pressure taken, but for a group of determined University of Wollongong (UOW) nursing students and lecturers a lunch is in fact the perfect place to start a conversation about the importance of heart health. 

High blood pressure is a major cause of premature death worldwide, increasing the risk of heart, brain, kidney and other diseases. In Australia more than 6 million people have hypertension.  

“4 million Australians have uncontrolled blood pressure, which means that despite it being treatable and preventable, people still struggle. This increases their risk of cardiovascular disease in a couple of years' time,” UOW nursing lecturer and researcher Dr Catherine Stephen said.  

“A simple blood pressure check can go a long way in starting a conversation that could change someone’s health. It might be all it takes to address something before it becomes an issue.” 

On Friday 22 November, two nursing students, Lochie O'Duibhir and Toby Hotchkis, conducted blood pressure checks under the guidance of Dr Stephen and Brandon Smith from the UOW School of Nursing, both registered nurses, as part of the pop-up blood pressure stall run during the International Men’s Day Lunch event hosted by Healthier Illawarra Men in Wollongong.  

The event aims to bring awareness to men’s health with organisers hoping to build communities of people, in particular men, who support each other on the path to improving mental and physical health wellbeing and to provide them with the resources and support necessary to lead healthier lives. 

The blood pressure stall provided the opportunity for the students to lead a community health initiative to promote hypertension awareness and encourage people, in particular men, to check in on their heart health. 

For first-year nursing student Lochie O'Duibhir a high intensity experience while on patrol as a lifeguard led him to study nursing.  

“I had a situation where I was close to resuscitating someone and it sparked something in me. I felt oddly comfortable and calm in such a high-pressure environment. It made me realise it was something I could pursue as a career,” Lochie said.  

“Nursing provides a great insight into helping people in a hands-on way. It’s something I really enjoy and I’m potentially looking at it as a pathway into medicine.  

“For me, growth acceleration comes from being out in the community, I don’t want to be stuck in a classroom. I want to take those skills outside, because that’s where you learn.” 

^{Nursing students, Toby Hotchkis and Lochie O'Duibhir, conducted blood pressure checks under the guidance of Dr Catherine Stephen and Brandon Smith from the UOW School of Nursing.}

The School of Nursing has embedded hands-on learning from a student’s first year of study. Students work with patients to learn about their experience of living with hypertension as well as completing their first hospital placement, providing them with the experience of interacting with the community.  

“I think breaking down that barrier and showing people that it is okay to talk about how you feel and what's going on is important,” Lochie said. 

“With men of a particular age, who come from a generation where it maybe wasn’t socially acceptable to talk about your health, we had the chance to approach talking about it casually. It's less of a white coat ‘tell us what's wrong’ way and more like a friendly conversation. 

“We were able to de stigmatize the topic. Everyone was pretty comfortable speaking to us. We spent a lot of the time chatting to people about their health and the health issues that they had. We helped identify a few people whose blood pressure was high and encouraged them to book in to their doctor for follow-up appointments.” 

For fellow first-year nursing student Toby Hotchkis working outside of a typical nursing setting enabled him to engage in free-flowing conversations, an environment he said he thrives in. 

“I could ask some questions, have a chat and take their blood pressure. I had some really good health conversations out of that,” Toby said.  

“We didn’t have to just focus on the blood pressure side, it was more about putting the information out there, talking to people and providing next steps of the kinds of things they could consider doing to improve their health.”  

Toby admits a career in nursing came a little left field for him. Through high school he was adamant about becoming a paramedic, but as he got older and closer to starting university he said the personal side of nursing is what attracted him.  

“My grandma had cancer three times while I was growing up. For two of the diagnoses I was too young to understand, but the third time around I was 12 or 13 years old and I understood the impact nurses have on patients and families. I got to understand how the nurses made us feel, and how they made my Grandma feel. To have that impact on someone is really very rewarding. I want to be able to have that impact on people,” Toby said. 

“For the attendees we got the chance to speak to, I hope we got through that it’s okay for men to talk about how they feel and problems that they might be experiencing.” 

Both nursing students were chosen due to their academic accomplishments, community enterprise and emerging nurse leadership.  

“Lochie and Toby did a wonderful and professional job with the attendees that participated. We lost count of the amount of blood pressure checks we completed as the stall was so popular. The students even had the opportunity to discuss the importance of heart health with Lord Mayor of Wollongong Councillor Tania Brown,” Dr Stephen said.  

The nursing students were able to attend the luncheon through a ‘Pay It Forward’ ticket sponsored by WIN News. They networked with attendees and heard from guest speaker John Maclean who shared his lifechanging journey from successful Paralympian to walking again after spending 25 years in a wheelchair.