Emily Luu is a 5th year nursing student at Boston College’s William F. Connell School of Nursing (CSON). She was born in Malden and is looking forward to graduating in May 2020. Emily has been working with Nurse Quinn one day each week during the fall semester as part of her clinical rotation for population health.
Emily says she enjoys interacting with patients and the community. “I am interested in pediatric nursing to see a different perspective of the population,” says Emily. “One big difference with a school setting versus a hospital is the involvement with parents and learning about the background of students’ lives – I’ve really enjoyed that part.”
Both Emily and Nurse Quinn see the partnership between Saint Columbkille and the Connell School of Nursing as a strong and worthwhile relationship. Nurse Quinn has been mentoring one nursing student each semester for the past 3 years since she began working at Saint Columbkille.
Emily feels that there is a lot of support for both schools and has been able to learn from Nurse Quinn in a nurturing environment. She has also seen a lot of other connections to Boston College – students volunteering with various student organizations, such as 4Boston and Emerging Leaders.
“The staff are welcoming and friendly at Saint Columbkille,” says Emily. “This experience has been very meaningful to me. I’m able to see how these cases are affecting the students’ learning and providing care helps ease the transition for both parents and children.”
Nurse Quinn works closely with Donna Cullinan, clinical assistant professor at CSON, who oversees Emily’s clinical rotation. Ms. Cullinan comes to STCPS once a month to see Emily in action.
“It’s so important to be a good mentor and provide a supportive and positive experience for the nursing students,” says Nurse Quinn. “I always remember my best mentors and their influence on me, so I take it to heart when working with them.”
As part of her rotation, Emily recently gave a 20-minute interactive presentation to grade 6 students on stress. She taught them about what stress is, where it comes from, what if feels like and how to manage it.
“The students were really responsive and open to my presentation,” says Emily. “They knew a lot more than I thought about stress. I was able to introduce them to meditation and how to best talk with friends and trusted adults about their stress.”
In the spring, Emily will participate in a synthesis rotation in adolescent psychology at McLean Hospital in Belmont. She previously worked as a Patient Care Assistant at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.