Special Programs and Projects

Living Well Initiative

The Living Well Initiative is a multidisciplinary educational program addressing the needs of persons and families affected by severe and persistent mental health conditions.

 

Co-sponsored by the School of Health Sciences and the School of Psychology, Family, and Community, the program’s goal is to promote awareness and understanding of these conditions through the establishment of the Dickinson Fellowship Program (32 KB PDF), research projects, campus outreach, and annual conferences.

Nursing Camp

For high school students thinking about a career in nursing, SPU’s annual summer Nursing Camp is a unique opportunity to spend a week living at SPU, getting a taste of SPU’s academic program, and experiencing the nursing profession.

 

Nursing Camp participants spend time every day in hospital clinicals; hear firsthand from SPU faculty and alumni about the nursing profession; and enjoy visiting many popular Seattle tourist attractions. It’s a great way to explore the nursing profession — especially in an urban center.

Community Health Projects

Each Spring Quarter, senior nursing students participate in community health projects as part of their coursework. Recent ways SPU students have engaged the local health care culture include

 

• Health education. Health education for low-income women at the Compass Center, a transitional housing program

• Fall prevention. A student-developed, media-based teaching program for elders on fall prevention, in partnership with King County’s Fall Prevention for the Elderly program

• Disaster preparedness. Participation in a disaster preparedness program for seniors, in conjunction with Seattle Emergency Management

 

For more information about the different ways nursing majors get involved with the community, contact Associate Dean Chris Henshaw.

Study Abroad

Each Winter Quarter, as part of the Study Abroad Vietnam program, 10 senior nursing students take five weeks of class on SPU’s campus and then, under the guidance of SPU professors, travel across the globe to spend five weeks in city hospitals and rural clinics in Vietnam. There the students provide health education and nursing care to children and families — and gain new perspective on Vietnam’s culture and people.