It’s easy to feel like you’re trapped in a bubble in nursing school. Long nights of studying, never-ending care plans, and the occasional boring lecture can make the outside world seem as far away as Mars. But more and more nursing schools are finding ways to give back to the communities around them. Caitlin Mulligan, a student at the University of Connecticut, filled us in on how some Huskies are doing it in their neighborhood.

In recent weeks, two tales of giving back to the community have graced this Web site: Linda Brice told us about her Texas Tech Students and the March of Dimes Stork’s Nest Drive here and Emory professor Lynda Nauright explained “beads for books” here. Now, with Mulligan’s help, we move to the inner city:

Developed by the University of Connecticut, the Urban Service Track is a program that focuses on providing help to underserved populations. Nursing, medical, pharmacy, and dentistry students are brought together by the Urban Service Track with the common goal of working together to serve people in an urban setting. Each of the schools–nursing, medicine, pharmacy and dentistry–select three to four students to participate in the program, where students learn about complex healthcare issues prevalent in inner cities.

The Urban Service Track is operated in cooperation with Area Health Education Center (AHEC) in Connecticut, which provides education for healthcare providers who work in underserved communities. While the idea and image of a program dedicated to serving urban populations has been in the works for a long time, the Urban Service Track only began in September 2006, with the School of Nursing being the first school to choose students to participate.

Participating in the Urban Service Track includes attending interdisciplinary programs such as seminars on health literacy and communicating with different populations, as well as cultural understanding and awareness. In October, the Urban Service Track also participated in National Primary Care Week, attending sessions offered through AHEC and working in nearby underserved areas. One program offered by the University of Connecticut to help ease communication barriers was a non-credit Spanish course designed for healthcare providers, which is open to participants of the Urban Service Track.

And the program is set to expand even more, with the introduction of a program called Urban Service Scholars that will further help to meet the needs of underserved urban populations.

Editor’s note: For more information about the Urban Service Track or AHEC, please visit:

University of Connecticut, School of Nursing:
http://www.nursing.uconn.edu/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=229&Itemid=426

Area Health Education Center:
http://www.ctahec.com/