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O’Keeffe lab opens doors to practice learning by Cindy Abole Public Relations A heath care assessment involves a lot more than asking specific questions or looking carefully into a patient's ear. Usually, it requires an acquired skill and knowledge to screen important information that will ultimately lead to a diagnosis and conclude with a recommended treatment or therapy. Former nursing Dean Maureen Keefe and lab benefactor Whitney C. O’Keeffe share in cutting the ribbon to commemorate and open the College of Nursing’s new Reba Carter O’Keeffe Health Assessment Lab on June 29. The June 29 dedication of the College of Nursing's Reba Carter O’Keeffe Health Assessment Lab will continue to provide a key learning environment for nursing students. It salutes the legacy of one South Carolina nursing professional and the future education of others. The lab is a teaching facility that is fundamental to the education and preparation of today’s professional nurses. “The practice of patient assessment is a very important aspect in the ability to provide care,” said Barbara J. Edlund, Ph.D., RN., associate professor at the College of Nursing. “It is the foundation upon which nursing care is based.”  Edlund and nursing assistant professor Peggy Spain, MSN, R.N., teach health assessment to undergraduate and graduate nursing students. Appropriate to the education field, nursing students gain the necessary skills to assess their patients. Graduate nursing students Kathy Cosgrove, far right, uses an otoscope to look into the ear of practice patient/student Ashley Reeves, while fellow students Shelly Beasley performs the same test on Georgia Arnold. Before, nursing students practiced their assessment skills in two separate rooms that were small in size, isolated  and limited because of outdated lab equipment. As part of their learning, graduate students were expected to buy their own diagnostic equipment for the course, an additional expense. Today, the renovated facility is fully functional within a pleasing, realistic environment. It is equipped with donated otoscopes and opthalmascopes, exam tables and other state-of-the-art  medical equipment, plus privacy curtains within separate exam cubicles. “The room is ideal for teaching,” Edlund said, commenting about the  ample space designed for group lectures or smaller presentations. “It's more conducive to our needs—giving students a chance to feel comfortable while practicing their physical assessment techniques. It enables faculty to interact, demonstrate and observe students in simulated clinical situations.” For undergraduates, the class provides an introduction to basic clinical assessment skills required for baccalaureate nurses working at a hospital or within a community clinic setting, said Edlund. The emphasis is more in depth for graduate nursing students preparing for advanced practice roles.  “At the graduate level, we're focused on preparing nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists and nurse midwives to perform an accurate and comprehensive patient history and physical exam for the purpose of diagnosing and managing patient problems,” said Edlund.  Nursing professionals are educated  to learn assessment based on an individual's life span approach from infant, pre-school, child, adolescent to adult and older adults. According to Edlund, students learn how assessment differs in various age groups. For example, the assessment of children emphasizes developmental markers. For older adults, the focus is on a person's functional ability.  Edlund also points out how assessments might follow a different approach among certain patient populations with health problems like cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, etc. For example, practitioners assessing patients living in the Sunbelt states are particularly mindful of skin cancers. Their responsibility also lies in patient education through discussion of preventive practices like the advantages of using sun screen and other protection to the importance of continual self-exams. “We’re not only dealing with history and physical assessment in this course, but we've really broadened the whole concept of health assessment to include nutrition, psycho-social issues and how people cope, cultural and spiritual assessment and the use and effectiveness of diagnostic tests,” Edlund said. The lab is named after 1924 College of Nursing alumnus and Colleton County native Reba Carter O’Keeffe, a public health nurse who practiced in small clinics throughout Colleton County. Described as a shy but compassionate and dedicated practitioner, O’Keeffe was quick to respond to people’s medical needs, especially the poor and handicapped. It was her daughter, Jean O'Keeffe Fraser and son, Whitney and his wife, Cheryl and their families who wanted to find a way to commemorate their mother's lifetime commitment to nursing through the college.  “This lab facility will enable us to provide an excellent educational experience for our nursing professionals,” Edlund said. “Graduate nursing students, as well as undergraduates are especially grateful because it provides a well-equipped facility in which to learn health assessment. We're so thankful for the donation of this room and its valuable equipment.”