Every nurse starts somewhere. Long before the charting and the clinical judgment comes a first patient: someone who needs help getting dressed, getting out of bed or getting to breakfast. Where a student learns that work shapes the kind of nurse they become.
For eight weeks this summer, four first-semester nursing students from Bryant & Stratton College spent their Wednesdays at Lucy Corr, earning clinical hours alongside residents in the Health Care Center.
Bryant & Stratton College, a nonprofit college with an ACEN-accredited nursing program at its Richmond–Chesterfield campus, places students in clinical sites across the region. The Lucy Corr rotation is led by adjunct professor Stephanie Johnson, MSN, RN, TCRN, who also works in surgical trauma at VCU Health.
“They come and get their clinical hours here by helping with patient care,” Johnson said. “They’re helping with activities of daily living: getting residents dressed, getting them out of bed, brushing their teeth, feeding them, moving them around. And just patient interaction, getting that connection.”
Though none of the students were new to a care setting when they arrived — they had all worked alongside patient care technicians and certified nursing assistants before — this was their first proper nursing clinical. They rotated between units week to week in 12-hour stints, attending to the unique needs of each unit’s residents.
By the final week, the group had become ingrained in the Lucy Corr community, especially the Clover Hill Memory Center, where they asked to return for their final rotation after having visited earlier in the program.
“You get one person one second, and then the next minute, a whole different person,” said student Clintina Pannell when describing her work with this patient population.
Others noticed the sense of purpose and planning throughout the Health Care Center. “I like how organized each unit is, and each unit has their own routine,” said Skyla Guerra. “But they’re all welcoming, and everyone’s very friendly.”
Another student, Briana McDaniel, pointed to the communication between staff and students. “We know what we need to do and where we’re supposed to be,” she said. “There’s no confusion.”
Not every clinical hour was spent at the bedside. On their last Wednesday, the students joined residents outdoors. “They were eating popsicles, we did some dancing,” Guerra said. “It was nice.”
Each of the four students left with a different sense of where nursing might take them — corrections, psychiatric care, home health, long-term care — and a clearer reason why. For example, Pannell is drawn to long-term care for the continuity. “I like to know my patients,” she said.
For Lucy Corr, hosting students is part of a broader commitment to the region’s caregiving pipeline, and residents benefit from the attention and energy that new learners bring to a unit. With four students in the Bryant & Stratton College cohort, residents had the opportunity to get to know each of them more closely.
“We liked them so much, we’re bringing their program here again in September,” said Lucy Corr Director of Human Resources Beth Farris. “We’d love for the students to think of Lucy Corr when they begin their nursing careers.”
For the students, the eight weeks left an impression that had as much to do with the people as the practice. “It was a real good experience,” Pannell said. “And the staff was so welcoming.”
