LA City College Nursing Students Create Hepatitis Brochure

LACC Nursing Students (from l. to r.) Nathalie Djoko, Kin (Gary) Ng, Georgiana Caulker, Jeffrey Esguerra created a new brochure on Hepatitis

Hepatitis B is still a major health problem and more than 4,000 people die from long-term infection from the disease each year.

LA City College nursing students decided to do something about this health menace and as a class project they recently created a new brochure on Hepatitis B outlining its risks and remedies. The informative brochure has been picked up for use by the Santa Monica UCLA Medical Center’s maternity department.

Creating the brochure were LACC students Natalie Djoko, Kin (Gary) Ng, Georgiana Caulker, and Jeffrey Esguerra. They assembled it as a class project for their maternal-newborn nursing class taught by registered nurse Maureen Marcklinger. As part of their first year clinical rotation, the students worked at the Medical Center’s maternity department in the areas of labor, delivery, and in the prenatal clinic.

“We are proud of our students and their accomplishments,” said Betsy Manchester, associate professor of nursing at LACC.

The brochure explains that Hepatitis B is spread through blood and bodily fluids. Short-term symptoms include fatigue, diarrhea, appetite loss, vomiting, jaundice, and muscle pain. Long-term symptoms include liver damage and death. Luckily, a vaccine exists to prevent people from getting the disease. The Hep B vaccine provides a three-dose regimen used for long term protection.

The brochure states that new mothers should especially be tested for Hepatitis immunity during prenatal visits, and if immunity is lacking, then the vaccine should be given in three doses. The brochure cautions individuals not to get the vaccine if they have a severe reaction to it or are allergic to baker’s yeast. It also advises people to ask their nurse or doctor for more information.

The college’s RN program is a two-year program that leads to an Associate in Science-Nursing degree as well as eligibility to test for National state RN licensure exams. The fall 2006 class has already been selected via lottery and is being notified currently. Student orientations are held twice each month. For information, contact Colleen Stringfellow at (323) 953-4000 ext. 2053.

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