Hundreds of UCF nursing students help administer COVID-19 vaccines

ORLANDO, Fla. — Hundreds of student nurses from the University of Central Florida are stepping up to help give out vaccines.

UCF is joining a nationwide effort led by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing.

When we show you shots going into arms, we usually share the story of the person getting the shot, not the person giving the shot.

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“I was like, oh my gosh, I can’t believe we have this opportunity,” said UCF College of Nursing student Delainey Dietz.

Dietz recently administered more than a dozen COVID-19 vaccines in one day. “It was a really awesome experience,” Dietz said.

She’s intelligent and experienced, but she was a bit nervous.

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Dietz and her classmates did a perfect job, because caring for people is their passion.

“There’s a desire there to help, there’s a need, and you’re trying to meet that need,” said Kate Dorminy, clinical coordinator for the Collage of Nursing. “We quickly worked with our clinical partners, who had the means and the connections by way of the vaccines, and to support them in whatever way we could.”

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Close to 200 student nurses from UCF’s main, Cocoa and Daytona Beach campuses have worked alongside AdventHealth, Orlando Health, Volusia County Health Department, Health First Viera Hospital and Parrish Medical Center to get hundreds of people vaccinated across several sites in recent weeks.

In addition to providing the vaccines, the student nurses also monitor patients for any side effects after they receive the shots.

Cox Media Group