The Official College of Nursing of Córdoba has just presented the second edition of its prize for the best graduation project (TFG) in Nursing in Córdoba, which has been chosen by all the nursing students of the University of Córdoba (UCO) who presented their TFG during the 2021-2022 academic year. Recently graduated nurse Cristina Fierro Castillo won this award for her TFG on the state of mental health of nursing students at the University of Córdoba.
Specifically, the prize, endowed with 500 euros, was presented last Thursday, the 6th, to the Faculty of Medicine and Nursing of the UCO by the acting president of the College of Cordoba, Enrique Castillo, within the framework of the II Seminar of university studies Orientation on Excellence at the TFG organized by the aforementioned Faculty; in an act that also included the participation of the dean of this center, Luis Jiménez Reina, and the vice-dean of this faculty and member of the Plenary Commission of the Cordoba College, Manuel Romero Saldaña. During the presentation of the award to this nurse, both the acting president of the College and the dean of the Faculty underlined the high quality of the GFTs who this year have chosen this distinction.
Specifically, of all the TFGs presented during the past academic year, a jury made up of professors from the Faculty selected the 6 best, which were exhibited during this day of excellence, after which the jury chose the presented by Cristina Fierro Castillo as the best work. The recent nursing graduate thanked the award and also had words of appreciation for the other finalists’ work, “with very varied and interesting themes,” she said.
Among these topics, the finalist TFGs address the benefits of music therapy and dance therapy for healthy aging, pain management in patients with endometriosis, peripheral vascular access in children, perception of the kangaroo mother method in newborns and the degree of anxiety before the hospitalization of the patient with substance use in a pandemic situation. 82%, with possible anxiety or depression problems
The award-winning TFG aims to determine the mental health status of the aforementioned students and its possible relationship to socio-demographic, academic, and factors related to the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 196 undergraduate nursing students from different courses participated in this study, completing an online form that included the Goldberg-12 General Health Questionnaire.
The results of the study determine that almost 82% of the participants could suffer from emotional mental health problems, mainly anxiety and depression. “These mental health issues could lead to problems with fatigue, irritability, trouble sleeping, difficulty concentrating and dropping out. The poor state of mental health evident would be linked to the start of clinical practices in the second year and to having carried out clinical practices in contact with COVID patients.
On the other hand, good perceived social support for nurses has been shown to have a significant relationship with better mental health,” explains the author of this award-winning TFG. However, and according to Cristina Fierro, “the intention of this prevalence study is to focus on this problem and provide possible solutions and resources to ‘cure those who care’.
It should not be forgotten that nursing students are the future health providers of the population and that if they do not first enjoy good health, they will not be able to offer quality care to others. . Therefore, let us concern ourselves with the sanity of our toilets, both those present and those soon to be.”
This award for Best TFG in Nursing in Córdoba is part of the initiatives included in the Youth Space launched last year by the College of Córdoba, aimed at fourth-year nursing students in Córdoba. Last year, María Victoria Juan Campos won the first edition of this award for her work on the effectiveness of music therapy in patients with Alzheimer’s disease.