Nursing Students Put Training, Passion to Work in Houston

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Carly Mott and Ryan Plath provided medical assistance at a shelter in the Houston area.

Two University of Arkansas nursing students took off for Hurricane Harvey-ravaged Houston without knowing what to expect. What they learned is that they are sure of their career choices.

Carly Mott wanted to help relief efforts as soon as she saw the news about the storm, and Ryan Plath, whose family lives in Houston, joined her. After the two spent about 10 days calling more than 75 disaster relief organizations, emergency service agencies, emergency medical response teams, churches — and collecting more than $3,500 in donated supplies over two days' time — Mott received an email telling them how to volunteer at a shelter for evacuees in Conroe, Texas.

Finding the right way to help in emergencies is never easy. Volunteers without specific skills often end up being in the way, and the university's Volunteer Action Center recommends that students follow Mott and Plath's plan of action, contacting the VAC or relief organizations first to see where certain skill sets are needed and how to be integrated into existing relief efforts.

After their notification, they packed Plath's truck and off they went after their clinical rotation was over on Sept. 6, arriving in Houston at 2 a.m. They spent the next three days, with very little sleep, providing medical assistance at the shelter and then helping clean a flood victim's home.

"My mindset has been emergency medicine, helping in trauma settings," Plath said. He and Mott both will graduate in December. "The impact nurses have on those situations is monumental. A group of nurses can make a difference at a situation. We were the two primary caregivers at the convention center (used as a shelter).

"In nursing school, we learn not just how to care for physical injuries but communication skills," he continued. "You have to support people emotionally. They don't know where to turn, and the resources we provide can be life-changing."

Mott has worked as a volunteer on several mission trips and has helped the homeless in the Kansas City area since she was 13. These experiences have strengthened her ability to think quickly and have made her willing to take initiative, to go from an idea to action.

"I love crazy," she said. "I don't get enough crazy in my service hours, and I don't get enough crazy in my internships."

Mott said she learned more about three aspects of herself during the Houston trip — the professional aspect, the emotional aspect and the medical aspect.

"I never cry," she said. "I hold a lot of things in, although no service trip has affected me as much as this one. I have never had anything weigh on my heart like this. It was seeing how thoughtful and selfless people in Houston were after they lost everything. They were so grateful for what they had left and never expressed, 'Why me?' "

With their graduation just a few months away, Mott and Plath are researching jobs with organizations that would deploy them to emergencies wherever medical assistance is needed.

"You use your skills and you collaborate," Plath said. "Our time in Houston was the most comfortable I have felt in any health-care situation."

Both encouraged their fellow U of A students to get involved in helping others, saying there are many ways to help besides offering medical assistance. They also emphasized the need for everyone to be prepared for emergencies.

"Some people can't go but they provided unbelievable support," Mott said.

The students want to thank the Eleanor Mann School of Nursing, Sigma Phi Epsilon, Alpha Omicron Pi and Alpha Chi Omega for donations. An account Mott wrote about the experience can be read online.