A lunch break fuels a creative idea for promoting Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month.
What do you get when you cross three UMSON alumnae, all former classmates in the Master of Science in Nursing Community/Public Health specialty, with a 20-minute lunch break? A spontaneous brainstorming session that led to a musical campaign promoting March as Colorectal Cancer (CRC) Awareness Month at Health Care for the Homeless (HCH).
Sun Young “Sunny” Park, DNP '22, MS '17, CNE, FNP-C, assistant professor; Tracy Russell, MS '17, population health manager; and Amy Nahley, MS ’17, population health nurse, all work together at HCH's Fallsway location in Baltimore. Over lunch, Park shared how she used generative AI tools to create an epidemiology song from her lecture notes for her Bachelor of Science in Nursing students. Inspired, the group saw an opportunity to use the same tools to create a fun, educational song to raise awareness about CRC screening.
With support from HCH’s communications department, the trio developed a musical video aimed at destigmatizing CRC screening and reminding the community that everyone between the ages of 45 and 75 with average risk should be screened. Everyone featured in the video is part of the HCH staff, familiar faces clients know and trust. The team includes community health workers, security staff, outreach counselors, case managers, registered nurses, primary care providers, and medical assistants.
The final video showcases the creativity and collaboration of HCH staff and highlights their commitment to engaging the community in life-saving conversations through accessible and uplifting messaging.
The team has also created a Spanish-language version of the song.
"The three of us love having lunch together and are making an effort to meet more often —because every time we do, we come up with another great idea to help make a difference in our community," Park says. "We’re applying everything we’ve learned in the CPH program to real-world practice, and it’s incredibly exciting. We’re putting public health principles into action. It’s rewarding to see how the concepts, tools, and strategies we've studied directly improve care and make a meaningful impact in our community."