CINCINNATI — Nurses are trained to help save lives in emergency and operating rooms. Now, a group of students at Xavier University is learning how to better recognize the warning signs of suicide.
Every sophomore nursing student at Xavier, including Kenna Ryan, will undergo QPR (Question, persuade, refer) training.
"In 2017, my brother committed suicide. He was three days into being 16. I was 12 at the time," said Ryan. "It was just, you know, clearly the worst experience of my life. But you know, it also taught me things, and I've been working; me and my mom have been working with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention since."
Ryan said she believes her purpose now is “recognizing signs of suicide and ways to deal and ways to help other families or other loved ones that are grieving.”
It’s why the training she underwent in March will help even more people as she works toward becoming a nurse. At its core, the course is simple: “Your job is to show up and to let them know that they're not alone and then convince them to go get help and take them to that help.”
Watch how Xavier nursing students are learning to save lives outside the hospital.
That’s what TriHealth Wellbeing Coach Kaity Rowe told the class on March 19. She said that when it comes to teaching students about their peers and about looking inward, “we're trying to really emphasize the fact that it's okay to ask for help earlier rather than later. But we're here for them on whatever continuum of, like, where they are with their mental health.”
Rowe teaches this training to several classes each semester. But she said nursing students stand out, as female nurses are at a higher risk for suicide than females in general.
She believes this generation is more open to getting help sooner. “I've had a lot of students, you know, come up to me afterward, just to, you know, because they've now, they're like, Oh my gosh. Now it's like connecting some of the dots with some people that I know, but I, oh, maybe also I need to, you know, just check in with a counselor myself too.”
As for Ryan, she said her experience with her brother and her own mental health struggles taught her how acceptance can sometimes follow difficult moments.
“If we see that in people who we know are struggling with depression or substance abuse or trauma or grief or anything like that, and they make that switch, it's often like a good it's a telltale sign that they need help,” Ryan said.
She also knows it’s not easy to speak up, but it’s worth it because suicide is permanent. “It's hard to reach out, but it can be little things like going outside or just having a friend with you, saying, hey, I want to be alone tonight, things like that," said Ryan. "If you have like a good support group around you, they should be able to help.”
There are many resources available, including the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. If you or someone you know needs support now, call or text 988 or chat 988Lifeline.org.
