Nurse Camp: Planting Nursing Seeds in High School
Submitted by Shona Rue, MSN, RN, CPNP, CNE
Tags: career calling caregiver diversity future of nursing healthcare education innovation training program nurse shortage
Nursing is a profession with a rich history and an ever-changing future. The profession is challenged by a shortage of nurses to meet the current health care demands . Additionally, misperceptions of the nursing profession can sometimes limit new diverse interest. How can fresh inspiration be generated in the nursing profession? A summer Nurse Camp for today’s youth may be one answer for more nurses tomorrow.
Nurse Camp was created for high school students to explore the intricacies of the nursing profession. The purpose of Nurse Camp was to increase media exposure and stimulate new diverse interest in the nursing profession. The vision for Nurse Camp was to introduce and attract a wider audience into the nursing field. High School students were invited to attend and required to pay a camp fee; however, select sponsorships/scholarships were available to need-based students and provided through various organizations.
Nurse Camp was a weeklong day camp staffed by dedicated administrators, enthusiastic nursing faculty, committed community partners, active nursing students, and a variety of practicing nurse volunteers. The Nurse Camp curriculum began with an introduction to a college campus (tours, presentations) and some basic nursing skills (i.e., vital signs, select assessment skills, medication routes). The camp progressed to a greater understanding and greater depth of nursing roles through discussions and interactions with a variety of practicing nurses. Campers were immersed in traditional and nontraditional nursing activities and acquired training/certifications in CPR, First Aid, Stop the Bleed, and Naloxone administration. Nurse Camp activities occurred on a main college campus, a simulation center, and the University Medical Center hospital. Nurse Camp concluded with a detailed pathway into college, nursing school, and a future vision in the nursing profession. Nurse Camp utilized current nursing students, in their community population health course, leadership seminar, and pediatric clinical rotations, to engage campers into the art and science of nursing with roundtable discussions, simulation activities, and skill demonstrations. Nursing students benefited from the active engagement, active learning pedagogy, and it provided an innovative clinical opportunity to supplement their routine course work . The double benefit to both nursing students and campers was a welcome surprise and a future path to assisting with clinical placement deficits.
Was Nurse Camp successful? Of course, success has many definitions, but the short answer is, yes. Nurse Camp achieved its goals, exceeded some expectations, and opened more doors for exploration. Approximately 60 high school students with diverse demographics participated, all campers completed a 28 question Likert Scale (0-5) survey to rate Nurse Camp activities and the overall experience. Ninety-nine percent of campers were likely to recommend Nurse Camp to a classmate or friend, and all activities were rated within a range of 3.67-5 with an average mean of 4.87 in overall satisfaction. Anecdotal comments of nurse campers and their families stated, “Nurse Camp was an amazing experience...,” “I didn’t realize the nursing profession had so much variety and so much to offer...,” “I learned a lot of new information about nursing…”, and “Nurse Camp was an incredible opportunity for me.”
Additionally, Nurse Camp had five newscast stories broadcast on local networks in a large metropolitan city, four printed news articles, three podcasts published, a visit with the State Governor, University Provost, and University President, and multiple Instagram posts. Overall, Nurse Camp showcased the nursing profession in the media and in the community. It increased community engagement, awareness, and outreach, it helped expand the knowledge base of what nurses do and provided real insight into the nursing profession.
Like other career focused summer camps, Nurse Camps can clarify perceptions of the nursing profession, provide insight into the broad range of nursing roles, and illustrate the need for more nurses in the workforce. Nurse Camp was also an opportunity to stimulate diverse interests and encourage underrepresented populations to consider a career in nursing. Nurse Camp was an adventure where inspiration began, stereotypes were dismantled, and hopefully where interest in the nursing profession grew. The world needs more nurses, and Nurse Camp may be one innovation to help make that happen.
- American Association of Colleges of Nursing, Fact Sheet: Nursing Shortage (2022) https://www.aacnnursing.org/news-information/fact-sheets/nursing-shortage
- Driessen, E. P., Knight, J. K., Smith, M. K., and Ballen, C. J. (2020) Demystifying the Meaning of Active Learning in Postsecondary Biology Education. https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.20-04-0068