Nursing Exploration Summer Camp

Abstract

Improving the image of nursing and finding ways to encourage young people to enter the nursing field are two areas that need attention from nurse executives. That concept was turned into reality with Inova Nursing Exploration Summer Camp 2001, a camp for seventh and eighth graders who are exploring their interest in nursing careers. The camp was a unique partnership among a county public school system, a local university, and an integrated healthcare system. The program, developed by the system nurses in consultation with middle school educators, introduced students to the nursing profession via demonstrations, site visits at multiple hospitals, role-playing, discussions, and a trip to the local nursing school to experience life as a nursing student. The authors discuss the planning, implementation, and outcome of this unique summer camp.

Development and psychometric testing of an instrument to compare career choice influences and perceptions of nursing among healthcare students

“…The influence in the developmental stage on career choice, spanning from school years to young adulthood, has long been established by a vocational psychologist [40, 41]. The exposure of students to healthcare-related work, including observing a healthcare professional at work has shown to draw students into a healthcare career [42, 43]. …”

“I know exactly what I'm going into”: recommendations for pre‐nursing experience from an evaluation of a pre‐nursing scholarship in rural Scotland

“…These findings confirm research from the USA (Drenkard et al . 2002, Daumer & Britson 2003) that pre‐nursing experience supports nurse recruitment and retention as aspirant nurses assess their suitability for nursing. However, our study extends this evidence by outlining the educational experiences, practice exposures and underpinning processes that contributed to the realization of these outcomes.…”

“…Internationally, a range of approaches to pre‐nursing experience have been adopted by various healthcare, corporate and academic organizations, including: work experience, such as the Step into the NHS programme in the UK (NHS Careers, 2015); immersive overseas clinical placements provided by companies such as GapMedics to prospective nurses from the UK, USA, Canada and Australia in locations including Poland, Croatia, Tanzania and Thailand (GapMedics 2015); and nursing camps organized by academic institutions, especially in the USA (Drenkard et al . 2002, Daumer & Britson 2003, Matutina, 2008). …”

“…Drenkard et al . (2002) describe a Nursing Exploration Summer Camp which enabled twenty pupils aged 12‐15 years to experience nursing through hands‐on experience at local hospitals, attending classes in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and interacting with university nursing students. After camp, students who considered nursing as a future career increased from 70% ( n  = 14)‐90% ( n  = 18) (Drenkard et al .…”

“…After camp, students who considered nursing as a future career increased from 70% ( n  = 14)‐90% ( n  = 18) (Drenkard et al . 2002). Similarly, Daumer and Britson (2003) discuss a 4‐day nursing camp for high school pupils that incorporated job shadowing, CPR and first aid certification, lectures and social activities, that accrued credit for college entry.…”