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DiversityNursing Blog

MultiCare Camp Helps High School Students Hone Nursing Career Path

Posted by Erica Bettencourt

Thu, Jul 27, 2017 @ 10:21 AM

TNT_Nurse_Camp_0001.jpgFor 14 years, MultiCare hosts a week-long Nurse Camp in the Summer for students who want to work in the medical field. Since there will be a growing demand for Nurses as baby boomers retire and leave the field, this program helps students get a head start on experience and learning.

Puyallup High School junior Adrianna Boyce was confident she wanted to get a job in the medical field.

But it wasn’t until she job shadowed in the emergency department as part of MultiCare Heath System’s Nurse Camp that she knew it was for her.

“Being in the thick of things, it was great,” Boyce said.

Boyce was one of more than 100 students from all over the South Sound who were accepted into MultiCare’s 14th annual Nurse Camp. The week-long event, held July 17 to 22, gives students the chance to job shadow nurses and other staff members at several MultiCare hospitals, including Tacoma General Hospital and Good Samaritan Hospital in Puyallup. 

Students also participated in hands-on duties, including inserting IVs, practicing suturing and sitting in on surgeries.

On July 20, a group of more than 20 students visited Good Sam for job shadowing in the progressive care, cardiac care, imaging, intensive care, surgical, children’s therapy and family birth center units.

“The intent is to get anyone interested in working in a hospital to come here and see if it’s a good fit,” said Mark Swart, media relations manager for MultiCare.

That was the conclusion for Boyce, who heard about the program through her medical terminology teacher at PHS.

“She said it’s a really good experience,” Boyce said.

Not only does it look good on college applications, said Boyce, but participating in Nurse Camp taught her skills that will help her in the long run as she continues her studies.

“Not just learning through books, but being on the floor is super helpful,” she said.

Gabby Timmons attends Cascade Christian High School in Puyallup and enjoyed her experience at Nurse Camp so far, especially in the emergency department.

“I thought it was cool how fast-paced it was,” she said. “... I’ve always wanted to help people.”

Timmons also watched registered nurse Laura Headley cut a newborn’s umbilical cord at Good Sam’s Family Birth Center.

Swart said that the demand for nurses will rise in the future as baby boomers retire. Inspiring and preparing students early on is important to motivate them to pursue careers in the medical field.

“I’m learning a lot here,” Boyce said. “It’s all going to help me in the long run.”

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Topics: high school students, MultiCare, Nurse Camp

Nursing program readies high school students

Posted by Alycia Sullivan

Wed, Feb 06, 2013 @ 11:08 AM

BY CHILTON TIPPIN

With a baby on the way, Desharia Uribe, then 17, put her hopes in the Nurses Aid Program atdescribe the image Whiting High.

“I wanted to be a nurse,” she said. “And I knew this program would get my foot in the door.”

She enrolled in the program at the start of her senior year in 2005. Upon graduation in 2006, she was ready to take the Certified Nursing Assistant Test, administered by The Wyoming State Board of Nursing. She worked for about a year, saving money to take the test, and passed it in 2007. The Spring Wind Assisted Living and Memory Care Community hired her for her first job as a CNA shortly thereafter. She was 19, and her career was just beginning.

“Had I been a typical student, without a baby to care for, I could have taken my boards even sooner,” Uribe said.

Lorraine Saulino-Klein, a registered nurse and instructor of the course, which is also offered for Laramie High students, said about 40 juniors and seniors go through the program each year. They graduate with the knowledge and skill set to work in one of the fastest growing industries in the community: health care.

“This Nurses Aid program fills a tremendous niche,” Saulino-Klein said. “I have students in every medical institution or organization in this town.”

Since the program began eight years ago, about 98 percent of Saulino-Klein’s students have passed the course and the CNA exam, she said.

Ursula Harrision, principal at Whiting, revived the program after it had been defunct for nearly a decade. She was looking for an instructor to teach it, and Saulino-Klein filled that void.

“It’s a vocational program,” Harrison said. “And I particularly looked for programs that people could use to get jobs in this town.”

The course certifies students with the American Heart Association in CPR, AED and basic first aid. In the first nine-week period, students work with Saulino-Klein in the classroom, learning about the theories and tools used for the care of patients.

The second nine-week period is geared toward clinical experience. Students spend 40 hours at Ivinson Memorial Hospital and Laramie Care Center, working with patients and filling in journals, which they review periodically with Saulino-Klein. At the end of the semester-long course, students graduate with three college credits, awarded by Laramie County Community College.

Once they pass the CNA test, “they can go right out and get a job,” Saulino-Klein said.

“And these are decent paying jobs, too.”

Her students have spread into dozens of niches within the field of health care, from medics in the military to nurses in hospice or the surgical unit at the Laramie Premier Bone & Joint Center. Two of her students from the flagship class went on to become doctors.

Jamie Rhodine, a senior in this year’s program, said she decided to enroll because CNA certification is a prerequisite for pre-medical school.

“My plan is to hopefully get a CNA job this summer in Laramie,” she said.

This fall, Rhodine plans to enroll at the University of Wyoming to pursue a registered-nursing degree. After working for a few years as a nurse, she wants to go back to school for her doctorate.

“(The program) made me excited to see how large the field is and how many opportunities I have,” Rhodine said.

Brenna Westhoff, also a senior in the program, is going into pre-medical school at the University of Kansas on scholarship in the fall.

She plans to go on to medical school and specialize in pediatric oncology and hematology. For her, the program’s benefits stem not only from the experience, but from getting to see the medical practice from a nurse’s point of view.

“I’m excited to have the clinical time under Ms. Saulino-Klein,” she said. “It gives me experience on the opposite end of what I want to do, so I’m kind of getting the full spectrum of the medical field.”

Uribe said she gained everything from Saulino-Klein’s course. After landing her first CNA job with Spring Wind, she worked for four years in a home health agency. During those years, she cared for her first and second child and put herself through nursing school at Laramie County Community College.

This May, she graduates from LCCC with a registered-nursing degree.

The Nurses Aid program “gave me a responsible job to care for my child that I have,” she said. “The whole school at Whiting was supportive over everything. They really do find ways to set you up to be successful for life after high school.”

Uribe said Saulino-Klein will be the first person she invites to her graduation.

Topics: nursing program, high school students, nurses aid, Wyoming, Whiting High

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