In an effort to combat the nursing shortage, Chamberlain University St. Louis hosted 45 students from South Tech High School at “Experience Nursing Day” on April 11.
“Nursing is in such high demand. There are nearly 10,000 – think about that for a minute, let that soak in your brain – 10,000 open RN (registered nurse) positions just in the state of Missouri. The majority of those are concentrated in the St. Louis and Kansas City areas,” Tammy Keesey – president of Chamberlain University College of Nursing, St. Louis campus – said. “We need you.”
Following a brief introduction in which the students discussed their future goals within the medical field, they were split into five groups of nine people. Each group – led by Chamberlain nursing students – rotat-ed between five stations: injections, the SIMLab, hand hygiene and microscopes, Stop the Bleed and “What’s Wrong with This?”
Self-explanatory, the injections station gave students the chance to practice measuring, drawing and injecting shots into fake skin. They also practiced capping the needle safely after finishing the injection, ensuring not to stab themselves with the needle.
One of the most popular stations of the day, the SIMLab – or “simulation lab” – gave students the chance to practice using stethoscopes to listen to heartbeats on state-of-the-art patient mannequins. Realistic-looking, the mannequins breathe, blink and have stretchy skin; their gender and age can change; they can be made pregnant or postpartum; they can have stomach contents, bladder contents, an ostomy, a catheter or a trach, and medication can be run in them through IVs.
The hand hygiene and microscopes station allowed students to examine bacteria from their own mouths, as well as inspect disected animals’ organs, while at Stop the Bleed, students practiced how to pack a wound and how to apply a tourniquet.
At “What’s Wrong with This?” students identified mishaps – from mannequins falling out of beds, tubes put in the wrong place and waste not properly disposed of – in simulated hospital rooms.
Overall, students had a positive reaction to the event, particularly emphasizing the importance of and their appreciation for the hands-on experience, the introduction to different nursing specialties and the opportunity to see a different type of college campus.
“I think of it as keeping an open mind to different colleges and seeing in person what fits well for each person,” Mehlville High School junior and South Tech student Julia Maddox said. “It’s really cool that they’re showing us all their equipment and letting us touch it.”
Chamberlain University hosts “Experience Nursing Day” events on average eight times a year, open to all different types of schools. The group of 45 South Tech students was one of the largest the volunteers had ever seen.
