CRITERIA

The aging of America's baby boomers, and the increased demand for nurses in specialized areas of care have combined to create a serious need for nurses. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services predicts a shortfall of 635,000 to 1,754,000 nurses by 2020. The result is that the future for nurses has never looked brighter! Nursing is a profession that involves the use of your intelligence, skill and compassion to make a difference in peoples' lives. Completing this interest project will increase your knowledge of the variety of career opportunities available in nursing and will increase your awareness of the growing need for nurses. Books, magazines, videos, Internet sites, nursing professionals, nursing schools, and nursing organizations are available as resources for this project.

PURPOSE

To increase the knowledge of youth concerning the variety of career opportunities available in the nursing profession, focusing on exploring the need for nurses, the many roles of nurses, education requirements, resources available for those pursuing careers in nursing as well as general health and wellness information.

REQUIREMENTS

To earn this patch individuals will complete at least one activity in each program area.:

CAREER EXPLORATION

1) Shadow a Nurse - Contact your local hospital, doctor's office, health clinic, school nurse, camp nurse or any nurse you know, and ask if you can shadow them for a day or half day - whatever their schedule allows. Document all the activities you observe. Answer the following questions:
1. What roles does the nurse perform?
2. How does the nurse incorporate science and math into his or her roles?
3. What kind of leadership, organizational, or decision-making skills does the nurse use in her/his position?
4. Would you want to work as a nurse? Why or Why not?

2) Research Nursing Programs - Research the various types of nursing programs offered in Mississippi, the types of degrees offered, and the entrance requirements. After finding this information, decide what school you would attend and what classes and/or other requirements you would need to get accepted into the school.

3) Do Research on a Famous Nurse - Have the students break up into groups to conduct research on a famous nurse, focusing on who the nurse was, what contributions she/he made to nursing and society, and how she/he influenced new ideas about health care delivery.

4) Visit a Nursing School - Interview a Nursing Student, or a Nursing Instructor. Ask for a tour of the facility. Document your observations.

5) Research Nursing Scholarships - Investigate scholarships available for students interested in attending Nursing School. What are the requirements? Who's eligible? Are there more scholarships offered for specialized areas of study? Do scholarships differ depending on the type of degree you are seeking or the type of school you attend? Document your findings.

6) Explore Nursing Variety - Visit these websites: http://www.healthresources.org, http://www.discovernursing.com, http://www.bhpr.hrsa.gov/nursing/, http://www.nursesource.org, and identify at least five settings nurses can work; five areas of practice nurses can specialize in; and three different patient populations nurses can work with.

EDUCATIONAL LESSONS

1) Proper hand-washing technique - Visit the website: www.microbe.org and learn the importance of proper hand-washing in general and in the healthcare setting. Design an activity to teach younger students how to properly wash their hands (i.e. have the students rub glitter on their hands and then wash them to see how well they can get the glitter off their hands). Have older students design a research project that could be performed to measure the impact of hand washing behavior change.

2) Create Information on Health Promotion or Safety- Design a poster, storyboard or videotape depicting the importance of a healthy lifestyle and/or healthy behaviors - Design a poster of the basic food groups and the recommended serving for each group, not smoking, weight control, immunizations, seat-belt use, or helmet-use or conduct an activity at a school or in the community that emphasizes health promotion or safety, such as a bike rode.

3) Create Information on an Illness or Condition - Put together a short information guide on a particular disease, condition, or illness, such as asthma, diabetes, cancer, depression that could be shared with a patient or family. The emphasis should be on where to find additional information about the disease, condition or illness and what resources exist in the community to help persons and families with the disease, illness or condition learn more or get support.

4) Investigate Teen Drug Abuse - Design a storyboard or story about the effects of drugs on the body.

5) Learn How a Body System Works - As an individual or a group, select a body system and understand how that body system works. Use a nurse, health educator or other health care provider to help in gaining that understanding.

6) Visit a Health Club or Recreation Center - Visit a YMCA, Boys & Girls Club or Health Club. Speak to a personal trainer. Ask how exercise contributes to health. Investigate various sports and sports medicine. Teach a friend or family member how to perform exercises you have learned or develop an exercise program for yourself and document what you did each day in a diary and how you felt after doing the exercise.

SKILL BUILDERS

1) Earn your CPR certification - CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation). Visit the American Heart Association website at: www.americanheart.org to find a Basic Life Support Heartsaver Course (or any CPR course) near you. This is an entry-level course that offers guidelines for one-rescuer adult, child, and infant cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

2) Earn First Aid certification - This course is usually offered through the American Red Cross. Visit the Mississippi Red Cross website at: www.mississippi-redcross.org/centralms/ to find your local Red Cross.

3) Attend Babysitting "How To" Workshop - The Babysitter's Training course provides youths ages 11-15, with the information and skills necessary to provide safe and responsible care for children in the absence of parents or guardians. This course is usually offered through your local Red Cross.

SERVICE PROJECTS

1) Participate in a Community Health Project - (Cancer Walk, Blood Drives, Diabetes, Heart, Breast Cancer Walks, Screening, etc.). Find ways to participate, other than raising money. Help with registration, offer water, provide sun protection, etc. Write a brief statement of how the Health Project helped the community as well as what you learned about the illness/condition and how it impacts those who are coping with the disease.

2) Volunteer four (4) hours in a health care facility - Volunteer your time in a doctor's office, health clinic, hospital, retirement or nursing center. Document your observations.

3) Do a project for a health care facility - Contact a doctor's office, health clinic, hospital, retirement or nursing center to find out what project might be done to meet a need in that organization. Examples might be collecting magazines for offices or residents, donating and taping books for use by the elderly or pediatric patients, collecting toys for donation to a pediatric unit, designing a "boredom" box with activities for patients who are hospitalized, decorating a nursing home unit for a holiday event, planning a special event for the residents of a nursing home, etc.

TECHNOLOGY

1) Learn about Equipment and Supplies Used by Nurses - Nurses use lots of different equipment and supplies in caring for patients. Get a nurse to tell you about this equipment, how it works, and when it's used. For some equipment - such as pulse oximeters, dopplers, stethoscopes, thermometers, glucose monitors, students may also have an opportunity to practice with the equipment.

Special Thanks go to the NC Association of Nursing Students, the NC Center for Nursing and the NC Nurses Association for development and implementation of the Nursing Exploration Patch Program.

For additional information contact:

Rosalyn Smith-Howard
MHA Health Careers Center
116 Woodgreen Crossing (39110)
P.O. Box 1909
Madison, MS 39130-1909
Telephone: (601) 368-3244