Students take shot at nursing

Camp Wannabeanurse gives teens chance to shadow professionals

Reading charts. Verifying doses. On Oct. 5, area high school students had the chance to see what it's like to be a nurse. Camp Wannabeanurse was a one-day overview that offered an introduction to nursing through shadowing nurses, educational activities, guest speakers from the fields of nursing (therapy, respiratory, radiology and pharmacy), and tours.

The program is new and was held at two area hospitals -- Spring Valley Hospital, 5400 Rainbow Blvd., and Valley Hospital, 620 Shadow Lane. Students were from Boulder City, Rancho, Centennial, Arbor View and Basic high schools, the Southeast Career Technical Academy and the Las Vegas Academy. About a dozen students were at each site.

"This is an outstanding opportunity to introduce interested students into the world of nursing and other health-care careers," said Michele Nichols, director of education, learning and development for The Valley Health System. "It gives them an opportunity to learn about the different types of nursing care provided in the hospital setting, the personal and clinical skills of successful nurses, and how nursing interacts with other ancillary services to provide comprehensive, integrated care for the patients."

The day included watching a video on nurses who tended to people hurt in Hurricane Katrina. It was a situation that registered nurse Christine Kipp knew well. She had survived three hurricanes when she lived in Florida and was a nurse in Louisiana when Katrina struck. Her career has spanned 34 years.

Compared to when she was a student nurse, "everything is more complex now, the technology has really advanced health care," Kipp said.

She stressed to the students how nursing was a stable career choice and the demand will only grow. As baby boomers retire, the number of nurses will drop. Although there were nearly 2.7 million registered nurses in 2000, making up the largest group of health-care professionals in the United States, the RN population is growing at its slowest rate in 20 years. It's projected that by 2010, the U.S. will be almost a million nurses short, according to www.nasrecruitment.com.

Another nurse spoke about newborn and pediatric care. That area of nursing was of special interest to Derirae Sanchez, 16. The Basic High School student has wanted to be a nurse "since kindergarten ... I want to ask how a maternity nurse copes emotionally when something goes wrong," she said.

Rancho student Shante Long, 16, liked that nursing is "a field with a high demand and there are many different categories you can go into."

The next Camp Wannabeanurse event will take place later in the school year, but the date has not yet established.

"But we already have a waiting list for it," said Gretchen Papez, marketing director.

For more information, visit www.valleyhealthsys.com.