Megan Mraz RN, MSN Assistant Professor

West Chester University 

Christine Thomas RN, PhD

Associate Professor

West Chester University 

222 Sturzebecker Health Science Center West Chester, PA

 

Abstract

This manuscript looks at providing a nursing summer camp to school aged children with the hopes of sparking interest in the profession at a young age, as well as fostering the nursing spirit in children who may be considering the profession.  The camp was a proactive response to the nursing shortage in an attempt to introduce children to the many possible nursing career options.  The focus was to help children and their parents understand what nurses do and actions that could be taken during the middle and high school years to prepare for entering nursing school.  The camp provided an avenue for active nurses to share their love and passion of the nursing profession to the next generation of nurses.

 

Nursing Summer Camp: Recruiting the Next Generation of Nurses!

The nursing shortage is a substantial US healthcare concern. The most recent projection by Buerhaus, Staiger, & Auerbach (2009) note that the shortage of registered nurses (RNs) in the U.S. could reach as high as 500,000 by 2025. Additionally, the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics forecast jobs for registered nurses to grow at a much faster rate than the average for all occupations. This is evident as the need for RNs is expected to increase by 23% by 2016 (Dohm & Shniper, 2007).  Many strategies to increase funding and scholarships for nursing education nationwide are in place (American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 2008).  However, in order to fill this future need for nurses, young Americans need to choose nursing as a career option.  National media campaigns sponsored by Johnson & Johnson and Nurses for a Healthier Tomorrow are helping to gain the attention of young people who may consider becoming a nurse. At this time, the programs that sponsor this dissemination of information are primarily directed toward high school students. From this data, a gap in the upper elementary/ middle school age was identified. For this age group, one avenue that has gained popularity and interest among the high school students is nursing summer camp (Daumer & Britson, 2004; Mayo Clinic, 2008;Yeager & Cheever, 2007).

Based on this review of the literature, our local honor society attempted to tackle the nursing shortage by targeting elementary and middle school age children. The rationale of this decision was to first, to expose the children to nursing at a young age when they may first start having thoughts of a career; second, to reach children when they are at an impressionable developmental level and may have inaccurate ideas of what nurses do; third, it was the desire of the planning committee to reach children prior to making decision regarding class choices in their later middle school and high school curriculums.

The task of designing and implementing the camp was taken on by the university’s chapter of Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society. The camp served as an opportunity to bring members together and promote the nursing profession in a productive purposeful manner. The main goals of the camp were to: expose children to various specialties within nursing, and to promote a beginning understanding of career opportunities in nursing. While “helping people” is the primary reason of why many adolescents want to be a nurse, most nurses will tell you nursing is more than helping people. Applications of science, math, psychology, psychomotor skills, education, empathy, and caring (to name a few) are also required to be a nurse. Therefore, it became evident that the camp nurse volunteers would use their expertise in nursing, love of their profession, and knowledge of developmental education to help the children explore the vast opportunities that being a nurse can provide.

Camp Planning

One developmental age group was chosen as this was the first year and the camp was being set in motion. Additionally, one age group allowed for easy planning of appropriate social and cognitive activities. Room availability and the number of volunteer counselors prohibited planning for two different camps, so this evaluation of resources supported the need to have only one age group.

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