In the battle to create more nurses to fill the demand of America's
expanding healthcare system, many projects are being created. In Des
Moines, The Wellness Center invited 72 nursing students to attend
Nursing Action Day last month.
This three hour event was designed to give students the chance to learn
about the Grand View University nursing program.
Grand View is one of the few Des Moines schools to offer a four year
baccalaureate under-graduate nursing program.
As part of Nursing Action Day, students were given a tour of the
academic and residential buildings on Grand View's campus and had
questions answered about the institution and its nursing program. After
the tour, students were divided in to smaller 10-12 person groups and
were able to ask a panel of current and pre-nursing students questions
about the nursing program.
Grand View nursing senior Ashlee Whitfield said, "As a current nursing
major, it makes me excited to see so many interested pre-nursing
students on campus. I remember being in their shoes and feeling
overwhelmed with the options of choosing the right school for me. I
enjoy being a part of the action day in which I can share my experiences
and joys that I have had throughout my four years in the nursing program
at Grand View."
Another nursing senior, McKenzie McAdaragh, said. "Like most nursing
programs around the country, Grand View's program is challenging and
time consuming. Nursing Action Day is a good way to see if the
profession of nursing is the right choice for an individual. This
experience gives students a chance to learn the expectations and
qualities needed to become a nurse."
Students participating in Nursing Action Day then went to the center for
learning where they participated in six different stations which they
rotated between ever 25 minutes. Stations included interactive
presentations involving practice on medical dummies, listening to lungs,
and hand washing. Finally, students waled around and viewed the nursing
board and observe the types of activities the nurses are involved in.
Another question and answer session ended the day.
The Grand View University hopes that Nursing Action Day will show
students that the school provides a distinctive opportunity for students
to prepare for a variety of nursing work environments.
"At the Center for Learning we like to empathize how realistic we try to
make the atmosphere to an actual hospital room. Not only do we name each
mannequin and give them diagnosis, but we also provide each station with
an ambulation bag, suction kit, and curtain for privacy. This enables
the students to experience what it will be like to work in a hospital
room even before entering into the hospital," Whittfield said.