UW Nurse Camp Offers Support to Underrepresented HS Students

UW Nurse Camp Offers Support to Underrepresented HS Students

by | Jun 24, 2019 | Blog, Nursing Careers, Nursing Diversity, Nursing Students | 0 comments

When Carolyn A. Chow, MA, currently an HR recruiter and inclusion program lead at Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, was the director of admissions and student diversity at the University of Washington (UW), she co-founded their successful UW Nurse Camp, which still continues today.

“For schools and colleges who want to make a longitudinal difference in the future of nursing and health equity, a program like UW Nurse Camp is a win-win for high schoolers, current nursing students who are mentored to be leaders, and nurses who want to make a difference in the lives of the high schoolers who shadow them,” says Chow. “Costs to run the program are completely covered by community donations.”

Chow took time to answer our questions about the camp.

You co-founded the UW Nurse Camp in 2009 while on staff. Why did you start it? Had you been thinking about it for a while?

We had a very dedicated team of student leaders who wanted to create a group that was for building community and mentorship opportunities among students of color in the nursing program. In 2007, we sat down to talk about ways we could do that. So, UW Nurse Camp became a way we could have underrepresented students have professional mentors, be mentors to fellow students and high schoolers, build community through a specific year-long project, and to provide a pipeline of “first in their family to go to college” as well as underrepresented-in-nursing applicants who would get support from UW School of Nursing through the program. It took two years of fundraising in the community and organizing before we launched the camp in summer 2009 with 24 campers. In 2018, the camp expanded to hosting 36 campers.

What is nurse camp, exactly? How long does it last and who attends?

UW Nurse Camp is a five-day, Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. day camp. This year’s camp is July 15-19, 2019. UW Nurse Camp accepts applications from February 1 to April 15. High school sophomores and juniors who are underrepresented and/or first in their family to go to college are encouraged to apply. While most applicants are from Washington state, the camp has also had campers from California, Oregon, Maryland, and Illinois.

UW Nurse Camp is run completely by staff, nursing students, and community volunteers. Former campers who became UW BSN students are mentored to be UW Nurse Camp Leads, where they run the program so they can “give back” by sharing their success stories and serving as inspiration to future campers.

What do the high school students learn at UW Nurse Camp? 

The curriculum for UW Nurse Camp is designed to introduce high schoolers to the profession of nursing and everything it has to offer as a meaningful career. We focus on what a powerful difference diverse high school students can make in the promoting health equity. The sessions are taught and supervised by current and diverse UW Nursing students, alumni, staff, faculty, and community members. Campers also shadow nurses taking care of real patients and their families at the University of Washington Medical Center (UWMC).

From the UW Nurse Camp website:

  • Shadowing nurses at UWMC in various hospital units
  • Completing CPR certification and HIPAA training
  • Learning:
    • about infection control and proper hand washing techniques
    • how to take blood pressure and vitals
    • how to prepare for college and getting into nursing school
    • in the School of Nursing learning and simulation lab and UW Medicine’s WWAMI Institute for Simulation in Healthcare (WISH) Lab
  • Participating in nursing “speed rounds,” where you will meet and talk with nurses working in all areas of health care, including forensics, public health, emergency and research
  • Touring the UW Seattle campus

Why is it important to have this? What does it bring to the students that they may not get otherwise?

UW Nurse Camp is so important for students at all levels. Campers have access to a program that supports and teaches them about nursing and college educational opportunities. They get ongoing mentorship throughout camp and then continued support beyond from UW nursing students and alumni who are professional nurses. They meet diverse nurses in all different areas of nursing. In addition, they are continually advised by admissions staff on how to apply successfully to the UW BSN program and ways to prepare themselves to be competitive nursing applicants.

Current UW students are mentored with UW Nurse Camp as a leadership program. As UW Nurse Camp Leads, the students volunteer their time and efforts through the entire academic year to plan the UW Nurse Camp experience, including engaging in professional communication with camp speakers and instructors. They are mentored by School of Nursing staff in advising and youth program risk management. Additionally, the nursing students conduct the UW Nurse Camp admissions process.

Would you like to see this branch out and be something that other nursing schools offer? Why?

Absolutely. This is an incredibly successful program that supports underrepresented and first in their family to go college high schoolers in their journey to become professional nurses. They get to see diverse nursing students and professional nurses in action. The students also have inspiration and validation that they can make it through the nursing admissions process, and they gain networking contacts to support them throughout their process of graduating from high school, getting volunteer opportunities, completing prerequisites, and applying to college and nursing school.

Do most students who attend end up going into nursing? How do you think that UW Nurse Camp influences them?

According to a survey of former UW Nurse Campers, 50% of attendees pursued or are pursuing nursing. Another 30% pursue other health care careers. Finally, 20% opt for non-health-related majors. UW Nurse Camp influences them because as high schoolers they get access to professional nurses and clinical situations at the UWMC as well as support from UW nursing students, staff, and faculty. They gain access to role models in nursing who are committed to helping them to succeed in the profession. UW Nurse Camp demystifies the journey to becoming a nurse.

Interested in learning more about UW Nurse Camp? Visit here.

Vital Nurse Mentorship at Stanford Health Care

Vital Nurse Mentorship at Stanford Health Care

by | Jan 26, 2019 | Blog, Certification, Nursing Careers, Nursing Stress Management, Nursing Students | 0 comments

From a student nurse deciding on a career path to a seasoned nurse looking to advance into administration, each step along a nurse’s career is filled with questions. Fortunately, mentors in the nursing industry are becoming a more visible presence.

The Nurse Mentorship Program at Stanford Health Care is one such valued and valuable mentoring program. Introduced in 2004 for graduate nurses, the program now encompasses a range of nurses in different areas of their careers.

Minority Nurse spoke with associate chief nursing officer for inpatient services and magnet program director at Stanford Health Care at Stanford University Anita Girard and with Stanford’s program manager of nursing excellence Kevin Tsui about the distinct benefits of this kind of program.

Girard and Tsui say many nurses seek mentoring for varied reasons. They might seek leadership advice or they might want guidance for switching specialties. Still others may be looking for assistance with specific tasks such as writing or giving a top-notch presentation at a conference.

Any nurse can gain from a mentoring relationship, says Girard, but a specific benefit is one that will help a nurse professionally and personally. “The biggest benefit is the networking nurses have being in a mentoring program,” she says. “Mentoring opens you up to a whole new world.”

Tsui agrees and notes the satisfaction nurses reap from establishing a firm footing in their careers and having someone who can help guide them. The resulting good feelings lead to happier nurses, and the benefits stretch far. “Those mentoring connections streamline goals, build positivity and retention, and nurses feel a sense of control,” he says.

Nurses, says Girard, can feel siloed. Despite being in the same profession, nurses have varying specialties and may not have opportunities to hear from nurses in different areas. Mentoring includes both the one-on-one discussions and the larger access to others in the industry that becomes available. “Mentoring gets you out of that box,” says Girard.

So how does a mentoring relationship benefit the nurses and their organizations? According to Tsui, “It’s crucial. By sharing an organization’s mission, vision, and values, it makes transparent the format for mentoring,” he says.

Nurses in a mentoring relationship within the same organization are working within the same culture, so are able to set clear goals and create objectives that are going to be important to the nurse’s career within that organization and in the larger industry. Often, says Girard, mentors will give guidance based on what they already know about the organization. They will be able to help a nurse put priorities in order for certification, advancement, skills development, and personal improvement.

Mentors are also able to be objective about a nurse’s path, so they can help nurses align their goals and use their own knowledge to help a nurse achieve those goals, says Tsui.

A mentoring relationship is definitely a give and take, says Girard. “You really need to make an effort to understand why you want to get into a mentoring relationship in the first place,” she says. And mentees need to make a solid commitment and understand that any mentoring activity needs to be given top priority, she says.

Mentees are responsible for reaching out, setting up clear timelines, and even using tools to streamline online tasks such as emails and calendar appointments. Any communication should have an agenda with clear and succinct ideas and questions. By doing this, the mentee shows the mentor clear goals and intentions mean they have a goal for mentoring and that it will be productive.

Tsui says that sometimes mentees are not clear about the process and expect the mentor to initiate or complete tasks for them. Instead they need to keep in mind they need to be committed to change and driven to use the guidance of the mentor to advance their goals.

At Stanford Health Care, the mentoring program satisfies a magnet hospital requirement, but the benefits have been extensive. “We are driven to excellence,” says Girard. “It is a journey of innovation and inquiry and what we can do to make things better.”

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