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| Cynthia Diefenbeck (left), instructor and undergraduate recruiter in the Department of Nursing, and senior nursing student Natasha Gilkey (right) show 8-year-old Becky Connor how to use a stethoscope at the open house and career fair in McDowell Hall. |
The youngsters who gathered in McDowell Hall last Saturday might someday be part of the solution to a growing crisis in health care—the nationwide shortage of nurses.
The Beta Xi chapter of the Sigma Theta Tau international nursing honor society sponsored the open house, designed to give children in kindergarten through sixth grade a firsthand look at what nurses do and encourage them to think about a career in nursing. Students and faculty from the Department of Nursing will host the event again on Saturday, April 20, from 1-3 p.m.
“By the time kids are in high school, when a lot of career fairs are held, they often have already decided on a career,” Pia Inguito, an instructor in nursing who helped students organize the event, said. “We thought this was a good time to bring nursing to the attention of younger children, so they might continue to see it as an option as they get older. We wanted to try to do something to address the shortage.”
Children attending the open house were treated to displays, including hospital beds inhabited by mannequins, and were able to try out such equipment as stethoscopes. Refreshments were served, and youngsters saw a video titled, “I Might Want to Be a Nurse” and interacted with University nursing students. One visitor, 8-year-old Becky Connor of Newark, Del., said she enjoyed listening to her heartbeat and holding a model of an infant, although she was still leaning toward a career as a veterinarian.
“I know she wants to be a vet, but I thought this would be an interesting way to expose her to other possibilities,” her mother, Sue Connor, said.
“I think the younger you start kids thinking about nursing, the better the chance that there won’t be a shortage in the future,” Natasha Gilkey, HNS 2002, said as she showed children around the open house. “I always liked hospitals, and I always wanted to work in one.”
For more information about the April 20 open house in McDowell Hall, which is free and open to the public, call (302) 831-8376.
April 16, 2002
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