MACC Hosts Summer Nursing Academy

Moberly Area Community College hosted a Summer Nursing Academy held June 11-13, allowing high school students from Macon, Mexico, Moberly, and surrounding schools to explore nursing as a career.  It was free of charge to the nine participants, entering grades 10-12, and was held at the MACC campus.  Funding for the academy was provided through a three-year Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA) grant.   

“This [academy] gives students an opportunity to see if health care is something they want to do,” said Lori Bonnot, program manager at the Missouri League for Nursing and grant coordinator.     

During the three-day camp, students participated in a number of sessions that gave them a sense of what to expect if they choose to pursue nursing as a career.  Classes included a “Scrub Lab” that allowed students to practice gowning and hand washing technique; a “Vital Signs Lab” where the students learned from MACC nursing faculty how to monitor blood pressure, pulse, respirations and body temperature; an anatomy class; a CPR certification course; a communications class that stressed the importance of effectively communicating with patients and other health care professionals; and a session about the ACT, a college assessment exam.  In addition to classes, they also took field trips to local health care facilities.       

Field trip destinations included Audrain Medical Center, Moberly Regional Hospital and Loch Haven Nursing Home.  The students were given the opportunity at these sites to shadow nursing professionals at work in the Emergency Room, Operating Room, Obstetrics & Nursery, Cardiac Catheterization Lab and more. 

“It gives them an opportunity to see different aspects of nursing, because nursing is such a wide and varied field,” said Stephanie Householder, an RN and clinical educator at AMC.  “You can move around, and if you get tired of one field, there’s another one, and that’s the great thing about it.”

Kari Wilson, vice president at Audrain Medical Center said she was pleased to be a part of the academy.  Wilson said, “The students get a sample of what we do and hopefully will return down the road to work here.  With the nursing shortage, this type of program is especially important.”

This was the final year of grant funding for the academy, which began in 2005, but MACC is currently exploring ways to provide the academy in the future.  With a recognized need for programs that support nursing as a profession, it is hopeful that the academy will become a yearly event.

 

2007 Nursing Academy Participants—Front row (l to r):  Lori Bonnot, MLN Program Manager; Kristen Woodward; Angelica Johnson; Rachel VanAlstine; Regina Pritchett; Michelle Yount, co-chaperon; Back row (l to r):  Ruth Jones, Director of Allied Health at MACC; Mattie Adams; Lauren Jerichow; Emily Miller; Kayle Martin; Patricia Spradlin and Susan Gheens, co-chaperon.

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