Day in the Life of a Nurse
MCH was an early pioneer with the Nursing Shortage Consortium of South Florida, in developing Miami Dade County's "Day in the Life of a Nurse" program. This day is for High School students.

Over 500 students from various high schools spend time with RN's and hospitals. The students and school faculty are excited to better under-stand the preparation needed for nursing as a career, including computer skills, writing and advanced science skills.



The Future of Nursing Summer Internship
Miami Children's Hospital offers a summer internship for High School Students with an interest in the profession of Nursing. This internship is designed to give the student a first hand look at nursing through classroom and clinical experiences.

Students attend classes in the mornings and team up with a nurse in the afternoon in various specialty areas, including the Operating Room, the Emergency Room and the Intensive Care Units. In addition, during this program students learn valuable college preparation and career planning skills.

For more information, please contact: Rachel Philotas, RN, BSN.



Future Nurses Clubs
Future Nurse's Clubs bring together RN's at Miami Children's Hospital (MCH) with high school students of all ages, to share their knowledge and experience, acting as mentors to students. Communication from RN's at MCH, with club officers, is face to face or through e-mail, allowing an open avenue of communication and planning for meetings and activities. High school students are encouraged to enter initially as volunteers and work at MCH while they are attending a nursing program.

Led by Students
Meetings are held monthly during school hours to encourage student participation. Various speakers are invited by MCH to come to the school to discuss topics chosen by the students. These topics have included: critical thinking skills, West Nile virus, bio-terrorism, neonatal nursing, trauma nursing, the role of men in nursing, growth and development, leadership roles and college preparation. Clinical experiences are provided for the students by allowing them to visit MCH to have an opportunity to observe the role of nurses and other health care professionals in the hospital setting. This student-driven program helps to promote professionalism by giving students full responsibility for electing club officers, choosing a topic of interest for discussion, developing community projects, (e.g. organ donation) and participating in fund raising activities.

Community Project
The community project is chosen each year by the students. They choose a topic of relevance, research the topic and then they are required to provide education to a targeted community.

Partnership
The partnership of the Future Nurses Club with Miami-Dade County schools has allowed students to learn first-hand about the nursing profession, a profession that is currently experiencing a critical shortage. By exposing students at the high school level, it gives them appropriate information about the profession; and by providing mentors, it is a goal of the program to interest students in the nursing profession as a career choice. By providing a long-term mentoring relationship with MCH nursing staff, it allows students a more supportive transition into the health care profession.

Resources
National Student Nurse's Association - offers scholarships and information
www.nsna.org.