Adventures in Nursing campers get firsthand look at careers

The “patient” comes through the doors of the Emergency Room at MercyOne Genesis strapped to a backboard, neck immobilized, her injuries visible and her pain at a ‘10’ on a 1-10 scale with 10 being the worst.  She’s been in an auto accident, may have an open break of her femur, lacerations on her head, […]

The “patient” comes through the doors of the Emergency Room at MercyOne Genesis strapped to a backboard, neck immobilized, her injuries visible and her pain at a ‘10’ on a 1-10 scale with 10 being the worst.  She’s been in an auto accident, may have an open break of her femur, lacerations on her head, and needs an MRI of her chest.  The team in the ER trauma room – a mix of nurses and impossibly young looking helpers – spring into action. Everyone has a responsibility. The goal is to get through the ABCDE acronym (airway, breathing, circulation, disability and exposure) before sending her off for more specialized treatment.  The helpers on Wednesday, July 16, are high school students enrolled in the hospital’s GAIN camp getting firsthand experience in what a career in health care might look like. The patient is a volunteer. Her injuries come mostly from makeup and imagination, but the work looks very real. The ER is one scenario of several that hospital staff created so students can get their hands dirty.  Cheryl Johnson has been coordinating the Genesis Adventures in Nursing camp since 2017, and has seen several campgoers end up as colleagues at MercyOne Genesis. The camp has been running since 2009. In fact, a 2022 survey found that 17% of MercyOne Genesis employees attended a GAIN session.  “It’s a great way for them to get a look at the field and see first hand what different specialities look like,” she said Wednesday during the mock exercise held at MercyOne Genesis East Medical Center in Davenport. “They do a lot of listening, but we make an effort to give them hands-on activities so they can see what it’s like. I think it makes a big impact.” 

'Really cool’ experience

GAIN Camp 2025, which was open to students from Ninth to 12th grade, began Monday, July 14, and runs through Friday, July 18. In addition to the ER scenario, the students also got a close-up look at the MedForce helicopter ambulance service.  “That was really cool, I hadn’t really thought about (being a helicopter ambulance nurse) until today,” said Marcella Healy, a soon-to-be senior at Alleman Catholic School in Rock Island. “I’m good at stress and I can deal with small spaces and I’m short enough.” 

Alana Mitchell, who will be a junior this coming year at Mercer County High School, said she’s wanted to be a nurse since she was in the seventh grade.   “This is something that I've always really wanted to do,” she said.  The camp also “has really opened my eyes to all the opportunities that they have and all the different positions that I didn't know about or it just made me more interested in them,” she added.  I really liked the surgery.” Students practiced removing candy from a simulated chest with laparoscopic tools as part of their GAIN Camp experience.   

Expanding horizons

Kyla Andrews, a 15-year-old ninth grader at Davenport Central High School, was pretty convinced she wanted to be a nurse in the birthing center, but the OR experience has her rethinking her path.  “It was really interesting,” she said. “I don't like to be trapped in a box, like I don't want to feel like I can only do one thing.”  On Thursday, July 17, the camp was set to  offer a mock birth experience, where the simulated mother, Victoria, will give birth and the students help birth the baby. So Ms. Andrews’ path might change again. 

Ms. Healy was interested in the ER, and enjoyed the mock trauma work.  “It was really cool, really interesting,” she said. “It felt like we were treating a real patient, because she would cry out in pain and complain a lot. We also did other things like practice putting in IVs, and we went and we did like an Operating Room simulation.” She knows health care is what she wants to do, just not sure where she wants to do it.  “(It’s been a big help) trying to figure out if nursing was right for me and if so, which type of nursing was right,” Ms. Healy said. “Like I know there's definitely things that we've done, that's definitely not for me. But I know there's other ones especially like the ER I was ‘OK, this could definitely be something I want to do.’”