“Are you guys new nurses here?”
On October 3rd, BYU nursing students hosted President’s Leadership Council members and their families at the Mary Jane Rawlinson Geertson Nursling Learning Center (NLC). This was part of the President’s Leadership Council Family Reunion that is organized every few years for major donors of the University and their families.
Families could attend a variety of sessions across the university, including a session with the College of Nursing. Some families came to the College of Nursing because they graduated from the program, or one of their family members did; others attended because their kids were interested in pursuing medicine.
The families were taken through four stations operated by nursing students. Activities were targeted toward kids, teaching them some basic principles and making them feel like nurses for a day.
At one station, kids dressed wounds on child manikins. Nursing students painted wounds on the manikins and then taught the kids how to apply bandages. The kids were quick learners and gentle caregivers, even telling their “patients” that they should get some rest and take medicine for their injuries.
At another station, the kids were taught how to put on personal protective equipment so they could take care of patients with infectious diseases. The nursing students gave the kids stethoscopes and taught them how to listen to the heart and lungs of their patients. The kids also got to converse with one manikin: they asked him how he was feeling (kind of bad) and asked his favorite color (purple).
The nursing students then brought the kids behind the scenes to learn how the manikins work—how they see and talk and cough. The kids were able to see the manikin used for labor and delivery simulations and even hold the baby manikin.
At a third station, nursing students put glo gel on each person’s hands, had them wash their hands, and then brought the families into a room with the lights off. Using a UV light, the kids were able to see how much of the glo gel was still on their hands—or, in other words, how well they washed their hands.
Many of them discovered that their hand washing was not as thorough as they thought. They washed their hands again, paying particular attention to the places they had missed before. Nursing students told them to remember this experience the next time they wash their hands.
The last station was an interactive digital cadaver, which the kids used to study different parts of the body, like the heart, lungs, and nervous system. They also used the otoscope, a device used to look at a patient’s ear canal, hooked up to a TV screen.
Most kids were hesitant to have their own ears examined, but they jumped at the opportunity to look into their parent’s ears. One little girl, Cami, said “I want to look in mom’s ear!” After using the otoscope for her check-up, she gave her mom the all-clear: “Your's looks good, mom!”
When asked about her favorite part of hosting the PLC family members, NLC Supervisor Gina Jackson said, “My favorite part of hosting the PLC family members at the Nursing Learning Center is having the opportunity to share with them some of the same skills and experiences their loved ones have practiced during their training. It’s a great way to connect families to the nursing journey and allow them a peek into some hands-on learning.”
Thank you to the students and NLC staff for making this experience possible for these visiting families—we look forward to continuing this tradition in future years.