PITTSBURG, Kan. — The Pittsburg State University School of Nursing hosted more than a dozen southeast Kansas kids Thursday, giving each one a glimpse at their potential future career.
The annual “A Morning in Nursing” camp returned to McPherson Hall as faculty and senior students guided youth ages seven to 11 through six hands-on learning stations.
“We have all kinds of things happening,” said PSU School of Nursing Simulation Hospital and Skills Lab Coordinator Nancy Tyler. “Our kids are walking through the blood flow of the heart, they are learning CPR, we are talking about how do to an ACE wrap, they are getting to spot the hazards in our simulation hospital, learning hand washing, and they are also playing healthcare bingo.”
Several campers from Galena and Riverton had plenty of fun while learning during the camp. One said that she hopes to become a traveling nurse one day while another aimed to work with children as they viewed the Anatomage table, a 3-D imaging system containing thousands of scans of actual human bodies.
“It’s been fun,” and “Out of 10, 9.999,” the kids said when asked to rate Thursday’s event.”
Tyler noted her excitement at the number of kids interested in PSU’s nursing program, citing the shortages in the field. In comparison to 2,352 full-time equivalent vacancies and 4,565 employee separations in 2023, the Kansas Legislature reported that there were 2,034 full-time equivalent vacancies and 3,003 employee separations for RNs, LPNs, and nursing assistants in 2024.
“Our goal is to get more kids interested in becoming nurses or anything in healthcare, but of course, we are biased in nursing,” giggled Tyler. “… There is still a shortage, absolutely. So, anything we can do to just let them know how fun this career can be.
“… There’s different types of nursing you can do, just awareness in healthcare, and just learning CPR … I love working with kids. Seeing their excitement, all the different questions they have, they are eager to learn, and all of our students always are, but just seeing a different side of the kids.”
For more information on PSU summer camps, visit pittstate.edu/office/ticket-office/summer-camps.html.
This reporting is made possible, in part, by the Support Local Journalism Project Fund. Learn more at: southeastkansas.org/Localnews.
