Middle school student Julian Martin begins delivering vigorous compressions to the chest of a simulation mannequin, his elbows locked as he bears down again and again, as fellow student Ethan Valverde prepares to deliver oxygen to a second mannequin. The boys are a team, synchronizing their efforts on the two simulants as if they were working on the same patient. If they lose their concentration, the mannequins will let them know.
The boys are participating in “A Day in the Life of a Nursing Student,” the first-ever Open House for middle- and high-school students at SONHS’ Simulation Hospital Advancing Research and Education (S.H.A.R.E.™).
Representing three schools and one youth program, the 70 students who arrived at S.H.A.R.E.™ that morning weren’t sure what to expect. What they found was a five-story facility that mimics the function and flow of a real-life hospital, which hosted fun, interactive activities designed to engage and inspire them. These students, ranging in age from 12 to 17, were invited due to their interest in healthcare, coming from Mater Lakes Charter School, St. Brendan High School, Ferguson High School, and the NAS Richmond Division of the U.S. Naval Sea Cadets Corps.
The students spent most of the day learning tasks important to the career of nursing: taking vital signs, role-playing patients and nurses, learning about body mechanics and how to communicate and work together to help patients. After their rotations, the students were treated to a behind-the-scenes view of the control rooms where the technicians enact the scenarios they just played out themselves.
“A lot of them were really surprised.” Said Zuzer Calero, Executive Director, S.H.A.R.E.™ Business Operations, who interviewed the students about their Open House experience. “They said, ‘I didn't think I was going to have this many hands-on things to do.” Calero is already planning more ways to bring S.H.A.R.E.™ resources to the community, such as offering CPR training and health-related simulation events to schools as well as to adults.
Because sometimes, taking a tour of S.H.A.R.E.™ just isn’t enough.
“During a tour, everything is turned off.” said Calero, “[It] doesn’t really give you a sense of all that can happen at S.H.A.R.E.™, of the possibilities, which are endless.”
S.H.A.R.E.™ is Advancing Research by incorporating state-of-the-art facilities with interdisciplinary, evidence-based science that enables researchers and practitioners to test new clinical processes and enhance individual and team skills before interacting with real-world patients. S.H.A.R.E.™ is dedicated to supporting bold and visionary research that will improve delivery of care to patients and communities as well as influence health systems and health policy across the hemisphere and around the world.
For questions related to training programs such as the Open House and CPR, or to explore a custom program or event for your organization or school, please reach out to Zuzer Calero, MBA, MALS, Executive Director, S.H.A.R.E.TM Business Operations, at (305) 284-2709 or via email at zcalero@miami.edu
