Pathways to Nursing: an innovative program to encourage high school students to enter nursing

Pathways to Nursing was implemented as a partnership between Northern Kentucky University School of Nursing and Health Professions, a local high school in the Northern Kentucky region, a local hospital system, and a large regional medical practice. The goal of this project was to increase interest in nursing as a career among local high school students in order to impact the nursing shortage and improve the health of Northern Kentuckians. Pathways to Nursing activities allowed high school students to explore post-secondary nursing education by participating in nursing career day activities at the university and summer nursing camp which included an overnight stay at the university and nurse shadowing days at the local hospital. High school students were exposed to various clinical experiences, diverse nursing roles, nursing skills laboratory activities and human simulation activities. Students also met with nursing faculty, academic advisors, and university admissions counselors. One hundred and twenty-four high school students participated in Nurse Career Days over the two-year period of the program, and 45 students participated in Summer Nurse Camp over two summers. Ninety-four percent of the high school students who participated in Nurse Career Day stated they would "probably choose" or "definitely choose" the university to attend nursing school; 93.6% stated they "might want to be a nurse" or "definitely would want to be a nurse", and 93.7% rated the information covered as very relevant. Sixty-two percent of the students reported that they "definitely want to be a nurse" after attendance at Summer Nurse Camp. The goal of the Pathways to Nursing program was to provide Northern Kentucky high school students the opportunity to explore nursing through active learning experiences that augment career and academic interests. Collaborative relationships were developed between the University, the School of Nursing and Health Professions (SNHP), a local hospital system and a regional medical practice to encourage Northern Kentucky high school students to pursue a career in nursing. The following objectives were used to complete this project. 1. Build collaborative relationships among all partners to plan, implement and evaluate all phases of the Pathways to Nursing program. 2. Complete Pathways to Nursing activities throughout the year that allow high school students to explore post secondary nursing education and diverse clinical experiences. 3. Implement cooperative learning experiences for "Pathways to Nursing" high school students through educational and mentoring activities conducted by university undergraduate and graduate nursing students.