Requirements:

Please complete eight of the following activities:

1. SHADOW A NURSE – Contact your local hospital, doctor’s office, health clinic, school nurse, camp nurse, or any nurse you know and ask if you can shadow them for a day or half day, whatever their schedule allows. Document all the activities you observe. Answer the following questions: A. What roles does the nurse perform? B. How does the nurse incorporate science and math into her/his roles? C. What kind of leadership, organizational, or decision-making skills does the nurse use in her/his position? D. Would you want to work as a nurse? Why or why not?

2. RESEARCH NURSING PROGRAMS – Research the various types of nursing programs offered in Maine, the types of degrees offered, and the entrance requirements. After finding this information, decide what school you would attend and what classes and/or other requirements you would need to get accepted into the school.

3. DO RESEARCH ON A FAMOUS NURSE – Conduct research on a famous nurse, focusing on who the nurse was, what contributions she/he made to nursing and society, and how she/he influenced new ideas about health care delivery.

4. VISIT A NURSING SCHOOL – Interview a nursing student or nursing instructor. Ask for a tour of the facility. Document your observations.

5. RESEARCH NURSING SCHOLARSHIPS – Investigate scholarships available for students interested in attending nursing school. What are the requirements? Who’s eligible? Are there more scholarships offered for specialized areas of study? Do scholarships differ depending on the type of degree you are seeking or the type of school you attend? Document your findings.

6. EXPLORE NURSING VARIETY – Identify at least five settings in which nurses can work, five areas of practice nurses can specialize in, and three different patient populations nurses can work with.

7. PROPER HAND WASHING TECHNIQUE – Visit www.microbe.org and learn the importance of proper hand washing in general and in the healthcare setting. Design an activity to teach younger students how to properly wash their hands (i.e., have students rub glitter on their hands and then wash them to see how well they can get the glitter off their hands). Have older students design a research project that could be performance to measure the impact of hand washing behavior change.

8. CREATE INFORMATION ON HEALTH PROMOTION OR SAFETY – Design a poster, storyboard, or videotape depicting the importance of a healthy lifestyle and/or healthy behaviors. Design a poster of the basic food groups and the recommended serving for each group, not smoking, weight control, immunizations, seatbelt use, or helmet use, or conduct an activity at a school or in the community that emphasizes health promotion or safety, such as a bike rodeo.

9. CREATE INFORMATION ON AN ILLNESS OR CONDITION – Put together a short information guide on a particular disease, condition, or illness, such as asthma, diabetes, cancer, or depression, that could be shared with a patient or family. The emphasis should be on where to find additional information about the disease, condition, or illness, and what resources exist in the community to help persons and families with the disease, illness, or condition learn more or get support.

10. INVESTIGATE TEEN DRUG ABUSE – Design a storyboard or story about the effects of drugs on the body. Find a way to relay the information you have found to younger girls.

11. LEARN HOW A BODY SYSTEM WORKS – As an individual or a group, select a body system and understand how that body system works. Use a nurse, health educator, or other health care provider to help in gaining that understanding.

12. VISIT A HEALTH CLUB OR RECREATION CENTER – Visit a YMCA, Boys & Girls Club, or health club. Speak to a personal trainer. Ask how exercise contributes to health. Investigate various sports and sports medicine. Teach a friend or family member how to perform exercises you have learned and develop an exercise program for yourself and document what you did each day in a diary and how you felt after doing the exercise.

13. EARN CPR (CARDIOPULMONARY RESUSCITATION) CERTIFICATION – This is an entry-level course that offers guidelines for one-rescuer adult, child, and infant CPR.

14. EARN FIRST AID CERTIFICATION – This course is usually offered through the American Red Cross.

15. ATTEND BABYSITTING “HOW TO” WORKSHOP – The Babysitter’s Training Course provides youths ages 11 and older with the information and skills necessary to provide safe and responsible care for children in the absence of parents or guardians.

16. PARTICIPATE IN A COMMUNITY HEALTH PROJECT (cancer walk, blood drive, diabetes, heart, breast cancer walks, screenings, etc.) – Find ways to participate other than raising money. Help with registration, offer water, provide sun protection, etc. Write a brief statement of how the health project helped the community as well as what you learned about the illness/condition and how it impacts those who are coping with the disease.

17. VOLUNTEER AT A HEALTH CARE FACILITY – Volunteer four hours in a health care facility, such as a doctor’s office, health clinic, hospital, retirement, or nursing center. Document your observations.

18. DO A PROJECT FOR A HEALTH CARE FACILITY – Contact a doctor’s office, health clinic, hospital, retirement, or nursing center to find out what project might be done to meet a need in that organization. Examples might be collecting magazines for offices or residents, donating and taping books for use by the elderly or pediatric patients, collecting toys for donation to a pediatric unit, designing a “boredom” box with activities for patients who are hospitalized, decorating a nursing home unit for a holiday event, planning a special event for the residents of a nursing home, etc.

19. LEARN ABOUT EQUIPMENT AND SUPPLIES USED BY NURSES – Nurses use lots of different equipment and supplies in caring for patients. Get a nurse to tell you about this equipment, how it works, and when it’s used. For some equipment, such as pulse oximeters, dopplers, stethoscopes, thermometers, glucose monitors, arrange to have an opportunity to practice with the equipment.