Learning what nursing is all about Summer camps teach health care skills
More than 100 high school students spent part of their summer break learning how to check blood pressure, care for wounds, and provide first aid among other skills nurses practice every day.
Cizik School of Nursing at UTHealth Houston began piloting summer camps in 2023 with grant funds from the William Randolph Hearst Foundation. With the funding from the HCA Foundation, the school was able to host additional camps. This year, the school hosted two, week-long sessions through which teens earned five health care certifications.
“We are grateful to our practice partners for their support in developing this program,” said Associate Professor Maja Djukic, PhD, who was principal investigator on the grant. “Our goal is twofold. We want to help address the nursing shortage by getting youth excited about nursing as a career, and we want to provide exposure, opportunity, and mentorship to socio-economically disadvantaged students so they can succeed academically and professionally.”
For the second year, the HCA Foundation funded the Inspiring and Growing Nursing Interest Through Exploration (IGNITE) program.
“HCA is committed to empowering and supporting the next generation of nurses in Texas,” said Stacy Lewis, DNP, MSN-Ed, RN-BC, CMSRN, CHSE, division vice president for academic partnerships for HCA Houston Healthcare. “The overwhelming response of interest from various school districts in Houston have compelled us as an organization to partner in this effort.”
The foundation sponsored 32 Houston-area students the week of June 9. Several HCA nurses, nurse educators, and nursing executives served as volunteer mentors. Lewis and others returned the week of July 7 for the second session, which welcomed an additional 70 students.
“The students are very engaged, enthusiastic, and curious,” said Karyn Shine, BSN, RN, a clinical educator with HCA. Shine, who participated in both sessions, called herself a “late bloomer” because she shifted to a nursing career in her 40s. “If I had a program like this in high school, I would have gone into nursing much quicker.”
Most of the students attend schools within a commutable distance from the Texas Medical Center, although the self-paid July session drew a few participants from further away.
Daniya Dean and her grandmother drove down from Dallas for the week. She attends the School of Health Professions at Yvonne A. Ewell Townview Center in the Dallas Independent School District (ISD) but could not find a hands-on summer program near her home.
“I grew up in a nursing family,” said Dean, whose mother is a nurse practitioner. “I have always felt like nursing was my calling.”
Some students, like Dean, had their sights clearly set on nursing. Kenzie Stoddard of Atascocita High School has a specific goal – to be a travel nurse. “It would be so fun to travel and meet different kinds of people,” she said.
Others had not yet decided on a specific career path but saw the camps as an opportunity to learn and practice new skills, including certifications that can boost their college applications.
“I took a medical terminology class in high school, and I wanted to explore my options,” said Karmyn Leake, who attends Morton Ranch High School in Katy ISD. “I learned a lot about the medical field and the college routes you can go through.”
Like Leake, some students came to the camps with health care classes and dual credit courses under their belts. A growing number of school districts offer career and technical education (CTE) programs that enable students to begin working toward professional certifications as early as 9th grade.
“We provided résumé coaching to the high schoolers and helped them make educational plans toward careers in nursing,” said Instructor D’Hania Miller, MSN, RN, who helped develop curriculum and coordinated activities in the Simulation and Clinical Performance Laboratory. “A few of them may have enough college credit by the time they graduate high school that they could qualify for admission to our new Pre-Nursing Pathway, which launched in the Fall 2025 semester.”
Students who attend Stratford High School in Spring Branch ISD can take the test to become certified medical assistants after their junior year.
“I thought the camp would be a good opportunity and give me a head start for next year,” said Stratford student Lila Paullo, who attended the June session. “I have never had any hands-on experience until this week. It put me a little bit ahead of my peers.”
Since she lives a little further away from the Texas Medical Center, Daniella Martinez from Goose Creek Memorial High School in Baytown signed up to make contacts and gain exposure to nursing education. “You get to check out the school,” she said.
Abigail Kim from Turner High School in Pearland ISD and Daniella Garcia from Crosby High School also liked getting a sneak peek at Cizik School of Nursing and making new friends.
“It gives us the opportunity to learn from real people about how nursing impacts their lives,” Garcia said. “Seeing the faculty and nurses makes me think, ‘Hey, that’s going to be me one day.’”
