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Council's Own Awards
 Cadette / Senior Interest Projects
Nursing Exploration
To earn this Interest Project Award, you must do two Skill Builders,
one Technology, one Service Project, one Career requirement and two
additional ones from any area. Girls and Troops from other councils are welcome to use these
requirements and
purchase the patch online.
The aging of America’s baby boomers and the increased demand for nurses
in specialized areas of care have combined to create a serious shortage
of nurses. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services predicts a
shortfall of 635,000 to 1,754,000 nurses by 2020. The result is that the
future for nurses has never looked brighter!
Nursing is a profession
that involves the use of your intelligence, skills, compassion and love
of helping people to make a difference in people’s lives. Completing
this badge will increase your knowledge of the variety of career
opportunities available in nursing and will increase your awareness of
the growing need for nurses. Books, magazines, videos, Internet sites,
nursing professionals, nursing schools and nursing organizations are
available as resources for this project.
Skill Builders:
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1. |
Read
about the history of nursing. What influences did Clara Barton and
Florence Nightingale have on nursing? Share what you learned with
younger girls through a skit, display in a public place, story tape,
puppet show or other means. |
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2. |
Find out
what the following terms mean and discuss with the members of your
troop/group: malpractice; universal precautions; ethics; artificial
means of life support; stem cell research; cloning; euthanasia;
parent notification of pregnancy, birth control given to teens
and/or abortion. Think about what these things mean in terms of
patient care. Participate in a debate or a discussion that examines
differing points of view on one or more of these issues. |
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3. |
Look at
some of the major health issues facing teens today. Select an issue
that interests you and do some research on it. How are health care
professionals addressing this issue? What organizations are involved
with education on or providing support for this issue? (suggestions
– Juvenile diabetes; ADHD; AIDS, Bulemia; Depression; Anorexia; STD’s;
Obesity, Domestic Violence, Date Rape). |
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4. |
Earn your
First Aid and CPR certification (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) |
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5. |
Explore
your family’s health history. Include aunts, uncles, and
grandparents. Document their age, place of birth, medical conditions
or illnesses and occupation. Do you see any patterns in your
family’s medical history? Create a genogram. (research genogram on the internet
to see how it’s done.) |
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6. |
Investigate practices of alternative medicine, (i.e. Herbal
medicine, acupuncture, Reiki, creative imagery, acupressure,
reflexology, aromatherapy). Compare them to Western medicine. How do
they interact? Which method would you prefer for your own family? |
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7. |
Find out
about the different nursing specialties, where nursed work and what
nurses do in these areas. Some areas would be Hospital work – ER,
OR, CCU, NICU, UR, QA, CRNA, hemodialysis, oncology, psychiatric,
geriatric or pediatric – doctor’s office work, Nursing Home, School
Nurse, Home Health, Hospice, College professor or any area not listed
that you are particularly interested in. Find out the educational
requirements for the different types of work areas. Learn the difference
between RN, LPN and CRNP. |
Technology:
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1. |
Learn
from a health care professional some of the basic skills a nurse may
perform for a patient (i.e. temperature, pulse, respirations, blood
pressure). |
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2. |
Find out
what these tests are for and how they are different: MRI,
MRA, CAT Scan, X-Rays, EKG, EEG, EMG, and PET Scan. |
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3. |
Learn
about some of the equipment nurses use (i.e. computers, pulse oximeters, dopplers, blood pressure cuff, IV pumps, Pyxis, monitors). Be
able to explain what each piece of equipment does and how it they are
used. |
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4. |
Research
and investigate what types of equipment a nurse would use for a
specific condition (i.e. asthma, heart condition, labor, broken
bones). |
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5. |
Learn
about the following and why each is important to your health as a
young woman: Mammogram, Pap Smear, Ultra Sound, CBC, STD Check,
Urinalysis and UHCG. |
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6. |
Visit a
nursing home, hospital, doctor’s office, clinic or home health
facility. Contact the appropriate person to set up a visit. Ask to
see the types of equipment used by the nursing staff and find out
the qualifications for using each piece of equipment. |
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7. |
Learn
about new technology in nursing and emergency response teams. Visit
a school of nursing to view human simulators and other technology in
learning labs. |
Service Projects:
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1. |
Investigate the community health projects in your area (i.e. Breast
Cancer Awareness Campaigns, Multiple Sclerosis Walk, Blood Drives,
Juvenile Diabetes, March of Dimes, Relay for Life, etc). Learn about
their causes, then choose one to volunteer for. Help with
registration, packing “goody bags” to hand out the day of the race,
pass out water at a walk, recruit people to give blood, make signs
or posters advertising the event, etc. Remember, you cannot raise
money (see Safety-Wise). |
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2. |
Volunteer
in a health care facility, nursing home, clinic, hospital or
doctor’s office. Keep a journal of your experiences while
volunteering and then share something about your experiences with a
younger troop or another group. |
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3. |
Find out
what other organizations provide service and companionship for
hospital or convalescent home residents, i.e. pet therapy, art
therapy, clubs, etc. Find out how they benefit the residents. Find
out what those organizations need to provide these services and
organize a service project for them, i.e. contact all the troops in
your service unit or council and ask each troop to donate a bag of
dog food or cat food; collect art supplies, get troops to donate
holiday cards, fruit, or other gifts needed by these organizations.
Be sure to get the project approved by the organization BEFORE you
solicit help or items. |
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4. |
During
Nurses Week (the first week of May) show how much nurses are needed
and appreciated by making and displaying posters about the benefits
of becoming a nurse. Make and deliver or mail cards to nurses at
your local hospital, clinic, hospice program or nursing home to
thank them for what they do to make people’s lives better. |
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5. |
Create
information on health promotion or safety. Design a poster,
storyboard or videotape depicting the importance of healthy
behaviors – not smoking, weight control, immunizations, proper
hand-washing, seat-belt use, or helmet-use or conduct an activity at
school, in you community or in your service unit that emphasizes
health promotion or safety, such as a bike rodeo. |
Career Exploration:
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1. |
Interview
a nurse who has less than five years experience and one with more
than five years experience. Keep a journal of how they answer your
questions and compare the answers. What are the benefits to becoming
a nurse? Did they face any challenges while pursuing their
education? Has nursing changed since they began their career? If
they could go back in time, would they still become a nurse? Why or
why not? |
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2. |
Compare
the educational requirements for LPN, RN BSN, MSN and NP.
Learn how a nurse can progress from one level to another. Do nurses need
to have continuing education (CEU’s) to maintain their licensure? What
do nurses have to do to begin practicing legally? Are there different
requirements for employment in different states? Find out about the
Division of Consumer Affairs (under which all nurses licenses are
registered). Identify 2 colleges in your area that offer a nursing
program. What high school prerequisites are needed to get into the
program? |
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3. |
Look in
newspapers and nursing journals for advertisements for nurses. What
salaries are advertised? Are any bonuses being offered? What kind of
hours/shifts are available? Do nurses who work in hospitals make
more or less than nurses who work in clinics or a doctor’s office? |
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4. |
If direct
observation of a nurse is not possible or age appropriate due to
patient privacy, contact a local hospital, doctor’s office or health
clinic for a tour and observation when patients aren’t with the
nurse or have a nurse speak to your group or interview a nurse that
you know. Answer the following questions:
a. What roles does the nurse perform?
b. How does the nurse incorporate science and math into his or her
roles?
c. What kind of leadership, organizational, or decision-making skills
does the nurse use in his or her position?
d. Would you want to work as a nurse? Why or why not? |
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5. |
Talk with
a nurse in management, such as a Nursing Supervisor or Director of
Nursing. Learn what her/his job involves and how it is different
from a “regular” nurse. What aspects of her/his job are most
satisfying? How did she/he progress to that position? What skills
are needed for this job? |
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6. |
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. |
Web sites to check out:
www.discovernursing.com
www.nursepower.net
www.nersessource.org
www.ana.org
www.nursingsociety.org
www.aone.org
www.wocn.org
www.aacn.nche.edu
www.nursewebsearch.com
www.nursecenter.com/student
www.microbe.org
www.redcross.org
www.americanheart.org
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