BRYAN, Texas — If your 7th or 8th grader has been curious about joining the medical field one day or have questions about how it all works and the process to becoming a doctor or nurse, the Blinn Health Sciences Summer camp is the perfect summer activity for them.
This three-day summer camp gives kids hands on experience to work with Blinn nursing instructors and students to learn the front-line responsibilities as well as what goes on behind the scenes in hospital settings.
“Our students come and act as mentors and a part of teaching the things that they’ve already learned and help these young students see what it’s like as a potential student,” said Sami Rahman, director of Simulation & Clinical Labs, Blinn Health Sciences.
Alexus Fletcher, in her third semester of nursing school, says mentoring the youth is one of her favorite opportunities.
“I want to work with kids,” Fletcher said. “So for me, I get... I can’t even put it into words because it’s just fun to be able to do that as a student. It’s one of the few privileges you have as a student, to actually teach back what you’ve learned.”
During the three-day camp, students will learn how to use a stethoscope, take X-rays, prepare for surgery, and mock a car accident scene with a pedestrian.
“This allows students to come in, in a place that’s a little less intimidating than the real hospital environment so they can practice and get better at their skills,” said Rahman.
Fletcher’s goal is for students to see how all the areas of the health care field co-exist and work together.
“I was 17 when I finally figured out what actually goes on in hospitals because I think at that age, you hear hospital or you think of healthcare, you think doctor,” said Fletcher. “When they come here, you get to learn there’s doctors, there’s nurses, there’s physical therapists, EMS, there’s surgical techs, like you learn that there’s so much more.”
“We just feel like it’s a good time for them to start looking and making decisions a little bit about their future and the direction they might be interested in,” said Rahman.
Rahman says many students come through this summer camp and years later, join the health field.
One previous camper will be enrolling in Blinn’s physical therapy assistant program this fall.
The camp is from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday, June 20 through Thursday, June 22.
Registration is $75, and you can find the sign-up link here.
The last day to register is June 1.