Career Day?

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Specializes in Cardiac Telemetry, Emergency, SAFE.

Hey all!

Wondering if anyone can help me out. I have to speak to a group of 5th graders (ages 9,10,11) about being a nurse! I get a small group at a time, and will have to talk for 10 minutes. Then they rotate.

How can I describe the job without talking about too much blood (or poop).? lol What things would you focus on that would be memorable for a 5th grader? Small game idea?

I was thinking about a focus on handwashing since cold/flu season is upon is. Any advice?

What i wouldnt give to have kept my old nursing school tri-fold boards! :p

Any help would be extremely appreciated. This is short notice. I got the information about it TODAY and the thing is on Thursday...:uhoh3:

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Specializes in Med/Surg and ANCC RN-BC.

I would tell them that nurses have very important jobs, taking care of people that are sick. Tell them that you are trying to make people better, even if the patients have to get shots. I'm sure the boys will love to hear about guts and blood, but the girls not so much. Hand washing is a great idea! everyone should hand wash. Also, tell them the importance of hand washing and how it can prevent people from getting colds/flu/ect.

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My daughter and her friends are this age... they like to hear about using my stethoscope to listen to pt's hearts and lungs... they love to listen to each others' hearts and lungs. They are also interested in applying band aids etc. to small cuts, various ointments... learning about how to apply a bandage or sling... and they love to practice on their toys and pets.

You can teach them how to record someone's temp., pulse, resps. and BP. At this age, hands on experience is very exciting.

Gory details about bodily functions and blood and guts can be overwhelming. Most youngsters have no concept of immortality.

My daughter is particularly proud of her first aid kit, which she produces any time any one is "injured" - mainly bandaids and neosporin !

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Specializes in Emergency & Trauma/Adult ICU.

The handwashing thing would be a nice bit of takeaway information, but I'm wondering if it would take up most or all of your allotted 10 minutes and the kids still wouldn't have any idea what a nurse does. (except what the media tells them ... but that's a whole different thread :rolleyes: )

Could you tell them about nursing in 3 or 4 different settings, with a brief description or example of a typical day in each one? A "cool" or exciting story from different areas of nursing?

I did this for a friend's Girl Scout troop a few years ago - same age range. They loved it.

Good luck! :nurse:

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Hey all!

Wondering if anyone can help me out. I have to speak to a group of 5th graders (ages 9,10,11) about being a nurse! I get a small group at a time, and will have to talk for 10 minutes. Then they rotate.

How can I describe the job without talking about too much blood (or poop).? lol What things would you focus on that would be memorable for a 5th grader? Small game idea?

I was thinking about a focus on handwashing since cold/flu season is upon is. Any advice?

What i wouldnt give to have kept my old nursing school tri-fold boards! :p

Any help would be extremely appreciated. This is short notice. I got the information about it TODAY and the thing is on Thursday...:uhoh3:

Considering kids are usually impressed with blood and poop, I wouldn't worry too much about talking about blood and poop too much! And I agree with the other posters..............

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Specializes in Adult Stem Cell/Oncology.

I agree with the idea of talking about heart sounds, lung sounds, and blood pressure. You could also discuss what an average day is like for you, briefly discussing assessment, charting, medication administration, etc. on their level.

This sounds like so much fun! Enjoy it!

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