Need ideas for Middle-School Career Day

[ahsweeney]

Was wondering if anyone had any ideas for props, activities, etc for a middle-school career day. I have been asked by a neighbor to help her with her talk on nursing. She did this last year, and said the kids were not interested at all. She figured this year she would tell stories about when she worked (she was in L&D, I was in PACU).

Other than a couple of stethascopes and a reflex hammer we are lost.

Oh yeah, we will be doing this on Friday - 3 days away!!!

Thank you in advance for any ideas!!!!!

[purple1953reading]

you need to do somehting to make them have interest in nursing, as most at that age are more interested in something more glamourous. You might start out with someithing about the fact that a nurse was probably the first or second person to ever touch them when they were born. And if one of you is old enough, to relate that you were there when a lot of them were born, makes it about them. As for the steth. let them listen to each other, and teach the to count pulses, let the jump so many times and see how many nore times their heart beats, or they breathe per minute, Just little things. GOod luck

[ebear, BSN, RN]

Also take a bag of round "gummy rings" and a knife and fill them with peanut butter. Teach them about cholesterol and atherosclerosis,etc. If it's not against school policy, they can also have that for a snack.

ebear

[loaparker]

If you can get the following, bring them:

scrubs (the kids LOVE to dress up-- even middle schoolers!)

otoscope

stethoscopes (4 or 5)

X-ray (one big one will do)

opsite (if you can get your hospital to donate it, or whatever they can spare out of the teaching lab)

neck brace (or whatever equipment fits profile below:)

The basis for presentations that our rural health club (I live in the outback of Australia) gives is informing students on the huge number of careers are available in the hospital! I give out all of the scrubs and have them put them on- then I hand out folded sheets of paper that have a career; paramedic, nurse, doctor, PSA (cleaner), Enrolled Nurse (LPN), Occupational Therapist, physio, dietitian, kitchen staff, etc, etc,. So I pick one of the students to be a the accident victim and then ask the class to shout out who would see this patient first.

Direct them through the paramedic, nurse, doctor, etc., go out as far as you can think, (try and correlate the injury to something to do with the Xray for more realism). Meanwhile, have a scribe at the blackboard writing down all of the careers that impact this patient.

On the folded sheet of paper, the kids all have one of those jobs. Also is a sentence they recite (after walking to the front of the room and stating their jobs- so they all learn from each other and themselves!)

After, when done with that they can play with the equipment. They love to put on OPSITE, wrap each other in bandages, listen with the stethoscopes etc,. Check in your teaching lab and see if they will let you borrow the ultraviolet light and the 'glitter bugs' that show germs and effectiveness/ineffectiveness of hand washing techniques. While you are talking to whoever is in charge of your lab, see if they have any ideas for you.

Hope that helps, would love to hear from more people. We try to do as many presentations we can to promote health careers and would love to have some more ideas.

[ASSEDO]

I saw a smoking machine make with a jar. I believe a small hole was punched into the lid and a cig was put in the hole. The result showed the smoke/tar getting into the bottle (lungs).

At a school function, saw 10 lbs of chicken fat, in a cooler, and then let the student hold 10 lbs of sugar to let them know the dangers of being overweight.

Kids that age love shock and awh!

[ahsweeney]

Thank you ladies for these great ideas. My friend did the presentation and had the kids looking for good veins on another kid's arms. Appreciate your help.