A program in collaboration between Bloomington District 87 and Heartland Community College helped junior high students learn skills from nursing professionals.
Students attend the Junior Health Science Academy in Heartland’s nursing lab immediately after school once a week over the course of a month. The program is designed by and held in collaboration with the Black Nurses Association of Central Illinois, with two dozen students attending.
“About three to four years ago, we decided to create a program for junior high students to give them exposure to various healthcare careers, also to provide mentorship,” said Dameron Beverly, associate professor of nursing at Heartland.
The course teaches skills related to nursing, complete with certifications for skills like CPR to be attained at completion. Yet students still learn important lessons even if they finish without any plans to continue studying nursing.
The course being held on the community college campus exposes the students to what it is like to learn in higher ed settings. A trip to the Bloomington Career Academy, complete with lessons from nursing teachers and students there, shows students what experiences might be available to them in high school.
“We want them to know that that's something they can do,” said Beverly. “Those dual enrollment programs — and not just health science. They have a host of things there.”
Students in the program wear the scrubs throughout the school day at Bloomington Junior High.
“The teachers at BJHS said they are so proud because they get to wear their scrubs to the school on the day of our meeting,” said Juanita Smith, a retired Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist and member of the Black Nurses Association.
The program holds one cohort each semester. After a spring semester with 32 students, the decision was made to limit enrollment.
“We want to be sure we can give appropriate attention to each student, so we did cap it at 25 or less this time, and we'll do it again in the spring,” said Beverly.
Oslo Rich, an 8th grader, enjoyed lessons like inserting an IV into a moving, breathing manikin and practicing CPR.
“I've always wanted to work in the healthcare field because I had to spend a lot of time in healthcare when I was a kid,” said Rich.
The manikins had heartbeats and breathing patterns to monitor while students tended to them.
“It was fun and it was cool because like I’ve never seen a manikin be able to do something like that,” said Talia Grismore, 8th grader.
7th grader Jeremiah Carlos-Simmons plans to study in the healthcare field in the future. He plans to be a registered nurse.
He said his friends notice when he is in the scrubs on Tuesdays.
“I don't really talk to them about it, but they do get jealous of the scrubs and stuff,” said Carlos-Simmons.
Beverly said the Black Nurses Association was awarded a $10,000 grant to start the program and buy initial equipment, then received the same grant again in its second year. In its third and now fourth year, the Central Illinois BNA chapter was able to fund it.
