Dr. Lauren Schwal still keeps photographs from Barry University’s first-ever Health Careers Summer Camp, a free learning experience for high schoolers that she co-founded 10 years ago. “These pictures show the intensity and enjoyment of the students as they intubate, interact with, and provide birthing support for our extremely life-like manikins during a simulation experience,” she says. “Or do CPR for a manikin experiencing a cardiac arrest, or learn how to suture a wound, or perform a screening exam to rule out a concussion.”
Watching Health Camp students explore the myriad disciplines within the health care field delights Schwal, a 40-year veteran nurse, retired professor of nursing, and current adjunct nursing faculty at Barry. In her decade as the camp’s facilitator, she’s helped educate more than 250 area high schoolers who want to pursue health care careers, and she’s seen many of these same students go on to study at Barry. “I’m very proud of the impact we have made on our past and future attendees,” she says.
Along with her colleague and mentor Dr. Sharon Wright, Schwal conceived of Health Careers Summer Camp not long after joining the Barry faculty in 2010. “We researched and presented a proposal to nursing administration to begin offering the free summer camp to high school students as a service to the surrounding communities and as a potential source of new admissions to Barry and to the nursing program.” Her colleagues loved the idea and dedicated grant money to launch the first week-long session. Over time, Health Camp has evolved to incorporate all departments within Barry’s College of Nursing and Health Sciences, which now covers the entire cost of the program. “All participating faculty and students volunteer their time for camp,” says Schwal.
Health Camp has only grown in popularity since its start in 2011, and 2021 is already drawing enthusiasm. Much of the appeal lies in the camp’s interdisciplinary approach, which exposes students to a variety of clinical scenarios through simulations. After last year’s virtual session—held amid pandemic lockdowns—enabled more than 100 a day students to join the fun, Schwal and her colleagues are thrilled to bring Health Camp back to a live setting on Barry’s campus, albeit with strict COVID-19 protocols in place.
We spoke to Schwal about what to expect for Health Careers Summer Camp as it celebrates its 10th year, and how the program has helped shape promising health care professionals.
What can students and parents expect as Health Camp returns live to Barry’s campus this year?
This summer, the decision was made to host a live camp again with a very small number of students. We have developed a safety plan for camp and will follow all CDC, federal, and state regulations, as well as Barry’s policies and procedures. We will accept 10 students a day on campus for three days from June 22 through June 24 (10 AM – 1 PM). We will also livestream and videotape the presentations, so all interested students can watch the live Zoom sessions at their convenience.
How has Health Camp changed or grown since it started in 2011?
The first year of camp was a huge success, and we were able to expand the program to include many other healthcare program presentations beyond just nursing. Eventually, the camp evolved into an event sponsored by the College of Nursing and Health Sciences (and not solely the nursing department) and included hands-on active and engaging presentations from all the healthcare programs in the CNHS as well as other healthcare-related programs outside the CNHS.
Student interest in the free live camp grew to the point where we had to turn away many more students than we were able to accept. Due to the hands-on nature of the camp activities, we limited camp admissions to 24 students each week. Before the pandemic, we hosted the free camp twice a year to accommodate more students.
How does the multidisciplinary involvement of Barry’s CNHS faculty and students serve Health Camp students?
Many of the simulations and activities offered in camp are collaborative endeavors between departments. This enable us to show the students how the different healthcare professions interact inter-professionally to take care of patients and clients.
What do Miami-Dade high school students say about their experience at Health Camp?
Miami-Dade high schoolers are always the first to apply to camp and complete their admissions paperwork. When camp begins each year, our high school student campers are asked what healthcare professions they are interested in, and we ask them again when camp ends. Common student feedback is to thank us for introducing them to professions they didn’t know about or knew little about. All campers comment on the excitement they felt being engaged and able to actually participate in hands-on learning experiences while in camp.
We work closely with liaisons from our surrounding high schools to advertise the camp each year. Last year, we actually had students attend virtually from all parts of Florida as well as outside the state. Barry’s marketing and admissions department has been tracking the number of students admitted to Barry each year who attended the Health Careers Summer Camp in the past. This has demonstrated the effectiveness of camp as a recruitment endeavor.
What lessons do you try to impart on Health Camp participants, and what lessons do you take from them?
My biggest lesson learned from camp is that we can each learn from each other. The students enlighten and educate me as much as I hope I do for them! Camp is a safe environment where no question is silly and no student should feel embarrassed or afraid to engage. Active learning experiences and hands-on participation are so valuable in terms of learning and retention of learning. These are important lessons for all educators at every level. Watching those light bulbs go on for students is an awesome experience for any Nurse Educator! As an RN certified as a Healthcare Simulation Educator, it is also gratifying to see the true value of simulation as a learning pedagogy for students and adults of all ages.