First-Ever Nursing Program at National Student Leadership Conference Hosted by Yale School of Nursing

The Yale School of Nursing (YSN) hosted 100 students this summer for the first-ever National Student Leadership Conferences’ (NSLC) nursing program. Students who took part in the program were given insight into available careers in the nursing field, an overview of graduate nursing school curriculums, and discussions about the most pressing issues facing nurses today.

The United States is in the middle of a nursing shortage that is expected to worsen as Baby Boomers age and their need for health care grows, in combination with nationwide healthcare reform. Attending the NSLC summer nursing program gave high school students an opportunity to learn about the values of and opportunities available through graduate-level nursing education. Yale’s intention was to inform bright young students about the many reasons a career in graduate-level nursing is an important and rewarding career path.

Students were engaged in three domains of learning during the program: cognitive, affective, and psychomotor. They learned how to take vital signs, complete a physical assessment, provide therapeutic communication techniques, interpret EKGs, intubate an airway, administer medication, insert an IV, proper safety protocol, and more. Students also had the opportunity to tour Yale labs, including the West Campus Urban Farm, to teach them about connecting with patients and develop their understanding of the relationship between health and healthy foods.

The administration of the NSLC said they were privileged to partner with Yale, benefitting from implementing the new nursing program at such a prestigious university that fosters academic growth and achievement. The NSLC hopes to emulate Yale’s mission of better health for all people by starting to prepare students interested in the nursing profession from a high school age.