Promoting Nursing in Our Schools

Our schools initiative promotes nursing as a career choice to school students at all pre-college grade levels, beginning with kindergarten. Nurses from each of UPMC's hospitals have been assigned to schools in this year's target area—Allegheny County. Since November 2001, when the initiative began, presentations have been made to more than 15,000 students at over 186 private and public schools throughout southwestern Pennsylvania. Supportive tools—including a videotape, a Web site, brochures, and an interactive career wizard/CD-ROM—are all being developed for use during the upcoming school year.

This initiative has been coordinated with several other entities within the UPMC, including Community Initiatives' work within underserved schools and health care academies, as well as with those responsible for recruiting for non-nursing health care careers.

Recently, a new partnership has been created to reach 6- to 18-year-olds in our region. UPMC will be the primary partner for the Girl Scouts of Southwestern Pennsylvania for approximately six events during 2002-2003. At the events, speakers will present nursing as a career choice. UPMC will also be the conduit through which the junior, cadet, and senior scouts will receive a new Nursing Explorer patch introduced by the national organization, the Girl Scouts of the U.S.A.

Learn more about nursing as a career