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Student Project Looks Into Future Careers

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By JESSICA BAIR, The Suncoast News

Published: November 18, 2007

NEW PORT RICHEY - Choosing a career path can be a difficult decision for any high school student, says Pat Reeder, career specialist at River Ridge High School.

That's why every graduating student is required to present a senior project on a career of their interest before commencement.

Many students interested in the medical field observed and shadowed the staff at Morton Plant Mease North Bay Hospital for several days recently for their assignment.

Several female students got a crash course in patient care with registered nurses on the North Bay medical-surgical floor, its Mitchell Rehabilitation Hospital unit and its emergency room.

"Every section runs differently," Katie Marschner, 17, noted after her last day. "The ER was really fast paced."

The girls agreed they learned and were most interested with the nurses on the surgical floor.

"You really have to care for your patient," senior Melissa Painter, 17, said of the nurses. "It's about caring and not being selfish, or the patient loses out."

Another student, Jessica Phipps, 17, was intrigued by the technology used in the nurse's daily routines and other equipment.

"Some of that stuff I'd never seen before," Phipps said.

She liked the pill dispenser with fingerprint identification, which grants access only to specific employees, then automatically slides out a shelf with the requested drug of choice.

Sarah Witmer, a hospital patient care technician, explained other equipment including a defibrillator, used to restore normal heart rhythm, a bag valve mask, a handheld device to aid breathing, and a portable Dinamap patient monitor, which checks the patients blood pressure and pulse rate, to the students.

While following one North Bay registered nurse Ann Schmidt, Painter said she learned the importance of prioritizing.

A chart with patients' names, medications they need to take each hour and other helpful information was strategically mapped out on a piece of paper she carries with her.

"Everyone has a different system," Schmidt told the young women. "You just have to prioritize and find the one that works for you."

The nurses answered questions and offered advice that resonated with the future health care workers.

"They have to take care of things that others might not want to do," Painter said of some of the less-glamorous nursing tasks such as giving baths and changing sheets.

"Some days you'll want to give up, but they said no matter what, you'll be back the next day," the high school senior said of the dedication to patients the nurses she met possess.

After their hands-on experience, the students will prepare a research report and give a 20- to 30-minute presentation to a community panel in April.

The future nurses will discuss topics like the current shortage of nurses in the field, stresses of the job and doctor-patient confidentiality. The senior project is worth 15 percent of their final grade.

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