Students mix learning and playing in mock hospital setting

The classrooms at Northeast Technology Center's Kansas Campus were transformed into a mock hospital for a few hours on a Tuesday afternoon as second-grade patients donned hospital gowns and prepared for surgery.

"This is a fun event that gives our nursing students a chance to interact with young patients and do some teaching," said Practical Nursing instructor Stacee Gillespie. "The goal of the event is to alleviate the little ones' apprehension about going to a hospital and also spark their interest in a medical career."

In the weeks leading up to the event, nursing students from NTC paid a visit to the second-grade classrooms at Kansas Elementary. The students and instructors spent time talking to the elementary students about what happens when someone goes to the hospital and what they could expect during their visit to the mock hospital.

"My students were very excited about the visit, but they were also a little nervous about if it would be real or pretend. Now that they're here, they're having so much fun," said Kansas second-grade teacher Casey Amos. "It takes away their anxiety about going to a hospital, and I've heard a lot of them talking about wanting to be a nurse or doctor now too."

When students arrived at the "hospital," their first stop was patient check-in where they received a medical folder and ID bracelet. They were also paired up with a "parent" -- an NTC Health Careers student -- who acted as their guide and gave reassurance throughout the process.

"We let them experience a little bit of everything: X-rays, EKG, surgery, recovery and of course, before they leave, they have to pay their bill," said Practical Nursing instructor Jodi Bell. "It's all pretend of course, but it's great practice for our students."

Kiersten Welch, a nursing student from Oaks, appreciated being pushed out of her comfort zone.

"I don't have kids of my own, so it feels awkward working with young patients," Welch said. "This is helping me get over that."

Aside from riding in the wheelchairs, one of the favorite stations was the operating room. The surgeons on duty helped the patients onto the operating table where broken arms and legs were fixed, and some patients even underwent brain surgery.

"It's fun, and I think it's good for kids to know what to expect when they go to a hospital -- to know it's not scary," said nursing student and acting surgeon, Ami Englert from Grove. "It's also fun for us as students, because it takes us outside our normal classroom and lets us have a little more fun than just hitting the books all day."

After surgery, patients went through post op and recovery before heading to the business office to pay their bill with the play money that was provided. From start to finish, each student's hospital experience lasted 15-20 minutes.

The mock hospital will be up and running again on Feb. 23 for another round of second-grade patients from Kansas Elementary, and the third and final event will take place on March 30.

"It had been a few years since we did this event, but when I heard about it, I talked Stacee into doing it again this year," Bell said. "It's a lot of work, but it's really a great experience for all the students, no matter what their age."