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Council's Own Awards
Junior Badge
Nursing Exploration
Complete at least 6 of the following requirements. Girls and Troops
from other councils are
welcome to use these requirements and
purchase the patch online.
The aging of America’s baby boomers and the increased demand for nurses
in specialized areas of care have combined to create a serious shortage
of nurses. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services predicts a
shortfall of 635,000 to 1,754,000 nurses by 2020. The result is that the
future for nurses has never looked brighter!
Nursing is a profession that involves the use of your intelligence,
skills, compassion and love of helping people to make a difference in
people’s lives. Completing this badge will increase your knowledge of
the variety of career opportunities available in nursing and will
increase your awareness of the growing need for nurses. Books,
magazines, videos, Internet sites, nursing professionals, nursing
schools and nursing organizations are available as resources for this
project.
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1. |
Learn about the diversity
Draw a picture, make a collage or write a list that represents
nursing as you perceive it now. After completing at least five of
the additional requirements, draw another picture, make a second
collage or write another list to show how your views of the nursing
profession have changed or how your knowledge has increased. |
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2. |
Fields of nursing
Learn about the many nursing specialties and what nurses do in these
areas. Some areas to check out are: ER, OR, CCU, NICU, UR, QA, CRNA,
WOCNS, hemodialysis, oncology, psychiatric, geriatric or pediatric.
Be able to explain what is involved in some of these fields to
another person.
Key: (Emergency Room; Operating Room; Cardiac Care Unit; Nursery
Intensive Care Unit; Utilization Review; Quality Assurance;
Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist; Wound, Ostomy and Continence
Nursing). |
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3. |
Environment
Learn about the different types of facilities or environments in
which a nurse may work. For example: Home Health Care, Hospitals,
Physician’s Offices, Schools, Camps, Flight Nurses, Hospice. In your
opinion, what are the pros and cons of each situation. |
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4. |
Career Exploration
If direct observation of a nurse is not possible or age appropriate
due to patient privacy, contact a local hospital, doctor’s office or
health clinic for a tour and observation when patients aren’t with
the nurse or have a nurse speak to your group or interview a nurse
that you know. Answer the following questions:
a. What roles does the nurse
perform?
b. How does the nurse
incorporate science and math into his or her roles?
c. What kind of leadership,
organizational, or decision-making skills does the nurse use in his
or her position?
d. Would you want to work as a
nurse? Why or why not? |
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5. |
Career Exploration
Look in newspapers or nursing journals for advertisements for
nurses. What salaries are advertised? Are any bonuses being offered?
What hours/shifts are being advertised? What educational
requirements are listed?
What different types of facilities are hiring nurses? |
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6. |
History of Nursing
Find out about the history of nursing. What influences did Clara
Barton and Florence Nightingale have on nursing? How has the nurses’
uniform changed over the years? What is/was a “capping” ceremony?
Write a paragraph or two about how you think you would react to a
nurse of 50 years ago wearing a white starched uniform and cap and
how you would react to a nurse of today in pastel scrubs or lab
coat. Are your feelings any different based only on how the nurse
looks? |
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7. |
What are those letters?
Find out what these tests are for and how they are used to determine
patient treatment: MRI, X-ray, CAT Scan, CBC, EKG, EEG. Share your
findings with others. |
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8. |
Service Project
Do a service project for a health care facility. Contact the
facility to see what they need done. Organize a group of your peers
to help with the project if necessary. |
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9. |
Service
Make a display or poster on the benefits of becoming a nurse or what
nurses do for the community. Display your work in your local
library, the school library, the Girl Scout Office nearest you, a
hospital, nursing home or college during Nurses Week (the first week
of May). |
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10. |
Family History
Explore your family’s health history. Include aunts, uncles and
grandparents. Document their age, medical conditions/illnesses and
occupations. Do you see any patterns in your family’s medical
history? |
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