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High school seniors from around the state dove headfirst into their futures as aspiring nursing students and healthcare professionals on the Emmanuel College campus during the week of July 15th.

For the first time, Emmanuel offered the summer experiential learning opportunity for high school students – labelled Summer Academic and Informational Nurse Training (SAINT). Throughout the week, students participated in hands-on skills activities in the College’s state-of-the-art nursing simulation labs, gained valuable certifications in CPR and Stop the Bleed, learned from established nursing MSN and BSN alumni and toured hospital facilities right in the neighborhood.

“Monday I came in nervous, but everyone was so welcoming – it’s awesome to have the other seniors here all together,” said Gianni Dellelo of Saugus.

Dellelo said after visiting the Emmanuel campus back in March, he was keeping an eye out for an opportunity to visit again – and since he’s aspiring to become a nurse and possibly attend the College when he graduates, he decided to take the opportunity. Thanks to the tight knit community, he added, he was able to get acclimated quickly over the few days.

He highlighted a number of sessions that he thought were beneficial throughout the week of the program, including the session with Emmanuel’s Leslie Ferrick McCafferty career center, which he said gave him valuable advice on resume building, as well as working on nursing skills and certifications, like putting in IV’s and packing wounds in Stop the Bleed training.

Reilly Reynal (left) and Gianni Dellelo (right) practice applying tourniquets to earn their certification in Stop the Bleed.

“The program was a great success,” said Emmanuel’s Interim Chief Academic Officer Diane Shea, Ph.D., RN, who also serves as dean of the Maureen Murphy Wilkens School of Nursing and Clinical Sciences and a professor of Nursing. “We were thrilled to host such a bright and energetic group of high school students.”

Students commenced training on day one and were instructed by Adjunct Professor Sheila Silva, DNP, RN, CEN, TCRN, who has been working with the Emmanuel College nursing program for more than 20 years.

“It’s a wonderful time to be a new nurse,” Dr. Silva told the group, “there are so many opportunities and specializations they didn’t have 10 years ago.”

Dr. Silva presented and gave a demonstration of packing wounds and applying tourniquets before each student applied their new knowledge on their own, receiving their Stop the Bleed certification.

Bridget Heald of Medford said it was great to be able to get those certifications and the experience even before nursing school. She also said she appreciated the affordability of the SAINT program, especially with the proximity to all the nearby hospitals.

It was a great head start for her, she said, as she hopes to go into pediatrics in the future: “I had a lot of great doctors and nurses as a kid, and I want to give back that same experience [to her patients].”

Activities throughout the week also gave students a glimpse into college life, including a tour of Emmanuel’s St. Julie Hall residence hall. They also received valuable insight from Emmanuel’s Office of Admissions and Student Financial Services staffs about the admission process and financial aid.

Reynal receives instruction from Boston Emergency Medical Services about the inner workings of an ambulance.
Bridget Heald (left) and Reynal pose with their Summer Academic and Informational Nurse Training (SAINT) shirts.

All the advice was an important takeaway for Reilly Reynal. She said she appreciated the baseline of information participating students received on the nursing path that they wouldn’t be able to get from their high schools, as well as direct tips from alumni on study habits and challenges they faced early on in their undergraduate careers.

Reynal also said she appreciated hearing from alumni and Emmanuel faculty that it’s okay to start out as a nursing student without knowing everything right away.

With the SAINT program, Reynal said, “we can get familiar with it now and then we’ll be able to pick it up much easier later on.”

The program went very well, especially in its first year, said Laurie Rotondo, MSN, RN. Rotondo, who works as Clinical Placement Coordinator for Emmanuel’s School of Nursing and Clinical Sciences and worked to organize the week of activities, said students shared great feedback and gained an “invaluable” experience from it.

It was clear how many of these students wanted [to study] nursing – and it opened up Emmanuel to them even more in their eyes."

Laurie Rotondo, MSN, RN

On top of earning certifications, students were able to put those earned skills to the test in the nursing lab. Between that, the tour of Boston Children’s Hospital and the ambulance tour on campus, they got to see a wide array of work in the field and really make sure it’s what they want to pursue in college.

Following a successful launch of the summer experiential learning program, Dr. Shea said members of the Emmanuel’s School of Nursing and Clinical Sciences look forward to hosting it again next summer. Emmanuel is also actively exploring the expansion of its high school summer enrichment program across all five of the College’s academic schools for next summer.

“I want to commend the all the nursing faculty who were committed to making the camp a phenomenal experience for these students,” she said. “Thanks to their dedication, they were able to far exceed even the highest of expectations.”

Students outside of Boston Children's Hospital prior to their tour with Associate Professor Dr. Carol Femia (left), Associate Professor Julie Briere, BSN (center) and Dr. Diane Shea (right).