'Camp Scrubs' teaches kids about health care careers

TUCSON, AZ (Tucson News Now) - Happening this week, 20 Tucson middle school students are experiencing what it's like to be a registered nurse.

'Camp Scrubs,' now in its 12th year, is taking place at Banner University Medical Center Tucson located in midtown near Speedway and Campbell.

The 7th and 8th graders participating in the summer camp are shadowing working nurses, touring the medical center's different facilities including the ER and the Level 1 Trauma Center, and learning about different nursing specialties including infection control and orthopedics. By the end of the program, these students will be first aid and CPR certified. They will also learn about their options in other health care careers.

Lori Mare, RN helps direct Camp Scrubs. She said encouraging students at this age to think about a possible nursing career now gives them time to adjust to their high school coursework with an eye toward getting into nursing school.

According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, the U.S. is projected to experience a shortage of Registered Nurses as Baby Boomers age and the need for health care grows.

Camp Scrubs is made possible by a partnership with Arizona Youth University, a summer youth program of the U of A. While it's too late to sign children up for this year's Camp Scrubs program, registration for next year's camp opens to parents late February 2016.

Spaces fill up fast, so organizers suggest they sign up their kids via

as soon as it opens.

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