30 Days of Giving 2016, Day 16 – Student Nurse Mentoring at Farmingdale State

Visiting Assistant Professor Kim O’Hara originally created the Student Nurse Mentoring Program to provide support services to new Farmingdale State College nursing students. Then, she and School of Health Sciences Acting Assistant Dean Dr. Jennifer Bryer expanded the program to include outreach about STEM professions to students at Stimson Middle School in Huntington Station.

The result: 40 students participated in sessions on hand washing and infection control, and teamwork and collaboration. Led by eight nursing student mentors under the guidance of Dr. Bryer and Professor O’Hara, the session was the first of three scheduled at the school. Students were given surgical masks and participated in a hand-washing game about how to protect against infection.

“The children showed sheer excitement at the prospect of becoming a nurse,” said Professor O’Hara.

And the kids weren’t the only ones excited. Said nursing student mentor Kayla Darienzo, “I really felt like a role model!”

Her colleague Heather Marino added: “One of the many goals of the nursing mentoring program is to introduce and inspire young students to explore nursing as a career. We hope to spark the interest of the younger generation.”

The program was an unqualified success, Stimson Principal Edwin W. Smith told Professor O’Hara: “What a great experience for our students and yours. Ours are still walking around the building with the surgical masks on!”