Notes from the 2004 Nurse Week Celebration Planning Committee reflect the discussion of strategies to encourage youth interest in the nursing profession. The option to co-sponsoring a contest with The Bibb County School System was selected. Membership of this committee was multi-departmental, involving all levels of nurses. Kim Mancin, RN, Beth Pearson, RN, and Cyndee Busbee, Director of Marketing made contact with the school system. The school board was enthusiastic. Student entries were collected, and awards distributed during end-of-year celebrations at schools. The contest has been so successful it has become an ongoing element of our annual Nurse Week Celebrations! In May 2008, our hospital newsletter and Magnet intranet site contained the following article:

Thanks to Pam Peterson, RN, and Lindsey Jones, this was the best-ever “What’s A Nurse” contest co-sponsored by MCCG and the Bibb County School system. Fifteen schools, twenty-six teachers and 742 students submitted pictures and essays depicting what a nurse is to them. This represents double the number of entries from the previous year. Most entries came from Bernd, Vineville, Sonny Carter and Heritage. Other participating schools (in order) included Appling, Rutland, WP Jones, Springdale, Bruce, Porter, Burke, Rosa Taylor, Miller, Hutchings and Central. The pictures depicting nurses from memory or imagination were fantastic. For the first time this year, we had 135 essays with quite a range of stories. Over 100 students from elementary through high school were interested in becoming nurses. In a time of worsening nursing shortages, this is terrific. Two panels of RNs selected winning entries from Kindergarten through 11th grade based on originality, creativity, and other factors. Students received a gift card and certificate.

This partnership has been sustained over time as demonstrated by the following participation table:

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