ASU, Phoenix Children's provide real-life experience for student nurses
Former ASU students Madi Dominguez and Adhieu Cithec receive instruction from Phoenix Children’s nurse Marcia Abrahamson. Dominguez and Cithec were part of the Phoenix Children’s cohort out of the Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation and now work there. Photo courtesy of Phoenix Children’s
Hailey Duong-Tran started counting the hours.
Duong-Tran, a senior and nursing major in Arizona State University’s Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation, was filling out an application for a job when she got to the part about work-related experience.
She is one of 160 students currently part of Edson College’s partnership with Phoenix Children’s. The Phoenix Children’s cohort, which began in 2019, provides student nurses who want to work in pediatrics real-life experience.
Duong-Tran had to think about all the hours she’s spent at Phoenix Children's during the last three semesters. Finally, she came up with a number — 240 — and a purpose.
“It has solidified the fact that I really want to work in pediatrics,” Duong-Tran said. “I had a few experiences at other adult hospitals throughout nursing school, and this has helped show me how important it is to be working with kids and how different it really is. I really love it.”
The Phoenix Children’s cohort perfectly illustrates ASU’s commitment to not just educating its students but preparing them for life after college. Since the cohort began six years ago, 166 of the 205 students have been hired by Phoenix Children's — others went to work at other pediatric units — and their retention rate is 97% at six months and 87% at one year.
Those are statistics especially worth celebrating during Pediatric Nurses Week, which is recognized Oct. 6–10.
“That retention rate helps with our culture, patient care and growth,” said Dianna Bodine, the nursing student program manager at Phoenix Children's. “For us, that’s huge.”
The partnership with Phoenix Children's began in part because of a need to build a bigger pipeline of workforce-ready pediatric nurses. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the need for nurse practitioners is projected to grow 40% through 2031, but the American Association of Nurse Practitioners reports that only approximately 3.7% are certified in pediatrics.
Leslie Barnum, the program coordinator and an instructor in Edson College, said Phoenix Children's reached out initially, asking what the college could do to help students have more hands-on pediatric exposure.
Prior to the implementation of the program in 2019, Edson College students spent only 24 hours of their clinical rotations in pediatric units, Barnum said. Since the program began, students spend nearly 300 hours at Phoenix Children's.
“That’s the difference of showing up and kind of seeing what it’s like to learning what it’s like to be a nurse,” Barnum said.
Beginning at the start of their junior year, students participating in the cohort focus on basic pediatric care. Bodine said students quickly learn that taking care of children is “very different.”
“Disease processes are different, how we treat them is different, how we communicate is different,” Bodine said. “A lot of it is the communication piece. Just how do you communicate with a 2-year-old versus an 18-year-old?
"How do you communicate to a 2-year-old, ‘Hey, I’m going to give you a shot?’
“We also emphasize family-centered care. That is a big difference in pediatrics. It’s a soft skill, but very much what we do in pediatrics is working with an entire family. I might have a baby in the bed, but then I also have parents that I’m educating.”
In addition, Bodine said, the nursing students learn pediatric care techniques like music therapy, which is designed to help children feel safe in an unfamiliar and scary environment.
Madi Dominguez, who graduated from ASU in August and was recently hired at Phoenix Children's, called the cohort a “unique experience.”
“You get a greater appreciation for holistic health care, including the family, the emotional and developmental needs of the child, rather than just the physical needs,” Dominguez said.
The last semester of the program is called Transition to Practice. Rather than rotate between different units at Phoenix Children's, students work in a dedicated area, whether that’s neurology, neonatal intensive care, etc.
“They choose an area that they’re gravitating towards,” Barnum said. “And I would say for the large majority of our students, that’s also where they get hired as a new grad.”
Dominguez said all eight students on her team were hired by Phoenix Children's, and she was offered a job even before her final day of school. Because she had already spent almost 300 hours at Phoenix Children's and knew so many of the new nurses, she didn’t feel any of the anxiety that comes with the first day on the job.
“I can reach out to people I know for help,” she said. “You build really good relationships with the staff, so if that’s the unit you choose to work on, you have a good rapport going in.”
Bodine said there are no guarantees ASU’s students will be hired by Phoenix Children's. But they do find their way to the front of the employment line.
“Definitely priority goes to these students because they come with experience,” Bodine said. “They know our communication style, how our pharmacy works, how medicine and everything works in the pediatric world. It is very different. But they already know that. So they come with a better resume than a traditional student.”
Duong-Tran hopes that’s the case. Her goal is to be hired by Phoenix Children's after she graduates.
“I’m so extremely appreciative of this program,” she said. “I think if it wasn’t for ASU’s connection with Phoenix Children’s Hospital, it would be so much harder for me to kind of step into the pediatrics world. A lot of pediatric hospitals don’t want to hire new grad nurses because they’re kind of inexperienced.
“So I think it’s amazing that ASU has allowed us to have this opportunity.”
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