Son Do wants to help people in the way others have helped his mother.

A career in medicine might be just the way to do that.

“I always had a passionate thing about helping people,” said Do, 15, of Auburn. “My mom always had compassionate people helping her at the hospital.”

Do was among more than 100 high school students throughout the South Puget Sound who got a hands-on look at careers in nursing and other specialties at MultiCare Health System’s 12th annual Nurse Camp July 20-24.

During the camp, students try out medical devices, perform “Skittlectomies” on mannequins, practice suturing on pig kidneys, and shadow professional nurses and other health care professionals in various departments at MultiCare’s five hospitals: Auburn Medical Center; Tacoma General Hospital; Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital and Health Center in Tacoma; Good Samaritan Hospital in Puyallup; and Allenmore Hospital in Tacoma.

The process is competitive, and this year the camp chose 109 of the 250 teens who applied.

Do and his family came to the United States from Vietnam when he was 4. His mother, who could not speak English at the time, had chronic health issues requiring multiple hospital stays.

Do said job shadowing an audiologist at camp helped him choose his career path.

“It changed me,” Do said. “It made me see how hearing can impact people’s lives. Now I want to work in audiology.”

Do hopes that when he graduates from college, specialists and registered nurses will be in great demand.

Nursing shortage

According to RN recruiters at MultiCare, there is a demand for nurses now. The size and nature of the RN work force fluctuates, runs in cycles, they explained. Retirements and other factors play a part at any given time as to what’s available to those breaking into the specialized nursing profession.

“There currently is a great demand for nurses. We are in the early stages of another nursing shortage,” said Kim Giglio, director of talent acquisition programs for MultiCare. “A lot of it has to do with demographics … There was a period of time when nursing wasn’t at the top of the list of professions that people were choosing. They were choosing high tech or other fields.

“And then, here in Pierce County, we did a really good job of building visibility for the career of nursing through events like Nurse Camp, working with the schools, educating students about the fact that nursing is a great career choice,” Giglio said.

As RN recruiters point out, today’s nurse needs to be well organized, customer-service oriented, empathetic, flexible, and have good time-management- and problem-solving skills.

RN recruiters say many Nurse Camp participants go on to careers as RNs, some decide to become specialists, like imaging technicians or physical therapists, and still others choose medical school.

Options like that intrigue Faatihma Nasheed, 17. The senior-to-be at West Auburn High School wanted to see for herself what Nurse Camp was all about.

“I like fast-paced things. I’m outgoing and get along with everybody. I care about people. I didn’t know there were so many fields in the medical profession,” said Nasheed, who is exploring the possibility of becoming an obstetrician. “My grandmother was a midwife, and I’ve seen many births of my cousins and family. … I just think it’s beautiful.”

‘Great exposure’

Avry Freaney, a junior-to-be at Kentwood High School, is debating between careers in medicine or nursing. The camp has provided a great opportunity to see if nursing is the right fit for her.

“It’s really great exposure,” she said. “It gives you an idea of what you might like to do before you go into college.”

MultiCare has long recognized the need to encourage a more diverse and well-prepared health workforce. It began its first Nurse Camp in 2003, graduating 30 students. Every year since, the camp has grown in popularity, with an increasing number of young men considering nursing careers, too.

“The experience was phenomenal,” said Jared Luna, a Nurse Camp graduate and volunteer. “I was pretty sure I was going to go into nursing. … (The camp) was a great final stepping stone to confirm (my interest in) nursing.”

Luna, of Tacoma, volunteers weekly in the emergency department at St. Francis Hospital in Federal Way. He begins a four-year nursing degree program this fall at Pensacola Christian College, Fla., and has his sights set on a career as an advanced practitioner nurse.

“I’m looking to specialize in either emergency or trauma (department nursing),” Luna said. “You’ve got to be flexible. You don’t know who or what’s coming in (for immediate nursing care).”

More than 250 MultiCare staff members and volunteers and more than 20 sponsors from the local community, made this year’s Nurse Camp possible.