Twenty-five seventh- and eighth-grade students with an interest in nursing and health care from schools in Beaver, Washington, Greene and Fayette counties will visit RMU for the School of Nursing and Allied Health's overnight nursing camp taking place Monday, Aug. 7 through Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2006. During the camp, students will be given the opportunity to explore a career in nursing through activities that will include a visit from and tour of a LifeFlight helicopter; interaction with nurses from a variety of work settings and backgrounds; introduction to nursing skills such as blood pressure and pulse readings, measuring glucose, and reading a heart monitor; and sessions on topics such as how nurses care for our hearts and lungs; what to do if someone is choking or their heart stops; the importance of exercise and healthy eating; and immunizations. Each student will be awarded a diploma at the end of the camp.

Launched three years ago to address the region's critical nursing shortage, RMU's School of Nursing and Allied Health now enrolls more than 150 students through its undergraduate and graduate nursing degree programs. Last fall, the school earned initial accreditation of five years from the Commission of Collegiate Nursing Education for both its bachelor (BSN) and master of science in nursing (MSN) programs. Five years is the maximum accreditation for new programs.

Robert Morris University, founded in 1921, is a private, four-year institution with an enrollment of approximately 5,000 undergraduate and graduate students. The University offers 30 undergraduate degree programs and 18 master’s and doctoral degree programs. An estimated 22,000 alumni live and work in Western Pennsylvania.