FROM STUDENT TO NURSE
By Kelli Gifford, Magazine Editor
MAPP Program Enhances Skills for Select College Students All summer, MAPP student Meg Nowaczyk walked wearily back to her hotel room after spending 12 hours on the Medical Intensive Care Unit at Houston Methodist Hospital. She would spend the 10-minute walk reflecting on her day and how she was slowly transforming from student to nurse. “All I can think about is how being a MAPP student has proved to me once again that I can do this,” she says. The Methodist Advancement into Professional Practice (MAPP) program is a unique program that allows baccalaureate nursing students to practice in a clinical setting to enhance their skills and knowledge base. More than 250 students nationwide apply for fewer than 20 positions each year. There is an intensive screening process, which includes two phone interviews, the second of which is with a panel of three to six educators. With careful thought and consideration, and a list of criteria requirements, students are chosen and offered a chance to participate. Students are then united with their top unit choices. The academic program team works vigorously to create the best learning opportunities and experience available to the students while practicing at Houston Methodist Hospital, which many times can lead to the students being hired after graduation. Nowaczyk, 22, from Purdue University, says she always knew she wanted to be in the medical field, but was not sure what path was right for her.
10 HOUSTON METHODIST NURSE
“All throughout high school, I enjoyed biology and anatomy, but what I really excelled in was English,” Nowaczyk says. “After doing some research, I realized nursing was the perfect outlet for me to channel my inner scientist and communicate with people on a day-to-day basis. I get the best of both worlds — I get to make a real impact on the lives of others and see that impact because of how much time I get to spend with my patients.” Nowaczyk was one of 19 students chosen this summer and was assigned to the MICU.
“I know that when I return to school in the fall, I will be more than prepared to finish my senior year.”
– Meg Nowaczyk
“During my clinical rotations I was treated as exactly what I am, a student. But here, my preceptor proudly introduces me to the patients and explains that I will be providing care for them today. I am transformed into her co-worker, her friend and her equal.”