Beacon creates new career pipeline with seasonal nursing assistant program at Memorial Hospital
A small group of 2024 seasonal nursing assistants tour Memorial MedFlight.
When Memorial Hospital leaders saw they were missing out on a valuable talent pool and an opportunity to nurture future healthcare professionals, they developed a new program tailored for college students pursuing a career in health care.
The seasonal nursing assistant program, spearheaded by Pam Morrison, Beacon’s Workforce Development Program Manager, aims to provide a flexible and rewarding experience for students seeking to gain practical healthcare experience while pursuing their academic goals.
“We recognized the gap in our practice after turning away countless applicants due to their inabilities to work for more than a few months each summer while home from college,” Morrison said. “We were missing out on an entire pocket of individuals seeking experience in the nursing assistant roles.”
The hospital’s Professional Development and Talent Acquisition teams collaborated to streamline the traditional three-week onboarding process. By incorporating virtual components and a hybrid model, the seasonal nursing assistant program substantially reduces orientation time.
Now entering its third year, the program has grown from 13 students in its 2023 inaugural year to 16 in 2024, welcoming students from schools including Marquette, Purdue, Indiana University, Cedarville University, Ball State, Butler, University of Michigan and the University of Notre Dame. Students come from various academic backgrounds, including nursing, radiology, chemistry, epidemiology, pre-med, and pre-physician assistant paths.
The program offers flexible six- to 12-hour shifts across adult inpatient departments, and, since 2024, pediatric units. “Because of the varied interests and programs of study within the seasonal nursing assistant team, we also offer shadow opportunities across departments where they are not formally trained,” Morrison said, including such areas as the Emergency Department, Major OR, Radiology and the Childbirth Unit.
The seasonal nursing assistants have proven to be invaluable assets, eager to work beyond minimum hours and helping to reduce overtime for traditional staff during summer months. Many continue working on a PRN basis during school breaks, including the current holiday break.
“In creating this program, we’ve developed a career pipelining opportunity for non-local college students to return home to Beacon for future employment because of the professional networks they’ve built and the positive experiences they’ve had,” Morrison said.
In their own words
Three students share their experiences from the 2024 program, highlighting how hands-on healthcare experience is shaping their career aspirations and personal growth.
Evan Wieneke, Indiana University Bloomington
The program exceeded Evan’s expectations, providing him with assurance to pursue his decades-long interest in medicine. “The best part about being a nursing assistant has been meeting and interacting with amazing people, whether that is the patients, nurses, doctors, or any other hospital staff,” says Evan, who is back at Memorial during his holiday break. “There are so many heroes in the medical field and seeing them sacrifice so much of their time and personal life to help the community is very inspiring to me.”
Working with dozens of nurses has taught him about managing a life in health care while providing valuable career guidance. In addition to conversations with long-time Memorial nurses, the experience of bedside care is humbling.
“Taking a few minutes before or during every shift and realizing that everyone I encounter is human and wanting to get back to their baseline before leaving the hospital, has been very important to me,” he says. “Once I understood that people are often at their very worst when I meet them, it added even more to my philosophy of treating patients like family.”
The hands-on experience has Evan considering either medical school or the nurse practitioner path. “It is the most valuable thing I can be doing to not only help people at the current stage in my life, but also to help set myself up for the future.”
Kai Jamora, Indiana University Bloomington
Initially nervous about working in a hospital setting, Kai found a supportive environment that transformed her understanding of the hospital and patient care and solidified her decision to pursue pre-med. “Despite these nerves, all of the nurses and other PCAs I have worked with have been more than willing to help me. They have taught me so much and encouraged me to ask questions.”
Several 2023 seasonal nursing assistants pose with members of the Memorial team.
The program helped her develop deeper connections with patients. “It is important to show them compassion and make that connection so they can trust you and feel more comfortable. It can be scary for some of these people to be in the hospital, and it is not a place that anyone wants to be,” she says. “I gained lots of valuable skills, I was able to work on how to become more personal with my patients and how to get to know them enough to be able to fulfill their wants and needs.”
Working alongside nurses particularly impacted her perspective on healthcare leadership. “I have grown to look up to all of the nurses I have been able to work with. They work so hard, and I love seeing how much they care for their patients. They are truly amazing and working at Memorial will shape how I want to be as a doctor and the environment I want to create with the staff around me.”
Ellsie Leiter, Cedarville University
Ellsie embraced every opportunity the program offered, including specialized pediatric floor training and a memorable Medflight ride-along. Her responsibilities ranged from taking vitals and blood sugars to providing personal care and emotional support.
“I can’t say there’s been a singular moment where I have had a favorite patient experience,” she says. “Whether patients were thanking me for my care, sweet older ladies trying to set me up with their grandsons, a patient’s family bringing me coffee, or even a hug from a worried mother.”
The most challenging part were the shifts spent sitting with patients, hearing difficult family conversations. “While hearing these conversations gave me more compassion toward their situation, it was difficult hearing and seeing the pain that not just my patient was experiencing, but the whole family was going through.”
The experience reinforced her career path and taught her valuable lessons about patient care. “My career goal is to graduate college with my BSN degree, work as a nurse in ER, and then move into the Pediatric ICU. After a couple years of experience in the PICU, I hope to start working as a pediatric flight nurse.” Her most valuable lesson was about compassionate care. “Caring for a patient is one matter, but having empathy and compassion for them is completely different altogether.”
Learn more
For more information about the seasonal nursing assistant program and opportunities for summer 2025, please contact Pam Morrison at pmorrison@beaconhealthsystem.org.
