Nursing at GCSU has been a prominent major since its establishment in 1987. This has led to thousands of students coming to GCSU to study nursing.
“Nursing was a field I felt I could help the most people out,” said Christeena Rinker, a senior nursing major. “I love people and being around people and helping them.”
One way GCSU helps its students is by hosting nursing recruitment fairs, which this year was held on Monday, Sept. 9. It was held in Magnolia Ballroom, starting at 11 a.m. and ending at 1 p.m.
The fair opened with nursing majors standing outside the doors with their resumes and backpacks ready to meet the many healthcare professionals from over 25 different medical facilities. Some present were Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Northside Hospital, Shepherd Center, Ethica Rehab, Wellstar Health System and Emory Healthcare.
Students attend these events looking for future positions and internships. They all dressed to impress with slacks and button-ups or even their scrubs from their clinicals.
“Today we came so that we can talk to hospitals to find our jobs for the rest of our lives,” said Rinker. “I am an extern in labor and delivery.”
All the employers in attendance had tables filling the room. Each table was decorated with tablecloths displaying the names of each of the respective hospitals. Many had pens, business cards and information pamphlets to hand out to the nursing students of GCSU.
“It is a wonderful event,” said Rai Harris, chief nursing officer at Regency Hospital. “I come every time they host it just to be able to get connection with the up-and-coming nursing students. And really be able to promote our hospital and what we do in hopes that we can find the right match.”
There are many different paths for students in the nursing major to take. After graduation, they can work in labor and delivery as a Family Nurse Practitioner, a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner, a Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner, a Nurse Educator or in Nurse Midwifery. At GCSU, students build the skills needed to enter the work field through clinicals, lectures and simulations.
“I am looking for nurses that are looking to get a foundation in both critical care and medical-surgical,” Harris said. “We [Regency Hospital] are a critical illness recovery hospital. So we’re able to offer the best of both worlds, if you will.”
At the fair, there were even some GCSU Alumni at a table for Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, or CHOA.
“We went to school here, me and Anna Catherine,” said Jenny Brightwell, a Certified Nurse 3 at CHOA. “And we wanted to come back and tell people how much we love working at CHOA and how nursing is a great career.”
Recruitment fairs are to help students at GCSU build their networks and allow them to see the different routes they can take after graduation. Building these face-to-face connections helps recruiters to build a stronger connection with the future nurses of the world.
