Nurse Laura Frank attempts to prepare blood for a transfusion, but a trauma patient arrives at the hospital. She is called away from what she is doing to assist with the admission of the new patient. She tries to find another nurse to take over one of her duties, but there are none available. This “delay in care” is an effect of understaffed hospitals, and a key reason why she founded the Health Club.
Although this year saw the death of such organizations as the Ski Club, new clubs have sprung up to meet the diverse interests of students. This year saw the introduction of the Health Club and Book Club, which take their place among the already established JC groups.
The Health Club was founded by Laura Frank to combat the dire need for nurses and other health care professionals by getting students interested in the medical field. The club entertains members with various guest speakers, from dentists to microbiologists.
They discuss, among other topics, what different health fields involve, the schooling required, pros and cons of the job, and average pay. Frank said, “The U.S. is lacking nurses and health care professionals. We are trying to recruit people and get interest for the health field.” She can relate to the lack of qualified professionals that plague hospitals across the country. “It was constantly short staffed in the hospital I worked at. It really affects patient care and treatment,” she said
Frank brings in guest speakers to try and expand students’ horizons beyond just the classic doctor and nurse perceptions of medical careers. She tries to get speakers involved in fields that are most interesting to the members of the club.
Frank has had a sports medicine trainer and even a forensic scientist come. The forensic scientist touched on the possibility of one becoming a forensic nurse, which combines crime-stopping and nursing into one career. Through these speakers, she allows students to “explore different careers and other related fields that are interesting and well paying, but students have never heard of.”
Junior Shannon Kelly found that the Health Club is a worthwhile experience, “Those who are interested in the medical field but are overwhelmed with the thousands of different professions will find Health Club very helpful. It’s fun, interesting, and informative, and will help in the future when it’s time to decide on a career.”
The Health Club meets the third Thursday of every month in the Health Suite, and is an open club. Frank encourages all students who are “at all interested in the health field or looking for a steady job to come. It is a field that is never lacking in opportunities.”
Librarian Anne Baker created the Book Club to be “fun for students and for me; I had a bit of an ulterior motive when founding it.” The club does not just read books, but it is, “more of a culture discussion about books we like to read and movies we like.”
Junior Maggie Yankovich added, “I just like the chance to discuss books with people that actually like reading. Even though we can read these really intellectual books, we can read fun books, too.”
At meetings, members discuss authors and recommend movies and books. Books are chosen based on student recommendations. The laid-back atmosphere doesn’t even require members to finish the books. Baker said, “I don’t even require them to read books. I just want them to be open to the idea of reading. I don’t want it to be a stressful thing; they can finish at their own pace.”
The club can enlighten students to the enjoyable aspects of reading, and as Yankovich said, “A lot of the time people associate reading with schoolwork and that automatically makes them not want to read, but Book Club gives them an opportunity to see books in a new light.
Baker has big plans for expanding what the club does, hoping to one day have authors attend meetings and have fundraisers that relate to the books read by the group.
It is an open club, with about ten people attending every meeting, but Baker said, “If just one or two people come, I will continue the club.” Meeting dates are announced on the dry erase board in front of the library and they meet in the Faculty Resource room.
The point of the club is not to force students to read. Baker said, “I don’t force kids to read books. Encouraging that love of reading is part of my job and I want to do it more. Reading for fun is something if you don’t do now, you might never.”