SUNY Jamestown Community College’s Nursing department held a mandatory, five-hour bootcamp for incoming fall freshmen Nursing students the week before the start of classes. The event was designed to offer specific strategies to reduce tension, and increase preparedness for the fall semester. 
JCC’s Nursing students are diverse in gender, age, ethnicity, race, and healthcare background. Diverse characteristics lead to different student experiences, which in turn, leads to the need for tailor-made support programs.
“Having a Nursing bootcamp is a new initiative for JCC,” said Heather Burrell, director of Nursing at JCC. “It has been proven to be an effective success and retention tool in Nursing education, and we are excited to bring this to JCC Nursing students.”
Both academic and non-academic services are important to students’ success. The bootcamp’s goal is to maximize student academic performance and provide emotional-support strategies to help navigate the college setting, and enhance success in the Nursing school journey.
The event highlighted resources and partnerships, both in the program and college-wide, that provide students support. Prior students shared personal experiences and knowledge during the bootcamp, and student responsibilities and stressors were discussed. Ways to manage those stressors were also shared.
JCC Nursing faculty and staff were involved in planning and implementing bootcamps on both the Jamestown and Cattaraugus campuses. A total of 110 students participated, and JCC’s Health, Learning, and Counseling and Career centers presented resources during the event.
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration, both rural Chautauqua and Cattaraugus counties are medically underserved areas, where there is a shortage of primary care health services available. New York State is projected to face a shortage of almost 40,000 nurses by 2030. The efforts of the Nursing program aim to benefit student retention and graduation, which helps increase the number of nurses trained to serve their communities. For more information, visit sunyjcc.edu/nursing.