Ready to transform the future of healthcare? The Auburn University College of Nursing is blazing a trail with a new STEM grant. April Love and Hannah Peacock, at the College of Nursing, received a grant to support STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) preparation for high school students. Their project, STEM Preparation Involving Resource Innovation Training (SPIRIT) Program, is designed to increase an understanding of STEM professions and improve preparation for enrollment in healthcare programs among high school health science students and their educators. Their goal is to prepare today’s learners for tomorrow’s healthcare needs. Through hands-on learning, creative workshops, and vital mentorship, AUCON’s SPIRIT initiative is shaping a new generation of thinkers and trailblazers — equipped to tackle tomorrow’s challenges with confidence and vision.
The Auburn University College of Nursing (AUCON) SPIRIT program offers early simulation exposure, exploration of STEM career opportunities, and leadership development for students and educators. As part of this initiative, Love and Peacock are organizing two events in the fall and one event in the spring.
The SPIRIT program aims to promote leadership development by encouraging instructors to implement collaborative pedagogical practices tailored to STEM majors. Additionally, it enables students to cultivate leadership skills through enhanced learning experiences, examine interdisciplinary connections within healthcare, and assess STEM workforce opportunities that align with their academic and career objectives.
“We’ve hosted many interactive visits for high school HOSA organizations at AUCON,” said Peacock. “While interacting with students, I met many who were interested in nursing, but plenty of others who were interested in different healthcare fields. With this in mind, we began to brainstorm ways to encourage student interaction with various colleges to help provide them with a “one-stop-shop” opportunity to explore a diverse range of majors here at Auburn University and gain a fundamental understanding of the best career pathway for their educational plans.”
The AUCON program is structured around two main objectives. The first is to develop a one-day workshop for high school educators who are involved in or support healthcare pathways, with the goal of increasing their knowledge in simulation principles, design, and implementation. SPIRIT allows participants to network with and learn from AUCON’s EAGLES skills and simulation specialists.
The program delivers training that is tailored to the experience level of high school educators to enhance their understanding of and confidence in implementing simulation. Break-out sessions would guide educators in the creation of a simulation based on their needs and available equipment prior to the end of the day.
This workshop marks AUCON’s first direct effort to support high school educators, who often have equipment but lack guidance on its use. Love’s primary focus has been to develop the simulation-focused workshop that Alabama high school healthcare educators will participate in at the end of August. “Simulation has unique processes and standards, making it hard for teachers to feel confident without support,” said Love. “Inspired by their feedback, we created this workshop to help high school educators develop skills that benefit students as they move to college. We hope this is just the beginning of ongoing support for simulation learning in Alabama.”
The second objective involves organizing two large-scale healthcare exploration events for high school students at Auburn University, featuring interactive sessions from various colleges that offer STEM career pathways. These interdisciplinary visits provide sessions with hands-on activities and informational learning stations for high schoolers to engage with faculty, staff, and students through experiential learning. These visits are intended to serve as roadmaps for high school students and educators to gain a robust understanding of simulation-based learning and STEM careers.
According to Love, the duo have collaborated on this project since its inception. “We possess complementary strengths and knowledge bases and approach our work with mutual respect and awareness of these differences,” she said. Peacock was committed to providing high school student visitors with opportunities to learn about the offerings of the College and University, while Love’s focus was on supporting the instructors who play a critical role in inspiring these students. “The integration of our ideas led to the development of the program and secured its funding through the Alabama STEM Council grant,” said Love.
Love will lead the educator workshop which includes identifying members of the EAGLES simulation and skills team that will speak to the group, providing her own expertise in a simulation session, and leading the overall event, ensuring that “the day runs smoothly, moving us from one activity to another.” For the student exploration events, Peacock is coordinating with other colleges across campus, securing transportation services, and planning sessions to facilitate maximum student engagement. Love will help Peacock finalize the activities that student visitors will do. “We’ve used escape room-style games, demonstrations, and hands-on interactions with our high-fidelity simulators to help them better understand what learning is like at the College of Nursing,” added Love.
Offering additional learning opportunities in high school, along with more detailed informational sessions at the university, will assist students to make decisions regarding their post-graduation plans. This approach aims to clarify the process of selecting college majors and provides information to support student engagement in their education.
“Measuring impact is challenging,” said Love. “The current plan is for SPIRIT program participants to complete a survey to provide qualitative feedback about their experience and its possible influence on future choices — such as career interests for students or activity planning for educators. This will help us gauge interest in these opportunities. Long-term impacts, like tracking whether students pursue STEM or healthcare careers, will be evaluated later,” she added.
“The grant, funded by the Alabama Commission on Higher Education, is designed to fund our program for one year,” said Peacock. “However, if additional funds remain, we plan to allocate these for more workshops by either adding other dates in the fiscal year or creating additional opportunities in the following year,” she added.
As AUCON forges ahead with its SPIRIT program, the seeds of innovation and leadership are being sown in classrooms and communities across Alabama. Ultimately, initiatives like SPIRIT inspire students and teachers alike to imagine new possibilities, pursue their passions, and pave the way for a brighter, healthier tomorrow.
