The Dr. Seuss book, Oh, the Places You Will Go!, is a popular graduation gift for students seeking to enter a variety of professions. As graduation nears for nursing students, use this bulletin board idea to remind them why they chose the profession they did. Post photos of people of all ages and use real-life photos, if possible. If not, clip pictures of people from magazines or make color copies from some of the students’ textbooks. Include pictures of both healthy people—those wearing smiles and street clothes—and patients being treated, either in an exam room or a hospital bed. Nurses will need to serve both their patients and the patients’ healthy visitors as part of their work in the health care field. To make the bulletin board more interesting, make up names for those in the pictures, along with possible symptoms for the patients being treated, and staple them to the board on colored, bubble-shaped pieces of paper.
This bulletin board can be altered to fit any nursing specialization, from geriatrics to obstetrics. To make a pediatrics-focused bulletin board, post information about illnesses and diseases that affect children, such as chicken pox, juvenile diabetes or juvenile arthritis. Be sure to post this information on brightly colored paper and accompany the information with graphics or photographs. These touches will not only serve to make the board more pleasing to the eye, but will help students better relate to the information being presented in the display, improving their chances of retaining the information.
Since all nursing students are required to take the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX), information about it can be used to prepare a bulletin board. Include exam eligibility rules and the amount of the examination fee, as well as information that will be covered on the exam. According to the All Nursing Schools website, the NCLEX exam is divided into four categories focused on the needs of clients. “Safe, Effective Care Environment” deals with the management of care and safety and infection control. “Health Promotion and Maintenance” covers growth and development over a lifetime, and prevention and early detection of disease. The “Psychological Integrity” category focuses on coping and adaptation and psychological adaption. The final category, “Physiological Integrity,” covers basic care and comfort, among other subjects. Display these categories beneath the words, “Prepare to be tested on…” as part of a bulletin board display meant to help nursing students prepare for the NCLEX exam.