Dear High School Guidance Counselor Or Nurse

April 9, 2018

Dear High School Guidance Counselor or Nurse:

We would like to extend an invitation to you to partner with us to provide your Junior and Senior students, who are interested in a career in nursing or allied health, an opportunity to shadow a health care professional.

Morristown Medical Center will host four shadow days, during which time your students can experience the nursing and allied health professions. We would work together to enroll the appropriate students into the program. Your participation would include selecting the students, collecting their paperwork and forwarding it to me and confirming their participation two weeks before the event.

The students would arrive at 7:30am at the lobby and depart at 1:30pm. We will provide a pizza lunch and the students will receive certificates of attendance at the end of the day. OSHA (Safety and Health) and HIPAA (Confidentiality) training will take place as per institution requirements. The shadowing on the actual patient care areas will be for approximately 3.5 hours, and be followed by lunch and an afternoon program. This event is free; however, students who park on site will need to pay the $7 parking fee.

We have enclosed an immunization form and two consent forms which must be filled out completely as the students will be in direct patient care units. If the forms are not filled out completely, we cannot accept the student. You would be responsible for providing the students with the required consents and medical forms and returning them to me when completed. A variety of nursing units and allied health areas are available. Please see the attached list. Students should mark their top 3 choices on the form and return it with the other paperwork. The student will be scheduled to attend when their paperwork is received. I will notify you of their acceptance and unit assignment and send a letter to the student’s parents with information on the program. Submitting completed paperwork does not guarantee a spot. It’s first come, first served and the dates fill up quickly. The student will be emailed with their status and every effort will be made to place them in an area of their choice but there are no guarantees.

We request that you instruct your students to dress in a professional manner, and we will strictly enforce this policy. We will not accept anyone wearing jeans of any color, short skirts, halter tops, shorts, open-toed sandals or flip-flops and no abdomen or undergarment exposure or tee shirts with logos. We will send a student home if she/he is not dressed in a professional manner. Also, please ask students to leave valuables at home and to wear only a minimal amount of jewelry. Cell phones can be used in the hospital but not in patient care areas.

This program is supported by The Morristown Memorial Hospital Foundation and the Nursing Education Department. The shadow day committee members hope that this program will provide a great learning experience for your students. Please encourage your students to write a brief note about their experience that can be shared with the Foundation donors.

The upcoming dates for the school year 2014 –2015 are:

Tuesday, October 14, 2014 Tuesday, December 9, 2014 Tuesday, March 17, 2015 Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Submitting the paperwork does not ensure them a spot. Students are scheduled as they submit the paperwork. Once the date is filled the student will be offered the next date if available.

We encourage you to screen the students for interest in nursing or allied health. We do not offer any physician, physician assistant or nurse practitioner shadowing.

The paperwork should be returned to you and then forwarded to me. This will allow you to know who is participating and will be absent from school that day.

Please note that the Consent form and Immunization form is new. Discard any old forms you have.

Please call or email me if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

Diane Schneider, RN Coordinator, Professional Development Program Morristown Medical Center 973-660-3528