Posted: 1/6/2006
Prospective students can view a slice of real life as a Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing student through student “blogs” now posted on the School’s website. In the blogs – website-based journals kept online for others to view – eight Hopkins nursing students write about all aspects of their lives, both on and off campus.
“Reading the blog of an actual student at the School of Nursing can give a prospective student information that no admissions officer can convey,” says Mary O’Rourke, Director of Admissions and Student Services. “Today more and more prospective and recently accepted students are relying on blogs to learn about the academic challenges of nursing school, extracurricular activities, volunteer or work experiences, and what everyday life is like for a Hopkins nursing student.”
The eight student bloggers represent the types of students and the diversity of the student body at the School of Nursing. The group includes undergraduate and graduate students, men and women, a past Navy Hospital Corpsman, a new father, a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer, the president of the Student Government Association, the president of the school’s chapter of the National Student Nurses’ Association, and the vice president of the Black Student Nurses Association.
The blog pages also feature RSS (Really Simple Syndication) technology, which allows Internet users to “subscribe” to the blog website and to be notified when the student bloggers update their journals.
“Technology has tremendously improved the recruitment process,” says O’Rourke. “We can reach many more students, with more up-to-date information, than ever before. Through a blog, outsiders can learn what it’s really like to be on the inside of a Johns Hopkins nursing education. I hope that they read it, identify with the student, and say, ‘Yes, I can do this too!’”
To read the student blogs, visit: http://blogs.chatuniversity.com/jhuson/.