In a University Medical Center classroom, CPR mannequins laid across the tables as a dozen high school students gathered around. Some grabbed the AED, others pretended to call 911 and a few locked their elbows and began performing CPR. This interactive learning experience is just one that 35 high school students participated in at UNLV’s fifth annual nursing camp, a weeklong summer camp for students interested in the medical field.

The students, ranging in age from 13 to 18, got their first taste of life-saving medicine through a series of certifications and heard the cry to expand the nursing workforce in Nevada, as the state works to find thousands of nurses to ease the shortages. On Monday, campers gained their Stop the Bleed certification after learning how to apply pressure to a bleeding wound, pack a wound and correctly apply a tourniquet. They also learned how to check vital signs.

Blood pressure, temperature, respiration and heartbeats fell under the vitals demonstration, which was Natalie Caspelan’s favorite part of nursing camp. “I think it’s one of the most funnest parts to do. It’s very interesting to hear people’s heartbeats,” she said.

Caspelan, a 17-year-old rising senior at Somerset Academy Losee Campus, decided she wanted to go into nursing after her little brother was admitted to the NICU with COVID-19. The nurses who provided for her brother helped her carry on, she said. As the oldest of four, she said it was difficult to see one of her young.