情色空间

The idea for SCRUBS grew out of Dean Susan Gennaro鈥檚 annual year-end discussions with graduating Connell School students. In recent years, as she鈥檚 spoken with seniors about their experiences at Boston College, Gennaro has noticed a thread: Many students told her that sophomore year had been a challenging time in their nursing education, a kind of crossroads in their academic and social lives between the foundational classes all freshmen take together in the first year and the more specialized clinical practice placements and advanced coursework that define the last two years of the program.

鈥淚n many ways,鈥� said retreat co-organizer and director of the Center for Student Formation Mike Sacco, 鈥渢he middle of sophomore year is the perfect time to get students together to reflect鈥攖hey鈥檙e serious enough about their major and immersed enough in the college culture to have fruitful discussions.鈥�

CSON鈥檚 Associate Dean of Undergraduate Programs Sean Clarke and Assistant Dean of Student Services, Diversity, and Inclusion Julianna Gonzalez collaborated with the Center for Student Formation鈥檚 Sacco and Tim Mulvey, assistant director of Collaborative Initiatives, to translate some of the concepts and traditions of longstanding Boston College retreats such as KAIROS into the context of nursing education. A goal of SCRUBS, Mulvey said, was to customize the formation experience for Connell School students.听

Approximately two-thirds of the 110 members of the class of 2018 attended the retreat. They were drawn in part by an opportunity to prepare for and think about the academic changes ahead鈥攕pecialized upper-class courses and simulation labs; the 鈥渢ransition to clinical"鈥攁nd career choices after graduation. But the appeal was personal and social as well. Freshman-year friends often see less of each other during sophomore year, said Bethany Candage 鈥�18. 鈥淭his weekend was something I didn鈥檛 know I needed until I was here鈥攁 chance to reconnect with my classmates away from 情色空间.鈥�

In particular, the small groups offered a chance for those sophomores who had started their clinical placements to share insights with classmates who were about to begin their own work in hospitals and health centers. 鈥淚t鈥檚 good to reconnect now, just when we鈥檙e starting to break off and specialize,鈥� said Trevor Golden 鈥�18. 鈥淚t鈥檚 valuable to gather together again before we go out into the world.鈥� Senior leaders were also able to speak to the experience of starting to work in a hospital.听

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On Friday night and Saturday, the talks were followed by small-group reflection, discussion, and activities. A Connell School senior led each group, lending perspective on work in hospitals and clinics and advanced coursework. Of her clinical placement, group leader Sarah DiGirolamo 鈥�16 said, 鈥淎t the time, it was useful to talk to older students to hear that feeling overwhelmed at first was okay; it was actually normal.鈥�

On Saturday afternoon, students took advantage of a block of free time to attend Mass; relax at the conference center; or, in spite of the snow lingering on the ground, play basketball outside.

Sacco began the day Sunday morning by addressing the elephant in the room鈥攊t was, after all, Valentine鈥檚 Day. He encouraged students to think of the holiday as a chance to reflect on the role of love in their lives in a broad sense鈥斺�渁 time to think about who you are and who you want to be and how you want to love.鈥� The conference then concluded with a look toward the future, as faculty, seniors, and a panel of five alumni discussed challenges such as balancing clinical practice with coursework, making challenging career choices, and finding one鈥檚 place in the world of nursing.