Highline College Nursing Students are helping to shape the future of their profession—and they haven’t even graduated yet.
Through a partnership with the Washington Center for Nursing (WCN), Highline nursing students have spent the past few months visiting local middle schools to mentor the younger generation about a career in nursing. To date, they have visited Muckleshoot Tribal School, Sylvester Middle School, Mill Creek Middle School and Kilo Middle School.
The program, now in its third year, is known as the Teen Nursing Academy and was developed by WCN to proactively address the state’s critical nursing shortage. By working with diverse, under-resourced urban and rural middle schools, it aims to create a workforce pipeline of future nurses.
“This partnership plants the seed early, especially for middle school students who may not otherwise see themselves in healthcare,” said Steven Simpkins, Highline’s director of nursing programs. “Our nursing students serve as authentic, near-peer role models. They show younger students what is possible within just a few years.”
Highline is the third college to participate in the Teen Nursing Academy. In 2023, Green River College was the first college to partner, followed by Columbia Basin College in 2024.
While middle schoolers are the focus of the program, Highline’s nursing students also benefit from the mentoring sessions. Under the guidance of on-site Highline faculty, they grow their experience while gaining clinical hours. Some of the foundational skills they teach to the middle schoolers include checking vital signs like blood pressure, as well as the proper use of personal protective equipment (PPE), meaning how gloves, gowns and face shields can prevent the spread of illness.
According to Simpkins, “It has been an incredible opportunity for our students to step into leadership and educator roles. Teaching reinforces their knowledge and helps them see themselves not just as learners, but as professionals responsible for sustaining the future of nursing.”
Brenda Little, WCN communications manager and Teen Nursing Academy program manager, noted that middle school is a critical time when students begin forming ideas about who they are and what they want to do in the future. “Introducing careers like nursing at this stage can help shape their perceptions and keep those options open as they grow,“ she said.
She explained that Highline was selected to partner with the Teen Nursing Academy because of the strength and diversity of its nursing program. “Highline’s student body closely mirrors the middle school students participating in the program,” Little said.
“By engaging historically underrepresented students, the program helps build a more diverse and accessible healthcare workforce,” she added. Looking ahead, Little sees the Teen Nursing Academy as a practical, statewide strategy for addressing nursing shortages.
For Highline nursing students participating in the Teen Nursing Academy, the rewards are immediate. By inspiring the younger generation to consider wearing a stethoscope and scrubs one day, they’re already making their mark.
As Simpkins put it, “Our nursing students aren’t just preparing to enter the profession; they are already contributing to its future.”