Sixteen-year-old Kira Mazzuca inserted a rubber tube into the nostril of a mannequin as five other high school girls looked on with interest.

Kira, of Tacoma, Wash., was one of 30 local students who spent a week of their summer at MultiCare Health System’s nurse camp at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Wash.

“As a nurse, you would be doing these kinds of procedures on a regular basis,” said Shirley Coleman Aikin, a PLU nursing instructor who led the activity.

Getting a taste of the daily practices of nursing — its realities and rewards — was the program’s goal, said Ethlyn Gibson, MultiCare’s community outreach coordinator.

“I see it as addressing the nursing shortage issue,” Gibson said, “but it also gives the students a unique hands-on experience that helps them become informed enough to decide whether to enter the nursing profession later on.”

The camp, funded by MultiCare’s foundation, was free to participants. The high school students were chosen from among 65 applicants based on their personal essays, school attendance and recommendations from teachers, doctors and other community members.

The nursing schools at PLU and Tacoma Community College were also partners in the program, providing most of the instructors and facility space.

After the first day of becoming CPR certified, students devoted the next to learning about the academic aspects of nursing, with a visit to TCC in the morning and PLU in the afternoon.

“In the long run, this type of program exposes people to our profession,” said Terry Miller, dean of the PLU nursing school. “They are our primary pipeline, but even if they don’t go into nursing, they learn the truth about the profession.”

Jenny Baker, 16, center, puts a stethoscope to her ears after inserting a nasogastric tube into the nose of a mock patient during MultiCare Health System's nurse camp at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Wash. Ashley Livingston, 15, right, was among the students assisting Baker under the supervision of Larry Haymes, left, a registered nurse and volunteer for the camp.

In addition to learning about nasal gastric tube insertion, students rotated through stations devoted to learning to calculate medication dosages and assessing patients’ vital signs, including listening to heart, lungs and bowels and taking blood pressure. They also did some practice questions for the nursing state board exam.

Kelsey DeCook, 15, and Hanna Breen, 17, said they got 60 percent of the questions right on their first attempt. Though that’s probably not high enough to pass, Breen said she was not discouraged.

“Nursing is something I want to get into, and this is a good way to get my foot in the door,” she said.

Inspiring this kind of excitement is the goal of the camp, Sensel said. She added that the focus on hands-on activities is meant to teach students about the challenges and variety of the profession.

Janelle Huse, a MultiCare nurse and counselor for the day, said she wishes she had become enthusiastic about nursing earlier.

“I had a very negative impression of nurses upon graduating high school,” she said. “I thought it was a no-brainer job. I thought nurses just passed pills and changed bandages.”

Gibson said she also hopes to attract more men and minorities to the profession by inviting guest speakers from these underrepresented groups.

Joe Scheffer, 15, said he didn’t mind being one of only three boys in the camp. He added that his mom, a nurse, got him excited about the camp.

“I like the idea of taking care of people,” he said.