There’s a well-worn saying in health care, that children aren’t simply small adults — meaning children are physiologically unique in many ways from their adult counterparts, and caring for them requires special skills.
Nursing students at the University of Central Florida in Orlando gain much of that knowledge and hands-on training through clinical rotations at Nemours Children’s Health, which operates a free-standing hospital in Lake Nona Medical City, adjacent to where UCF is building a new home for its College of Nursing.
Nemours recently announced it’s expanding that partnership with a $2.5-million investment in a pediatric nursing training unit within the UCF Dr. Phillips Nursing Pavilion, which will open in the fall of 2025. The nursery and pediatric unit will be located in the Helene Fuld Health Trust STIM Center, a 12,000-sq.-ft. simulation center on the building’s second floor. Nemours’ gift also will support the creation of the “Nemours Children’s Health Learning Studio,” a 2,100-sq.-ft., high-tech classroom designed to foster collaborative learning. As UCF’s first pediatric health-focused “Pegasus Partner,” Nemours is investing an additional $2.5 million in an interdisciplinary research impact fund aimed at advancing pediatric health care and improving children’s health outcomes.
More than a third of children’s hospitals across the nation are grappling with a shortage of pediatric RNs. About 85% of UCF’s nursing graduates stay in Florida.