Skidmore Nursing in New York City
A major attraction to the nursing program at Skidmore was that the students also had the privilege of attending class and clinicals at the Manhattan campus, which was dedicated exclusively to nursing majors. Students in their sophmore and junior years would spend their semsters getting first hand experience in the field of nursing. The Manhattan campus provided students clinical experience at some of the most distinguished hospitals and research centers in the country, such as New York University Medical Center and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. One day per week, students attended a class on 20th street taught by a member of the Skidmore faculty.
Nursing student in NYC
In the summers, nurses were assigned to various public health agencies throughout the five boroughs, encountering the melting pot of New York City everyday. Skidmore nursing students maintained hectic and busy schedules, treating patients from all across the country and even the world. They rarely saw one another until the end of the day. Spending long days and sometimes seeing jarring medical cases, Skidmore nursing students forged a camaraderie with each other. Away from their homes and families they created a home of their own with each other for support in these stressful but exciting times. Students would have profound experiences sometimes witnessing both the start of a life through child births and the end of others in their hands on nursing experiences. In moments like these Skidmore's commitment to understanding the human experience was seen through their determination to not just witness these experiences but to understand what it means to witness both life and death. In the interviews done by the public history student, alumni after alumni spoke to how these experiences in New York City deeply affected them, turning them into the nurses that they are today.