Blinn Health Sciences Summer Camp inspires students to pursue careers in healthcare

7th and 8th graders from as far as Austin participated in the immersive camp featuring Blinn’s state-of-the-are clinical simulation labs

June 27, 2025

With precision and confidence, Trisha Mehta calmy wraps a blood pressure cuff around her patient’s arm to check his vitals. Despite the hospital setting, Mehta is not a nurse or doctor, she is one of the 20 middle school students participating in the Blinn College District’s annual Health Sciences Summer Camp.

“Ever since I was little, I’ve been aspiring to be a surgeon and this camp was a great first step,” Mehta said. “The state-of-the-art simulation labs and instruction here have really helped me improve my understanding of the medical space.”

About to enter her freshman year of high school, Mehta, 14, traveled from Austin to attend the three-day camp hosted at Texas A&M-RELLIS.

“I was looking on the internet one day and when I saw the camp, I was an immediate sign up,” she said. “This camp has brought a bunch of new opportunities to the table. I’ve learned a lot about medical terminology and what kinds of careers exist that aren’t doctors or nurses. I would definitely recommend this camp because the Blinn students and faculty really let you see how they work and it’s really interactive.”

The three-day camp introduced Mehta and 19 other campers to a wide variety of high-demand careers in the health sciences. Students and faculty from Blinn’s Associate Degree Nursing (ADN), Emergency Medical Services (EMS), Fire Science, Physical Therapist Assistant, Radiologic Technology, Surgical Technology, and Veterinary Technology programs demonstrated the basics of each profession, from the equipment they use to the techniques necessary to ensure quality, compassionate patient care.

The camp was primarily held at the RELLIS Academic Alliance Complex in Bryan. This facility includes 16,000 square feet of clinical simulation laboratories featuring the latest technologies.

“It’s always exciting introducing young students to the wide range of opportunities available in the health sciences,” said Sami Rahman, Director of Simulation. “This year we had campers from Austin, Round Rock, Katy, and the local community, and our goal is to connect them to an area in healthcare they may not have known was a career option. What’s really interesting is that we’ve been doing this camp long enough now that I have campers that are starting to come back as Blinn students in our health sciences programs. We’ve come full circle.”

On the first day of the camp, participants scrubbed in with Surgical Technology Program students to get a first-hand look at the role surgical technologists play in preparing and assisting during surgeries. Campers also learned about important lifesaving skills with Blinn’s EMS Program and concluded the day with an introduction to the ADN Program.

On day two, students learned what veterinary technicians do and even simulated performing CPR on a dog. They used makeup to create fake injuries and bruises, commonly called moulage, for emergency simulation events. The Radiologic Technology Program assisted students in conducting x-rays using state-of-the-art equipment. The PTA Program showed campers how important physical therapy is to the recovery process, demonstrated a variety of restorative exercises, and used advanced technology like an anatomage table to give campers a closer look at different body systems.

On the final day, students explored a working fire truck during a visit to the Brayton Fire Training Field to learn more about the Fire Science Program. The camp culminated in a simulation event featuring live “patients” simulating real-world emergency scenarios. Campers shadowed Blinn faculty and students as they were guided through the entire treatment process, from emergency response to radiology and from nursing to physical therapy.

Although Mehta plans on pursuing a career in the operating room, she chose to shadow an ADN student during the simulation because of the connection she formed with the program.

“I learned more about what nursing really is because I thought it was just following up with the doctor, but it applies to all of the fields of health care,” said Mehta. “I got to run a patient’s vitals, talk to them, and I even got to go into the dosage cabinet and pull out medicine and start running an IV. It was just super cool.”

For Irma Sosa, the Blinn ADN student who mentored Mehta, the camp was an opportunity to assess her own knowledge and make an impact on campers.

“I believe if I had something like this camp when I was young, I would have gone into nursing sooner. I didn’t know camps like this existed and it’s wonderful that Blinn makes this opportunity available to young people,” said Sosa. “This experience is also a good reflection of where I’m at in my nursing education. Sometimes the campers would ask me a question, and I could say ‘I know that. We’ve gone over that.’ It’s so rewarding to be able to teach somebody something.”

Blinn’s Division of Health Sciences offers Associate Degree Nursing, Dental Hygiene, Emergency Medical Services, Fire Science, Health Information Technology, Health Sciences-Nursing, Physical Therapist Assistant, Radiologic Technology, Surgical Technology, and Vocational Nursing programs that place graduates on the fast track to rewarding healthcare careers.

For more information, visit www.blinn.edu/health-sciences.