730+ Nursing students go virtual for our 2021 Golden Ticket Nursing Showcase

Though this year’s Northwell Health Golden Ticket Nursing Showcase may have looked different due to the COVID-19 pandemic, our commitment to educating and impacting future nursing careers was stronger than ever.

To ensure the safety of our team members, students and communities, the 2021 Nursing Showcase pivoted from our traditional in-person format to an exciting and engaging virtual event. But this wasn’t your typical zoom meeting – the more than 730 junior and senior nursing students from 50+ schools had a full day of interactive events to choose from!

Students used our virtual lobby to navigate through the day’s events.

The morning started in our auditoriums where students heard from senior leadership, including Northwell’s President and CEO Michael Dowling who had a candid conversation with four of Northwell’s nurse heroes. After learning about our culture of nursing excellence and discovering how they could prepare for their own career journeys, students attended panels to learn about our Nurse Externship Program and new graduate nursing careers including our Nurse Fellowship Program with live Q&A. Depending on their year of study, panels connected students with fellow nurses who had worked as externs over the summer or new nurses who had been in their shoes not long ago.

After the morning sessions, students had the opportunity to explore our virtual Careers Expo and Culture Center. In the Careers Expo, students could virtually chat one-on-one with nurses across 24 specialties at our booths. It was a unique opportunity to learn about specialties that aren’t taught in nursing school, such as Perioperative, Teleheath and Home Care, or to discover what it is like to work in areas such as Emergency, Critical Care, Pediatrics, Float, Case Management, Women’s Health, and many more.

But at Northwell, we know a great nursing career goes beyond just specialty. In the Culture Center, students could see what makes Northwell Health unique – and why we’ve been ranked on the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For® list. Here nursing students could explore 13 booths, connecting with Northwell team members to learn about the offerings of our Institute for Nursing, our commitment to diversity, inclusion and health equity, employee wellness, our Magnet© journey and more through presentations, live interactive trivia, videos and more.

And that’s not all! Throughout the afternoon, students were able to attend 11 Breakout Sessions. These optional sessions offered an in-depth look at some of our specialties such as the Perioperative Information Session, informed students how to optimize their resume and interview tips from our recruiters, or explored nursing career journeys from bedside nurse to leadership and more. Our final Breakout Sessions of the day also gave students the unique chance to earn Contact Hours. Through a partnership with our Institute for Nursing team, juniors and seniors alike could earn credits for attending the Navigating as a New Graduate Nurse or Caring through COVID-19 including Emergencies and Codes sessions.

Throughout the day students could also interact with other elements in within the platform. Whether it was visiting our robust video library to watch our team members talk about what it is like to work at Northwell or bringing Northwell leadership directly into their home through augmented reality, there were so many ways to explore nursing within our event. And every action helped students earn points as they competed to win prizes, including gift cards. Additionally, students could submit their photo to our virtual mosaic of attendees – a way to be together despite the unprecedented circumstances.

No matter what the next year holds, at Northwell Health we know the future of nursing shines bright!