July 21, 2026
Contact: Sara Diedrich, diedrichs@missouri.edu
Photo courtesy of Sinclair School of Nursing
This summer, the University of Missouri launched a new clinical training opportunity that allowed nursing students to care for high school students attending the Missouri Scholars Academy (MSA).
MSA is a three-week residential program on campus for 330 of Missouri’s academically gifted students entering their junior year of high school. Administered by Mizzou’s Honors College, the program partnered with the Sinclair School of Nursing this summer to provide non-emergency medical care for participants while giving nursing students valuable hands-on pediatric experience.
Under faculty supervision, upperclassmen from the Sinclair School of Nursing administered medications, treated minor illnesses and injuries, assessed patients and determined when a scholar required a higher level of medical care.
For Maddie Simmons, a Columbia native, caring for teenage patients with everything from bug bites and poison ivy to headaches, stomachaches and strep throat offered an opportunity to expand her clinical skills beyond the hospital and experience another side of pediatric care.
“Nursing offers so many different career paths,” Simmons said. “I think it’s important for us to experience a variety of roles because many nurses spend only part of their careers working in a hospital setting.”
The real-world clinical experience exposed students to the types of situations they will encounter as practicing nurses, Jessica Peuterbaugh, an assistant teaching professor at Mizzou’s Sinclair School of Nursing and supervisor of the program, said.
“It gave them the opportunity to apply what they’d learned in the classroom, particularly when assessing developmental milestones and tailoring care to everyone’s needs,” she said.
Building relationships with patients
Madalyn Vieu’s favorite part of the experience was building relationships with her patients.
“They were still high school students, but they were taking college classes and experiencing life away from home,” she said. “I saw many of the same students regularly, which gave me the chance to get to know them. Finding ways to help people through tough moments and supporting them is incredibly meaningful to me. Being able to do that as a nurse is something I value deeply.”
Vieu, who grew up near Chicago and would like to work as an emergency room nurse after she graduates in December, said the experience taught her to keep an open mind when working with different patients.
“It pushed me to look at the whole person, ask the right questions and carefully assess each situation,” she said. “I learned how to communicate with younger patients and involve them in decisions about their care. As they get older, they’ll be responsible for managing their own health, so it was important to help them understand and participate in that process. The experience helped me grow as a future nurse.”
Learning through service
The MSA experience also aligns with the nursing school’s mission of community engagement and service.
“By caring for high school students from across Missouri, our nursing students are strengthening their clinical skills while giving back to communities throughout the state,” Peuterbaugh said.
For Simmons, who balances nursing school with night shifts as a patient care technician at MU Health Care, serving MSA participants reinforced her decision to become a nurse and care for patients in her hometown after she graduates in December.
“I have enjoyed my experience with MSA so much,” Simmons said. “Thanks to Mizzou, I've been exposed to so many different environments as a student nurse, which has given me a more complete understanding of patient care and the important role nurses play across the continuum of care.”
