From learning to teaching: Bridget Verkamp's full-circle co-op journey

When University of Cincinnati (UC) College of Nursing alumna Bridget Verkamp began her registered nurse career on the hematology-oncology unit at Cincinnati Children's Hospital, she already knew the unit well. During her senior year as a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) student, she worked on that same unit as a co-op student, gaining the hands-on experience that ultimately led to her being hired after graduation.

Now, about a year and a half into her nursing career, Verkamp is experiencing the co-op program from the other side, precepting a UC Nursing co-op student of her own.

"I started as a co-op on hem-onc, and it was actually the only floor I ever wanted to work on," Verkamp recalls. "During the interview process, I was offered other potential placements, but I begged them to give me hem-onc."

The UC Nursing co-op program gives BSN students the opportunity to gain paid, real-world clinical experience while working alongside an experienced nurse preceptor. For Verkamp, the experience did more than expose her to professional nursing - it confirmed that the specialty she had envisioned for herself was where she belonged.

After graduating in 2024, she transitioned from co-op student to registered nurse on the same unit. About a year later, she got the chance to experience the program from the other side of the relationship.

From student to preceptor

When Verkamp's unit educators approached her about precepting a co-op student, her first reaction was hesitation.

"I hadn't even been a nurse for a full year, so my main hesitancy was that I ddn't have enough knowledge to serve this student well," she says. "But I have immense trust in my manager and my unit educators, and I knew they wouldn't put me in a position where I wasn't going to thrive."

Suddenly Verkamp found herself in a familiar position - only this time, she was the one teaching. The experience gave her a new appreciation for the preceptor who had guided her as a co-op student.

Continuing the journey at UC

While Verkamp has been developing as a nurse and a preceptor, she has also been thinking about what comes next. The answer brought her back to the College of Nursing, where she recently began the Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) in Nursing Education program.

As an undergraduate, she knew she eventually wanted to do something beyond bedside nursing, but the nurse practitioner path never appealed to her and nursing education wasn't on her radar either. Her perspective changed as she watched the impact her unit's clinical nurse educators have on practice, a realization that ultimately led her back to UC.

"I'm a big fan of UC, and I had an incredible time as an undergrad, so it just felt like a natural next step," she says.

Now her roles as nurse, preceptor and graduate student are beginning to intersect. Her experience precepting a co-op student has given her a firsthand look at the transition from nursing student to professional, while her MSN coursework is deepening her understanding of how nurses learn and how education can prepare them for an increasingly complex health care environment.

One area that has particularly interested her is interprofessional collaboration. As a practicing nurse, Verkamp has seen firsthand how much effective patient care depends on nurses working alongside physicians, nurse practitioners, occupational therapists, physical therapists and other members of the care team.

"The amount of cross-collaboration we have with other disciplines has been one of the biggest surprises of moving from student to practicing nurse," she says. "If we don't properly prepare nursing students to deal with health care complexities and navigate the system, we're not going to be able to best help our patients."

Verkamp's nursing journey began with a clear goal: become a pediatric hematology-oncology nurse, and the College of Nursing co-op program allowed her to test that goal in the real world, build her skills and ultimately step into the profession. Today, she is helping another nursing student take those same steps, while pursuing her MSN in Nursing Education and figuring out what her own next chapter looks like.

"Being immersed in an environment where these incredible people have taken me under their wing and shown me the world of possibilities out there through additional education has been invaluable," she says.

"The path underneath me keeps being built as I walk," Verkamp adds.

Feature image: Bridget Verkamp and Larissa Hemker, the student she is precepting, at Cincinnati Children's Hospital. / Photo provided

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