From Let’s Pretend Hospital kid to spring 2025 UAH nursing grad, Evey Hensley faces and calms fears

Evey Hensley, spring 2025 graduate of the College of Nursing at The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH), appreciates the tools she used and the time she spent becoming proficient in nursing skills in the Simulation & Learning Innovation Center on the third floor of the Nursing Building. Hensley receives her Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree on May 5, 2025.

Ann Marie Martin | UAH

When Evey Hensley was in first grade, she was afraid of going to the doctor. She might get a shot! Then her class attended Let’s Pretend Hospital, presented by The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) College of Nursing in collaboration with the Huntsville Hospital Department of Volunteer Services.

“I have a vivid memory of walking through the door and going up the stairs (in the Nursing Building). Then it was like this big show. They had a cast cutter. They asked for a participant, and I raised my hand. It looks like a saw, but it just gently vibrates on your skin. It kind of tickled. Seeing how nurses do all these cool things – like putting on casts and starting IVs – made it not scary. It definitely calmed some nerves for me.”

Since then, Hensley has learned how to ease anxieties in children and patients of all ages while pursuing her Bachelor of Science in Nursing at UAH, a part of The University of Alabama System. She will graduate on May 5. Details on the spring 2025 commencement are available on the UAH website.

Earlier this semester, Hensley helped introduce a new generation of first graders to the not-so-scary medical world during Let’s Pretend Hospital 2025 on March 25-28. Organizers decorated the Nursing Building with an adventurous under-the-sea theme. To help the kids feel more at ease and to add to the fun, Hensley greeted them as Disney’s Snow White.

“It was a great experience. Seeing all those kids so happy coming in the door! That was probably the best part, seeing the kids so excited. I hope they can remember this as a vivid memory years on down the road. It was definitely a full-circle moment for me.”

Hensley’s decision to become a nurse grew out of her lifelong desire to take care of people in need. When the Huntsville native graduated from Huntsville High School, she followed a friend to UAH because of the nursing program’s reputation.

“I heard it was great, it was fabulous.”

Then she took a closer look in person.

“I was like, ‘Wow!’ They have so many amazing tools at your disposal. It felt like a very welcoming environment. The cohorts themselves aren’t massive, and you have the opportunity to make close connections with the people in your cohort. That’s also something that I really liked about UAH in general. It’s not a really large school, but it’s not too small either.”

Hensley has also appreciated the opportunity to build strong connections with the faculty.

“They can really devote time to getting to know you. They want to help you grow and learn – and learn from your mistakes. We’re all very close. You’ll see your second-semester professor, and you’re waving and saying, ‘Hey, how’s it going?’”

One important lesson Hensley’s learned: Anxiety exists on both sides of the needle.

“As a first-semester student, I was trembling and shaking the first time we went to see patients at Encompass Health rehab. Now that I’m about to graduate, I can go into my patient’s room and say, ‘Hey, my name is Evey. I’m a student nurse, and we’re going to be doing X, Y, Z.’ You start small, and you work your way up to the big things.”

The confidence Hensley has achieved through study and practice makes her patients feel better, too. She found invaluable tools and time to build her proficiency in the College of Nursing Simulation & Learning Innovation Center (SLIC).

“You can practice skills like IV or injection or catheter. They’ll set it up for you to come in so you can get more comfortable. The setup of the SLIC itself is very similar to the hospital, so it can decrease that anxiety of, ‘Oh, next semester we’re going to the hospital, and I’ve never really been in one!’ You’re learning so much, not only book-wise but also how to function in a hospital.”

Knowledge calms fears – whether you’re pretending or working in the real thing.