The oldest of the Girl Scouts in Troop 2688, Breonna Miranda, knows exactly what she wants to do for a career in medicine.   As she entered the front lobby with her friends and leaders for a tour of the Emergency Department at Doctors Hospital of Manteca, she told of her long range plans.

Without hesitation she said her focus is already on pediatric nursing at Stanford University after she graduates from college.  Asked why she has chosen Stanford while she is still in elementary school, she replied, “Because it’s a good nursing school.”

The Lathrop Elementary School student has been in Scouts for the past two years and told of her troop’s recent successful cookie sale.  “It was the most fun selling cookies in front of Walgreens, Save Mart and Walmart.  We sold more than 390 boxes at $4 a box,” she said.

In a brief interview she acknowledged that she is the oldest of four siblings in her family – one sister-to-be and two brothers.  As for the family chores any good Girl Scout would pride herself in her home life,  she said she washes dishes, feeds and cleans up after the dogs and sometimes cleans the bathroom for her mother.

“She teaches me how to cook spaghetti, hamburgers and meatloaf and how to make peanut butter ball cupcakes,” she chimed in an excited voice.

Emergency Department Clinical Manager Connie Rocha met the scouts in the reception area and led them back to the emergency room where she demonstrated and explained how to take the pulse and the blood pressure of a patient.

She also introduced the girls to one of the emergency assessment stalls with its gurney and code blue crash cart that plays a vital role in saving the lives of heart attack victims.  The girls had a litany of questions for her to answer and they had them all written down.

“How do you help a person with a broken arm?  How do you help a person who is sick and what is the best treatment for sun burn and bug bites?”…were just a few queries that nurse Rocha fielded for the children.

She told them about stitches used for a cut and the availability of a poison control center on the telephone when someone has taken a bad substance that might threaten their lives.

The girls are planning to offer a skit in the next few weeks entitled, “First Aid and How You Can Help!”

The Scouts are looking for more members to join their ranks between the ages of seven and 11.  The Girl Scout office can be reached by calling 545-3731.