Lifeline Newsletter. Student Nurses Association - UCF Orlando Volume 7 Issue 9

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2 Volume 7 - Issue 9 April 2015 Lifeline Newsletter Student Nurses Association - UCF Orlando SNA Team Fights Against Cancer, Raises Over $5,000 at Relay for Life - Submitted by Anne Dolmovich, BSN Class of 2016 There are so many reasons that I Relay too many. When it comes to Relay for Life, my goals match those of the American Cancer Society: to create a future where no one has to hear the words you have cancer. Since starting UCF, not only have I had to hear a parent has cancer, but so have four of my best friends. This is why I walk; this is why I put everything I have into fundraising for the cause. The money we raise is going to help discover the cure for our own families, our classmates, our friends. Relay for Life has over 4 million participants in over 20 countries, all working towards a single goal: raising funds and awareness to save lives from cancer. In the words of the American Cancer Society: Celebrate: During a Relay event, participants and survivors celebrate what they've overcome. 1

3 Remember: We remember people lost to the disease, and honor people who have fought or are fighting cancer. Fight Back: The event inspires Relay participants to take action against a disease that has taken too much. For many of us, this event is very personal. We have friends, family, loved ones who have or have had cancer. This is the time to remember and celebrate their strength. The silent luminaria lap is a serious time to remember our loved ones lost to cancer. This year, in addition to those I always remember at this time, I focused on my uncle, lost this year to leukemia. However, the rest of the event is a time to celebrate and support each other s successes in their current battles or in defeating cancer! I m thrilled to report my dad joined the group of survivors this year, so I also walk to honor him. There are tons of activities, great food, and an atmosphere of hope and love shared by all that is incredible to behold. This is why Relay is always one of my favorite days of the year. It was such a blessing to share this event with my Nursing family this year, as our team raised over $5000 for the American Cancer Society, making us the second highest, and one of only two Gold level, fundraising teams!! As always, I was amazed by the dedication and generosity of my fellow Nursing students, as well as the staff, and felt so supported throughout this endeavor. 2

4 Knight Nurses Stand 20 Hours for the Kids! I had heard the word Knight-Thon over a thousand times before I looked it up UCF s dance marathon that raises money for children s hospitals. As an aspiring pediatric nurse and newly elected community health director, I knew exactly what SNA s next adventure was. I remember creating the team, setting the team goal at $2,000, my personal goal at $500, and saying a prayer to survive. I remember standing in the middle of the Student Union during the goal reveal with a whirl wind of emotions, as the numbers $500,000 dropped from the railing. It was at that moment that I had no idea what I had gotten myself into. As we all know, the schedule of a nursing student is rather hectic, and when I created SNA s Knight- Thon team, I didn t realize I added weekly team captain meetings, events, fundraisers, and dares to my already busy schedule. It took no time at all before I started watching Miracles Stories in my free time, using the hashtag knightnursesareftk daily, and memorizing the link to my Donor Drive. Before I knew it, Knight-Thon became a part of my life. Months of planning and fundraising lead up to the big event, the dance marathon, where 30 Knight Nurses joined over 1,000 UCF students to stand for 20 hours. Before the event, they warn you that you will feel a plethora of emotions. Our feet and backs ached, but that discomfort doesn t even compare to the pain children experience in the hospital. Joy and laughter radiated through the UCF Arena as students danced the morale dance, dressed up for theme hours, and participated in all the fun activities. Compassion and happiness were shared by students as they got to meet and spend time with their miracle child. Children and families pulled on our heart strings as they got up on stage every hour, on the hour to share about their experience in the hospital... and no emotion compares to that which I felt at closing ceremony. 20 hours on our feet, 6 months of fundraising, all led up to that moment when they flipped over the numbers 688, Over SIX HUNDREN AND EIGHTY-EIGHT THOUSAND miracles. Just let that sink in. With an original team goal of $2,000 it with great honor that I share with all of you that our Knight Nurses raised over $11,000 for the kids. We were awarded the #1 RSO Fundraising Team and Rising Knight awards. I could not hold back the tears as I went to receive our awards, because I was beyond proud of my team. Everyone was thanking me, but I m not the one to thank. It is because of the generous hearts and support from our family, friends, faculty, and community that we were able to make so many miracles. I cannot thank you all enough. 3 -Submitted by Community Health Director, Annabeth Huff

5 SNA Lands in Phoenix, Arizona for 63rd Annual NSNA Convention -Submitted by Leah McDonnell BSN Class of :30 AM flight to Phoenix, AZ. There were many thoughts going through my head as the UCF SNA Orlando board and I flew out to AZ for the NSNA national convention. I knew it would be a time to network, meet other schools, and vote on resolutions. The whole week seemed jam packed, but my excitement would get me through it. Once we got there, Lilian and I ran off to the Presidential meeting. It was a time for all the Presidents around the nation to collaborate on how to make the local SNAs better. Getting to hear from other Presidents showed me how great our SNA was, but also different ways to improve it. Most of my time at Nationals, however, was spent in the House of Delegates. The House of Delegates is where members from different SNAs come together to vote on resolutions and different NSNA business items. We got to hear over 50 resolutions from different schools. Their ideas and passions were evident in them. For those of you who don t know, resolutions are proposals for different ideas, movements, and awareness that NSNA should support. Lais Bryan, our outgoing Secretary, wrote a resolution on spinal muscular atrophy. It was to bring awareness to this awful birth defect and to teach nursing students about it. It s resolutions like these that passed. Our SNA had the amazing opportunity to support Jae Lim and Justin Grace in their campaign for national office. Their campaigns were those of integrity and class. It made me so proud to support two upstanding men like them. Through their campaigns, we got to collaborate with schools from across the nation. It was great to meet people with new and fresh ideas. Through the whole House of Delegates, I looked around and saw the impact that we have. There were hundreds of nursing students from around the country in one room. There was so much power, influence, and drive in the hearts of the students. What would happen if we all came behind one goal? I thought. What would happen if we all took a stand as nursing students? It was a powerful thought. My mind filled with the amazing things that we could accomplish if we all came together. 4

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7 Editor s Pick- A 4.0 or a resume that speaks woah : balancing academics and extracurriculars As my class fights to the death for an A nearing the end of the semester, I bring up an interesting scenario. Imagine two individuals, A and B. Individual A has a 4.0, spends every waking hour of the day in the library studying, and does nothing but focus on academics. B on the other hand works to support themselves through nursing school, volunteers, participates in social events, travels, and truly encompasses the college experience. Individual B may not have a 4.0, but maybe a 3.5 or Now place these two individuals in front of a nurse manager, recruiter, clinical educator, or any individual that may seek a new employee. Which person wins? The near perfect transcript, or the colorful resume. Opinions will vary, and finding an individual that is able to achieve both-- displaying a well-rounded persona is pretty much unheard of during nursing school. I feel it is truly important to engage in the entirety of the nursing school experience. College is supposed to be, the best four years of your life as your parents would say. Locking yourself in a bedroom and digging your head in a book isn t the answer. Join SNA, volunteer, strive for honors in the major, go on a medical mission trip, become a nurse tech, DO SOMETHING! When it comes time for a job, or even when it comes down to interacting with a patient, having these experiences will benefit you. Those who engage more, from what I have seen amongst my peers display amazing attitude and bedside manner. I m not saying give up studying and settle for mediocre- I m saying your experiences develop who you are and mold you as a nurse. I encourage students throughout the college to take up an activity, learn a new skill, give back to your community. When it is time to sit and have an interview, questions will come from experience. You won t get what are your greatest strengths and weaknesses or how do you cope with stress? In healthcare, or at least what I ve seen at Orlando Health- you ll have questions like tell us a time you went above and beyond the level of patient care, tell us a time you empathized with a patient, tell us about a project that you completed. These questions root from experience. Organizations like SNA, and working as a clinical nurse technician will provide you with overwhelming stories and events that would cater to these types of questions. Think about the future, a year or two ahead. I find peers to only plan for the semester ahead. Get in front of the crowd, take the initiative, and exceed expectations. So please, as we display primate-like aggression when we get a B or two, think about all that you have accomplished- and don t get stuck behind a book. It has been an honor and pleasure writing for the SNA Lifeline Newsletter, but now it s my time to pass on the torch. Thank you all- I am looking forward to serving on the executive board as treasurer this upcoming year. 8

8 Announcements/Coming Up! Breakthrough to Nursing: Please see below. Clubhouse: No announcements. Community Health: No announcements. Events and Traditions: We will be assisting with pinning ceremony, so please keep a look out for information regarding times! Thank you to my amazing committee, you are all wonderful. Fundraising: Yankee Candle Fundraiser is still ongoing! Legislative: No announcements. I would like to officially announce that Shannon Hassett is the new SNA BTN Officer! I am so excited for the new board to start their term and know they will have a very successful and fun year! Thank you all very much for allowing me to be your BTN Officer this past year!! We have accomplished SOOO much and I can honestly say there is no way I could have done it without your support. You all stepped up and did a phenomenal job representing the College of Nursing to our community. When I started last year, I thought we would be working with mainly college and high school aged students. Little did I know that my desire to reach out to elementary school kids would become a reality and we would end up working with other universities, community outreach programs, and professional organizations! You all brought ideas, creativity, teamwork, and a high level of professionalism to the table and made my job really easy! I have had the best time working with you all and have been inspired by your passion for helping others and the profession of nursing. I hope that you felt empowered and will carry your amazing pre-professional work ethic into professional organizations. I literally cannot say thank you enough! I wish (and totally could) write about every single event we have completed, but that would make a super long letter So just know that I am extremely proud of you all and wish you the absolute best as you finish your semester and in your future nursing career! You all are wonderful! -Brooke Wonderly I have to say, the experience I had with the Student Nurses Association was not what I expected. I did not expect to become a leader and really, I did not expect to do be a role model and inspirer of sorts in the nursing community. A lot has changed in the last year with the Student Nurses Association, but with great reason; to create a strong foundation to help build strong student leaders. Hopefully I was able to achieve that! It really is bittersweet to say farewell to an experience that in the last two years has been the greatest impact on my life thus far. I give the board and all of the new student nurses of UCF s College of Nursing my best wishes and I can not wait to see who they will evolve into from this great organization. -Lilian Canamo 9

9 Contact Info for the SNA Board President Lilian Canamo Vice President Bobby Laroco Secretary Lais Bryan Treasurer Breana Strampel Clubhouse Director Jeanette Aguilera Historian Kathleen Hayes Legislative Director Derek Eiflander Breakthrough to Nursing Director Brooke Wonderly Media Director Justin Grace Community Health Director Annabeth Huff Fundraising Chair Michael Manning Accelerated Liaison Andrea Barnhard Advisor Dr. Linda Howe Advisor Mrs. Kimberly Dever How to Earn SNA Points: Attend a General Meeting...1 point Clubhouse Shift...1 point Fundraiser...2 points Submit to Lifeline Newsletter...2 points State Convention...5 points National Convention...10 points Community Service...1 point/hour (4 max) Breakthrough to Nursing...1 point/hour (4 max) Top 3 Point Earners, Class of 2015: Jeanna Berman, Stephen Brennan, Jill Percia April Top Point Earners: Accelerated: Kevin Chen Junior: Anne Dolmovich Quote of the Month: "Even if you fall on your face, you're still moving forward." - Victor Kiam Social Media Buzz: Facebook- Search Student Nurses Association- Orlando Instagram- #snaucforlando 10