SNA NEWSLETTER Grand Valley State University Student Nurses Association GVSU CHS Building Feb r uar y 2012 Inside this issue: MNSA Annual Conference 2012 2 2012 MNSA Conference Keynote: The Future of Health Care 2 Gaining Real World Experience through Volunteering as a Student Nurse: A how to for local Student Nurses 3 Photos by Frank Durante The Cook DeVos Center for Health Sciences, which opened in 2003 is host to the GVSU SNA meetings in room 469 at 1200 noon on Mondays. The upcoming meeting schedule is as follows: March 12: Vote on bylaws, Resume Workshop March 26: Slating and Elections April 9: General Meeting run by New Board Come check out the fun, everyone is welcome, especially those who are a first timers! Me Too: How you can attend an SNA conference to increase your leadership and networking skills. Comments, Questions, Concerns: curriculum.gvsusna@gmail.com 6
MNSA Annual Conference The 61 st annual Michigan Nursing Students Association Conference was an experience that was second to none for the GVSU SNA. This year s theme was Pure Nursing and was meant to convey a communication of what is magic, unspoiled, timeless and true about nursing. For the sixteen GVSU attendees, there were many opportunities to learn, network, and bond during the convention. Some highlights included many breakout sessions, and the opportunity to network with graduate schools and future employers. We were able to hang out and interact with people we had never met before in-between and after the conference events. I became better acquainted with people from our own GVSU SNA and those from around the state said Ericka Schilkey, GVSU SNA Community Wellness Director. This opportunity to establish relationships with other nurses, who share a similar passion, may even develop into new friendships and business connections that can last a lifetime, according to Geneviève M. Clavreul RN, Ph.D at WorkingNurse.com. Furthermore, Genevieve stresses the importance of every Student Nurses having business cards or resumes ready to exchange with people they meet at conferences. GVSU s SNA was honored by the MNSA with several awards during the 2012 event. Continued on page 4 Interested in attending a conference? The first step is to check out page 6 for rules and qualifications, next attend an SNA meeting and find out more! MNSA Conference Keynote: The Future of Health Care This year s MNSA s conference was especially informative as the keynote speaker was Jeanette Klemczak. Jeanette spoke on the topic of the future of health care in the United States and where nurses will play a part. Jeanette was appointed in 2004 to the office of Chief Nurse Executive after thirty years of nursing experience in a wide range of roles including legislation, health policy, and consulting. Jeanette Klemczak Photo Courtesy of MSU On the topic of a looming nursing crisis Jeanette says in a 2007 article with Steve Verdon If you re short 18,000, that s an absolute crisis, if we don t have those nurses, we re going be in a dire situation. We ll find ourselves with closed operating rooms and less hospital beds available to patients. It will slow down the whole delivery of the health care process. One of Jeanette s strategies is to enhance the educational infrastructure that exists in Michigan. In a 2010 interview with Richard Pizzi, Jeanette says When legislators think about capacity, they think seats in nursing schools, but seats alone don t solve the problem, there have to be programs and supports in place to assist students with timely completion of degrees. Continued on page 5 2
Gaining Real World Experience through Volunteering as a Student Nurse For many nursing students the journey to nursing school comes with the first experience of setting foot inside a clinical setting. Kirkhof College Of Nursing does an excellent job in preparing students for the real-world of nursing however, the question remains how can I demonstrate stand-out patient care interactions for my future employers? Furthermore, How can I as a student, demonstrate that I know how our local health systems operate and how their specific missions affect the community? The answer for some is volunteering in a clinical capacity. St. Mary s Health Care is a mission driven, faith based healthcare provider that has a long-standing history of clinical excellence in Grand Rapids and throughout the state of Michigan. Additionally, St. Mary s is committed to the development of the GR community by having a volunteer program that emphasizes hands-on experiences to augment the education of community resources such as students. Rachel Selgo, Coordinator of Volunteer Services and Donor Relations at St. Mary s says, Volunteering at Saint Mary's Health Care can be extremely beneficial for you as a student. In addition to benefitting patients and staff, our volunteers are able to gain great exposure to healthcare operations, healthcare quality initiatives and the healthcare delivery model as a whole. Rachel adds, as a volunteer at Saint Mary's, you can help us fulfill the mission of providing a Something More experience for all our patients and guests". Volunteering is an excellent way for student nurse to get his or her foot in the door at the various health care facilities in the GR area while still attending the nursing program. St Mary s offers a wonderful selection of opportunities for students with special skills such as cosmetology, knowledge of computers and individuals who have excellent communication skills. Opportunities include an American Cancer Society Cancer Resource Center Volunteer. This volunteer role is responsible to increase access to the most up to date cancer related information by assisting those who have a concern about cancer. The Cancer Resource Center is a designated space within the community where trained and certified American Cancer Society volunteers provide support to cancer patients, their family members and caregivers, through the delivery of cancer information including programs and services and referrals to community resources. Another venue in which a Student Nurse could increase their patient interaction experience, can be found in the volunteer role of Patient Advocate Continued on page 4 Photo: cincycompas.com 3
Volunteer (Continued) Liaison. This opportunity focuses on bringing something more to the patients on a unit. Volunteers will work with the staff to check-in with our guests and make the experience more comfortable. Some tasks include: delivering newspapers/books to interested patients, talking with patients who could use a visitor, delivering warm blankets, handing out beverages to visitors, and more. Remember that volunteering itself is very rewarding and demonstrates a commitment to your community. As a volunteer in a clinical setting you may experience exposure that will better prepare you for a nursing job interview, as you will be working with hospital staff that could help you to gain employment, or you could be noticed by a prospective manager as a future asset to the nursing team. Rachel Selgo indicates that "Volunteers at Saint Mary's are able to build strong relationships with our staff to help them further in their education and career path. Many volunteers someday become employees to our organization, as they show their commitment to the hospital". To find out more about the great hands-on volunteer opportunities available at St. Mary s Health Care, please visit www.mercyhealthsaintmarys.com/ volunteer-saint-marys, or email to curriculum.gvsusna.gmail.com, and the official listings will be forwarded to you. ~ Kara Siekirk & Frank Durante 4 MNSA Conference (Continued) The resolution committee, led by Bethany Nies (2012 Communications Director) had its resolution topic In support of promoting the professional responsibility of nursing students to participate in the education of low income children regarding the importance of healthy eating was approved for advancement into the 2012 NSNA national convention. Bethany commented on her committee s work I believe that the convention went great and I am so excited that the resolution passed at the state level. It was a little bit rocky at first but everyone pulled together. It was such a great example of collaboration, which is a skill we will all need as nurses. The scrapbook committee led by SNA President Liz Mikes, was also recognized for excellence in the content and aesthetics of the GVSU SNA scrapbooks. A tandem of community health project awards were received by the GVSU SNA thanks to the hard work of our Evaluations Director, Laura Courtright. GVSU SNA Treasurer, Katie New, received scholarships for her exemplary commitment to nursing during her collegiate and high school endeavors. Great Job! ~Brooke Shelton & Frank Durante Why Networ k? It s not about what you know, it s who you know: American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) tells a story of success for recent graduates. Among those receiving a nursing bachelor s degree, 88 percent have received job offers within 4 6 months. Of those who are employed most indicate their chances of employment were strengthened by networking before graduation. Source: AdvanceWeb.com, 2012 While at a conference consider this: Start networking before you even get to the conference. Email presenters to let them know that you look forward to hearing their talks. Go up and introduce yourself at the event Be ready to get to the point quickly. Follow up with an email to the presenter. Source: WikiHow, 2012
Keynote (Continued) Jeanette s initiatives have rendered 10,000 new nurses, 3,500 new clinical placements, 277 new clinical instructors and 150 new faculty-in-training from 2004 to 2010. These results are due in part to increased funding for nursing education through a nurse licensure earmark, by increasing the Michigan RN license fee which is currently $54. This increase in revenue would provide assistance to the nursing workforce so that licensure is not delayed, according to Jeanette s interview with Richard Pizzi. 2012 MNSA Memories Jeanette indicates that more can be done to improve Michigan s nursing programs by leveraging technology and reaching out to those who have a science background. Jeanette said in 2008 UDM interview, We need to maximize the use of web-based instruction and other technologies, and add slots in second-degree accelerated nursing programs to increase new nurses in the workforce. Jeanette s other initiatives include the promotion of safe working hours, improved organization and design of nursing tasks, and improved ergonomics of nursing tasks. Additionally, Jeanette stresses the need for the promotion of collaborative multidisciplinary teams with respectful and supportive nursing workplaces. In a 2008 article by Brooke Meier, Jeanette says 400 qualified applicants have been turned in Michigan over the last year [2008] because nursing education programs don't have enough classroom faculty, clinical faculty or clinical sites, by 18,000 registered nurses by 2015. Jeanette attributes this shortage to Michigan s lack of nursing faculty and aging faculty body, "Our biggest problem is trying to find and keep nursing faculty, currently more than 50 percent of faculty at most of Michigan's approximately 50 nursing schools are eligible to retire. On this topic Jeanette says Our practicing nurses are our brain trust, they are valuable mentors who need to be retained." ~Frank Durante Photos by Erin Nicoson, GVSU SNA Vice President and Angela Caruso, GVSU KCON Staff Advisor 5
Conference Attendance: How do I get there from here? Step 1: Come to the next SN A meeting! Step 2: Check out the rules from the 2012 G VSU SN A Bylaws: a. Those Board of Directors members, delegates, and other SNA members who have attended one state convention and one national convention through SNA funding will be ineligible to attend any other conventions using SNA funding. In the case that the allotted spaces are not filled, those members who have already used SNA funding will have the option to apply, with a ¾ vote by the Board of Directors, for their funding. b. If there are more people interested than there are available spots to attend convention, the President will be considered first, the Board of Directors members second, SNA delegates third, and SNA members who are not delegates shall be considered fourth. c. Other criteria used to determine who will be attending convention includes how long he/she has been a delegate, Level of SNA involvement (meeting attendance, participation in SNA sponsored events, completion of delegate responsibilities, committee involvement), and LIC points. Consideration will also be given to those who are closer to graduating from the program. Learn more at nsnaleadership.org or attend a GVSU SNA meeting held every other Monday in CHS room 469! d. If a conclusion cannot be reached based on the above criteria, each person who desires to attend convention will be required to write a half to one page essay to the Board of Directors regarding why he or she wishes to attend convention. e. If the President has already attended 1 state convention and 1 national convention with SNA funding it is at the discretion of the Board of Directors to vote on whether the President should be able to use further funding. The Treasurer has the duty to present the Board of Directors with financial options in order to make an informed decision. The vote must pass by ¾. ~The next MNSA conference will be held F ebruary 1-3, 2013 in Troy MI. The next NSNA mid-year conference (sorry the 2012 annual is full) will be held November 8-11, 2012 in San Diego, CA. If you have any questions please contact a GVSU SNA Board of Directors member today! Check us out 24/7 @ www.gvsusna.com 2012 GVSU SNA Board President: Elizabeth Mikes (NUR 450) Vice President: Erin Nicoson (NUR 450) Secretary: Ashley Gaebel (NUR 450) Treasurer: Katie New (NUR 350) Communication: Bethany Nies (NUR 450) Community Wellness: Erika Schilkey (NUR 450) Curriculum: Frank Durante (NUR 450) Evaluations: Laura Courtright (NUR 420) Image & Break Through to Nursing: Molly Steensma (NUR 450) Membership: Lauren Vockler (NUR 450)