Press Release

 

For Immediate Release

Contact: Jonathan Buttrick

(718) 210-0705

Email: *****@nsna.org

 

 

NSNA House of Delegates Elects 2014-2015 Officers

During the 62^nd Annual Convention in Nashville, TN

                                                                                                                                 

Brooklyn, NY. May 28, 2014. The National Student Nurses’ Association (NSNA) 62^nd Annual Convention—Strong Voices and Big Dreams: Influencing the Future—took place on April 9-13, 2014 at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center in Nashville, Tennessee. Participants included over 3,000 students, speakers, faculty members, consultants, and exhibitors. 

 

On Saturday, April 12, the 2014-2015 Board of Directors and Nominating & Elections Committee were voted into office. Following elections, the new officers were installed during the closing session of the House of Delegates meeting. NSNA would like to congratulate the following individuals:

 

2014-2015 Board of Directors

·         Kelly L. Hunt, President, University of North Florida, Jacksonville, Florida

·         Elizabeth Long, Vice-President, Villanova University, Villanova, Pennsylvania  

·         Rebeka Rivera, Secretary/Treasurer, Georgia Baptist College of Nursing of Mercer University, Atlanta, Georgia

·         Kimberly Korn, Imprint Editor, Adelphi University, Garden City, New York

·         Martin W. Rivera-Salas, Breakthrough to Nursing® Director, University of Michigan, Flint, Michigan

·         Thomas Lewandowski , Director (Northern Election Area), Viterbo University, La Crosse, Wisconsin  

·         Craig Reuscher , Director (Southern Election Area), Georgia Baptist College of Nursing at Mercer University, Atlanta, Georgia 

·         Caroline Miller, Director (Eastern Election Area), Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania  

·         Zack Huddleston, Director (Western Election Area), California State University, Fresno, California 

·         Janna Mae Boren, Ex- Officio Director and Chair of the Council of State Presidents (COSP) Planning Committee, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, Oregon  

2014-2015 NSNA Board of Directors

Sitting (from left to right): Rebeka Rivera;  Elizabeth Long; Kelly Hunt;  Kimberly Korn
Standing (from left to right):  Janna Mae Boren; Thomas Lewandowski;  Zack Huddleston;  Craig J. Reuscher; Caroline Miller;  Martin W. Rivera-Salas.

View larger version here.

 

2014-2015 Nominating and Elections Committee

·         Kayla A. Fraley,(Northern Election Area) Chairperson, Emporia State University, Emporia, Kansas

·         Valerie Wellman, (Southern Election Area), Georgia Regents University, Augusta, Georgia

·         Amanda Foster, (Western Election Area), Grand Canyon University, Phoenix, Arizona

·         Monika Spangenberg, (Eastern Election Area), Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

 

 

Keynote Speaker Gloria Donnelly: What Are Your Hunches to Improve Care?

 

The 62^nd Annual Convention officially kicked off on Wednesday, April 9 with the Opening Ceremony and Keynote Address. Keynote speaker Gloria Donnelly, PhD, RN, FAAN, urged attendees to “talk about thinking” and use hunches to improve care. She highlighted healthcare changes prompted by both well known and unknown nurses who used their intuition to question the status quo.

 

Dr. Donnelly described these drivers of change as “persistent doers. They loved what they did, thought about it all the time, and pursued excellence.” She added, “Nurses have hunches, but these nurses were dogged in getting answers to improve care. They were persistent doers. They loved what they did and thought about it all the time.”

 

She urged “getting hooked on problem-solving. Do some­thing. Try something. Fix something. Experiment with ideas and make a difference. Get your hunches out and discussed so health care can be improved. Even chaotic action,” she concluded, “is preferable to neat and orderly inaction.”

 

The keynote speaker was sponsored by Nurses Service Organization.

 

Deborah Lewis Receives NSNA Honorary Membership

 

 

Career Planning

 

The Career Development Center, led by Lois Marshall, gave attendees access to one-on-one career counseling. During exhibiting hours, volunteer faculty members met with students to review résumés and discuss the primary steps to obtain a first position in nursing.

 

The iDream Room, sponsored by the Johnson & Johnson Campaign for Nursing's Future, offered attendees a chance to learn how to develop a job search strategy and gain the tools needed to achieve career goals. The room featured a scheduled lecture series with speakers discussing advanced nursing education, long-term development and non-traditional nursing specialties. At the "dress for success" station, attendees spoke with a wardrobe consultant to learn about choosing the right attire for a successful interview. The Head Shot Studio was a huge success. Attendees sat for complimentary head shots, which they took away with them on a USB drive. The Campaign also interviewed attendees for "iDream" videos, which will be packaged and shared by the Campaign and NSNA in the future.

 

Other Highlights

 

·         NCLEX Review Course

Led by Judith C. Miller, the review sessions offered up-to-date strategies, tips and quizzes throughout the three-day course to give students the opportunity to validate their learning and practice NCLEX type questions.

 

·         Plenary Sessions

During the Thursday, Plenary Session, “Interprofessional Patient-Centered Care: RNs Rally the Team,” speaker Elizabeth Speakman, EdD, RN, CDE, ANEF, urged nurses and nursing students to “step up, dialogue, and comingle with other professionals to provide quality care.” She stressed the importance of teamwork, explaining that “the collective vision of the whole is more powerful than the vision of the individual; we cannot do silo care management.” On Friday morning, the Plenary Session featured a panel focusing on "Nursing Leadership for Patient Safety." The panel—featuring Maureen "Shawn" Kennedy, MA, RN; Cheryl Taylor, PhD, RN, FAAN; Rebecca M. Patton, MSN, RN, CNOR, FAAN; Deena Brecher, MSN, RN; and Margaret Barton-Burke, PhD, RN, FAAN—addressed the critical role nurses play in protecting patients from adverse events while receiving health care. The panel was moderated by Wednesday's Keynote Speaker, Gloria Donnelly.

 

·         Focus Sessions – Record Attendance!

On Thursday, Friday and Saturday, over 25 one-hour focus sessions covered a broad range of topics related to personal and professional growth. Topics include: pharmacology, distance education, oncology nursing, wound care, leadership, career progression, test taking, humor and health, emergency nursing, nurse midwifery, electronic medical records and more. The focus sessions were well attended and filled up quickly!

 

·         Exhibit Hall and Career Development Center

After exploring the exhibit hall and speaking with many exhibitors about possible career opportunities, many attendees visited the Career Development Center, led by Lois Marshall, during exhibiting hours to review resumes and discuss the primary steps to obtain a first position in nursing.

 

·         Red Cross Certification

On Wednesday, April 8, attendees received course certificates and learned about the skills required to volunteer at disaster shelters in local communities. This course has been so popular that a second session was added in the afternoon to accommodate more attendees.

 

·         House of Delegates

Attendees observed and participated in the process of an official business meeting. Elected delegates discussed, debated and voted on proposed resolutions (see below).

 

·         Closing Ceremony

Attendees celebrated the end of Convention week at the Saturday, April 12, Closing Ceremony. Speaker

Virginia Trotter Betts, MSN, JD, RN, FAAN, challenged attendees to be the change nursing needs in her presentation, “Your Voice/Your Dream/Nursing’s Future.” After the endnote address, cheers filled the room as award winners from the various NSNA program activity areas were honored. Full award winners list is available at http://nsnaconvention.org/ConvAwards.html.

 

Fundraising Efforts – Foundation of the NSNA (FNSNA)

On Friday, April 11, the FNSNA Music City Auction raised $4,200 for the Mary Ann Tuft Scholarship Fund and inspired several bidding wars. The highest bid was $400 for an NLN Summit registration. A bidding war for a giant Hershey’s Chocolate Bar resulted in a total of $280 raised, when the winning bidder won the enormous treat and her competitor matched it. A beautiful Clara Barton doll sold for over $300. Thanks to the bidders and buyers and auctioneer Carl Montgomery for donating his time—the auction was a great success.

 

On Saturday, April 12, the FNSNA Fun Run returned. Attendees chose between the 5K run or 1K walk to promote health and wellness while raising funds for the undergraduate scholarship program.

 

Also on Saturday, during the House of Delegates meeting break, the traditional Annual Challenge was held. Students from state associations and school chapters challenged each other to match their own donations. The Challenge raised over $6,000 for the Foundation of the NSNA Disaster Relief Fund.

 

Resolutions Adopted

The House of Delegates met April 9-12. The following 57 resolutions were adopted. View the full list of Resolutions at http://nsna.me/2014-res.

 

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NSNA is a membership organization representing over 60,000 students in Associate Degree, Diploma, Baccalaureate, generic Masters and generic Doctoral programs preparing students for Registered Nurse licensure as well as RNs in BN completion programs.