Following the University’s recent revampment of the Marion Peckham Egan School of Nursing and Health Studies, the school saw more than 100 students gather this week with the goal of improving nursing education, an event which received more attendees than was expected.
On Sunday, Sept. 17, the Student Nurses Association had their first general assembly meeting at 7 p.m.
According to the president of the SNA Olivia Foye ‘18, at the general assembly, underclassmen were placed into upperclassmen mentor groups. Additionally, the upcoming events of the organization were discussed.
Some of these events include a screening of the documentary “UNREST” that will be held on Saturday, Sept. 23, a Hope After Loss Walk on Oct. 14 that the members of the organization will volunteer in and a resume workshop that will be held on Oct. 15 to assist the members in gaining different nursing-related careers. Further, an opening ceremony of the new Marion Peckham School of Nursing and Health Studies will be held on Oct. 21, as well as the traditional white coat ceremony and an internship meeting open to sophomore and junior nursing students on Nov. 12, where upperclassmen can describe their internship experiences and prepare the underclassmen for applying for internships.
Foye explained 150 students attended the general assembly and that the meeting did not even fit in the classroom.
“We had approximately 30 upperclassmen volunteer to advise, encourage and stay in touch with underclassmen throughout the school year,” said Foye. “Our mentor program is very strong.”
The SNA, she said, is one of the largest organizations on campus.
Visiting Assistant Professor of the School of Nursing Kelly Sullivan DNP, APRN spoke of the benefits of being part of the SNA. “As a new member of the nursing faculty I volunteered last year to become an advisor for the SNA so that I can interact with the students on a more personal level. While the group is primarily run by student nurses it offers faculty an opportunity to get to know some of the students on a more personal level,” Sullivan said.
Sullivan added that another benefit of the SNA is that it gives “nursing students the opportunity to interact with each other and engage in community projects.”
Junior Jessica Flamio, a member of the SNA, also spoke of some of the features of the organization. “We work with the community and the University as one, which is nice. We hold a lot of activities relating to the life of a nurse and nursing student. We just had a mentor meeting the other day, where us upperclassmen were assigned to a group of five to seven underclassmen to kind of be their tour guide and friend,” Flamio said.
One of the major efforts of the SNA this year is to get nationally recognized, which requires the organization to have 10 paying members to the National Student Nurses Association.
“This would allow for us to send a delegate to vote at the national conference,” commented Foye. “It is of great importance to myself and the board to achieve this amazing goal.”
“I have been involved in the Student Nurses Association since my freshman year here at Fairfield,” Foye continued. “I loved everything about it from the very beginning.”
On the general assembly, Foye added, “It was a very successful first event and we are looking forward to a great upcoming year.”
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