From Feb. 1-3, Grand Valley State University’s Student Nursing Association attended the Michigan Nursing Student Association convention in Troy, MI to present their resolution “In Support of Implementing Holistic Health Programs for the Improvement of Student Nurses’ Healthy Lifestyles.”

The resolution, written by Communications Director & Resolutions Chairperson Carolyn Olmsted and SNA President Sabrina Norcia, was designed to promote awareness and recognition of a topic that has not been adequately addressed.

The students in attendance, Sabrina Norcia, Lauren Schreiner, Julie Collins, Carolyn Olmsted, Julianne Davis, Glen Vander Schaaf, Phillip Jackson, Penelope Fryling, and Brianna Wilson, talked with other student nurses and the MNSA Board to explain the GVSU resolution and gain support. The student nurses listened to other opinions and worked to create a resolution supported by everyone in attendance, the MNSA Board included.

The voting unanimously passed after hours of deliberation and will be presented at the national level April 3-7.

Student nurses attended multiple breakout sessions, which included Pharmacology Made Easy, Therapy and Service Dogs, and Men in Nursing. There was also a session presented by GVSU’s Dr. Dianne Conrad on the Doctor of Nursing Practice – a terminal degree in nursing practice.

The DNP program prepares nurses to function at their highest level and evaluates research-based evidence for useful application. Graduates of the program become leaders in designing systems and deliver care to diverse populations by influencing policy and practice standards.

The breakout sessions aided the student nurses in learning about their prospective field.

“I learned so many study techniques and important information on the field of nursing from each of the breakout sessions. I will definitely be able to benefit from the information that I took away from the convention in both my classes and in my future jobs,” Wilson said. “As a first semester nursing student, the experience was invaluable. It gave me the opportunity to get more involved, and it gave me much needed confidence heading into the rest of my schooling.”

At the MNSA Mid-Annual Conference in October, Fryling began to market herself for election to the MNSA Board of Directors. She created business cards with pins made with pennies and distributed them to aid in her campaign. Many people at the convention wore her pins to support her election into office.

Following February’s conference, Fryling was chosen to be MNSA first vice president on the MNSA Board of Directors. Fryling nominated Wilson to join the Board of Directors. After Wilson gave a speech about her interest in joining the board she was made MNSA advertising director.

Norcia, the GVSU SNA president, gathered fellow student nurses for a debriefing on the day centered around Delegate Hall, an assembly of state-wide student representatives from each college of nursing in Michigan. .

The student nurses also discussed how other students appeared to use emotional language during debate of resolutions. They learn how to respond professionally, keeping the strength of making a strong mature argument based on fact, logic, and reason and without emotion.

“It was an amazing opportunity to see how other universities and colleges run their nursing programs and compare it to our own,” Fryling said.

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