Breakthrough to Nursing

​ Committee

"Be a Hero—Be a Nurse!"

"It’s Never too Late to be What You Might Have Been" 

Lauren Newhouse
BTN Director
Georgia State University, Byrdine F. Lewis School of Nursing,
Atlanta, GA
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Seasonal Memos​

What is the Role of the
Breakthrough to Nursing Committee?

Breakthrough to Nursing® (BTN) is NSNA’s® project to increase the number and diversity of students choosing nursing as a career. The project was established because of NSNA’s® concern over the inadequacy of health care delivery to minority group members and the lack of minority group health care providers. The objectives of the project are to promote career opportunities in nursing, with a focus on substantially increasing the number of students from groups who traditionally have been underrepresented in American nursing. The project has been supported by NSNA since 1965. Its effectiveness seems due, in part, to the peer relationship that can be established between nursing students and minority group elementary, middle and high school students. In addition, through the Foundation of the NSNA, scholarships support is available for diverse nursing students to increase the number of registered nurses from ethnic minorities in the profession. 

BTN also teaches nursing students to be culturally competent in their care of all patients.  Resolutions passed by the NSNA House of Delegates has expanded the Project to include the recruitment of students from all underrepresented populations. 

Lauren Newhouse, BTN Director and Chair,
​Breakthrough to Nursing Committee, Fall Memo

Hi NSNA Members!
 
The fall semester is officially here and the NSNA Breakthrough to Nursing® Committee (BTN) is excited to work with all of you. Join us for the  NSNA Virtual 39th MidYear Conference Preview, November 8-10, 2021 and the Virtual Conference, November 11-13, 2021.
 
The BTN Committee has worked to ensure the Breakthrough to Nursing Toolkit is easily available for all current and future members. We are also communicating through the BTN GroupMe regarding updates about what we are doing to represent you and important dates! As a committee, we decided to focus on helping chapters establish and carry out their projects by providing examples and other resources. I have received many emails requesting for more information on a topic or project people have seen in the toolkit. Feel free to contact me if you have stories, articles, or projects that revolve around BTN that you would like to add to the toolkit. Don’t forget to download the BTN Toolkit and the BTN Guidelines for Planning to learn more about how to plan your BTN projects and apply for the BTN Monthly Awards.

​Read More

2021 MidYear Conference Message

"Be a Hero—Be a Nurse!"
"It’s Never too Late to be What You Might Have Been" 

Breakthrough to Nursing Webinar
Lauren Newhouse, NSNA 2021-2022 BTN Director, speaks on the Breakthrough to Nursing Committee during the 2021 NSNA Leadership U Summer Summit.
Lauren Newhouse, NSNA 2021-2022 BTN Director, speaks on the Breakthrough to Nursing Committee 

BTN Monthly Winner (December 2021)

Molloy College, Rockville Centre, NY
 
At Molloy College, our nursing program requires all students to be CPR certified. We are beginning our journey to create a Heart Safe Community in Rockville Centre. The Heart Safe Program is designed to promote survival from a sudden cardiac arrest taking place outside of the hospital. This helps individuals, especially non-medical personnel, recognize and stimulate the efforts of individual communities to help prevent sudden cardiac arrest into irreversible death. In order to be a Heart Safe Community, 15% of the town of Rockville
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Centre must be trained in hands-only CPR. Through our school chapter, Molloy’s Nursing Student Association, we are working on training our nursing students to become CPR certified trainers in order to aid in teaching our community and lead CPR hands-on courses. In addition, our chapter will be taking part in The Texas Two Step which is where we will be planning programs on campus during sporting events, class time (with teacher permission), cafeteria, and other areas. With this submission, we hope to kick start our journey to create a Heart Safe Community in Rockville Centre.

BTN Resources
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BTN Videos
Nursing—The Ultimate Adventure Video
The NSNA has a video available for use by BTN Committees. Nursing—The Ultimate Adventure, is free of charge to all schools that have official NSNA chapters and BTN committees (student members of the BTN committee must be NSNA members). The video (10 minutes long) is designed to interest teenagers in a nursing career. Informative literature is provided to give to students after they view the video.  Nursing—The Career for a Lifetime
This inspirational program presents accomplished nurses sharing their career journeys and new nurses revealing their dream careers. The DVD is free of charge, includes a main feature with bonus tracks on a variety of nursing career paths.

​How to Establish a Mentor-Mentee Program At Your School
The BTN Project
Nursing students from all over the country share their thoughts on becoming nurses. Video created by Jennifer Kalenkoski, Breakthrough to Nursing Director (2016-17).