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 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, scholarship 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.
Julia Chan, BTN Director and Chair, Breakthrough to Nursing Committee, Winter-Spring Memo
Hello NSNA members,
Wishing you all a happy new year and I hope the Spring 2024 semester is off to a great start! Many of you are graduating this semester and will be entering the professional world of nursing. This is an incredible milestone in your journey as a nurse and I wish you immense congratulations!
The 41st MidYear Conference was a success, I got to see many old and new faces, all passionate about pursuing leadership within nursing. Most importantly, you were attentive and flexible throughout the conference. The BTN committee held a discussion allowing individuals to share and collaborate ideas on how to best support your state and/or local communities, as well as giving update on the various things we have completed thus far. The discussion was fantastic and lots of good ideas were shared. We have so many great opportunities ahead planned for you to learn more about BTN. The BTN Toolkit discussed during the roundtable meeting remains the best way for great ideas from across the country to be placed in one convenient location.
January 2024 University of South Carolina, Columbia
Our heritage provides a glimpse into our past and how our society has evolved. It helps us examine our traditions and our family history and develops awareness about ourselves. It helps us understand and explain why we are the way we are. There is so much behind each person that we do not know. Where they come from greatly impacts why they are who they are and why they are doing nursing. While brainstorming the ideas for the monthly theme, we knew we wanted to highlight personal stories because those show the true meaning of why people pick nursing. We picked to showcase it on social media to spread awareness to prospective nursing students who have similar backgrounds and to partner with outside organizations on campus. We also wanted to keep it on an Instagram post so future students can see the impact the organization is making with diversity, equity, and inclusion. The BTN and PR director have been working closely to highlight the importance of membership involvement on social media. Social media has changed the face of communication in today's society. As we were doing our first BTN theme at USC, we wanted to highlight it on social media to show what we would start doing every month. It has had great outreach within the community and the College of Nursing. The office of DEI also reposted our post, which created outside awareness among the students of UofSC and possible incoming students who are interested in nursing.
Breakthrough to Nursing (BTN) Workshop
Learn about the BTN role, how to start a BTN Committee, and the BTN Monthly Awards. Speaker: Julia Chan, BTN Director, Chair, Breakthrough to Nursing Committee
BTN 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 includes a main feature with bonus tracks on a variety of nursing career paths, to order, visit the NSNA Store.
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).