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Importance of Continuing Education and Certifications

3/3/2024

Greetings, NSNA members and future colleagues!
            A little fun fact about me is that I am truly a lifelong learner to the core. I love learning something new every day, even if it has no relation to nursing. One of my favorite things in nursing is the vast education and certifications that are possible after you graduate. To me, the only problem is going to be what to choose first! However, many don’t think like this. And that’s okay! I am a firm believer in staying where you are if you love where you are. However, I love change as well, always want to improve myself, and continuing being the little lifelong learner I’ve always been.
            Regardless of what specialty you love, there are so many certifications and additional education that can boost your knowledge and patient care as a nurse! They also help to keep you up to date with the new technology, methods, and evidenced-based practice out there from research studies and credible trials.
            Additionally, it was always my original dream to be a doctor. When I was seven years old, I got a doctor’s coat for Christmas from Santa and didn’t take it off until it didn’t fit. As I got older and learned the true role of a doctor, I started to dislike the profession all together because I wanted to serve, protect, and help people at their most vulnerable. And the best way for me to do that was to be a nurse! Was I upset that my childhood self didn’t get her dream to be a doctor? No way! Because I can STILL be a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) or get my PhD! All the advanced certifications and education opportunities are just another reason why I believe that the nursing profession is the best profession.
            And yes, we are still in undergraduate school and going BACK to school can seem so far in the future and impossible. But like I said in my past blog post, the WHY factor is so important to your continuance of education. Because while undergraduate nursing school is pretty much mandatory to be a nurse, being a lifelong learner as a nurse is NOT as required. I encourage you to research what certifications and educational opportunities are available in the specialty that you would like to be. I encourage you to get your first nursing job after undergraduate and look at their tuition reimbursement rates. I encourage you to want the best for your patients by being a lifelong learner. But most of all, I encourage you to dream. Make the little child you were proud of who you are today.

Yours in service and signing off for now,
Lauren

Why NSNA and Why is it Important?

12/21/2023

Greetings, NSNA members and future colleagues!
            Many times, we ask ourselves, “why?” Why should I do this paper? Why should I get involved? And what this blog post is about: Why NSNA? Aside from the multitude of benefits membership brings that are tangible (which you can find on the NSNA website under Membership —> Membership Benefits), NSNA has a plethora of intangible benefits.
            I recently gave a presentation at the Nursing Students Association of New York State (NSANYS)’s annual Council of Student Leaders (COSL) event about my leadership journey and why leadership is important. In this presentation, I talked about NSNA’s benefits briefly but then focused on the benefits that I feel are so worth the NSNA membership these past four years.
            My first point was getting to make a difference in my classmates lives and for the future of nurses that come after us. I feel by being present at NSNA conventions and having used my vote on resolutions, I was being proactive in creating a better future for students that follow. Additionally, advocacy is so big! NSNA runs our organization a lot different than a lot of other nursing organizations. We hear from our students every year and our policies (resolutions) as an organization are determined by the House of Delegates. Therefore, students are doing advocacy work by just submitting their vote on the floor of the House of Delegates for resolutions. And then, the next year we follow that mission that was set in place by you to work hard at more advocacy!
            Another big point I had about why getting started in leadership is so important was because you create a path. No two people are alike or have the same experiences but that doesn’t mean we don’t look up to each other every now and then for mentors and role models! And for that very reason, you create a path in which someone can follow. If we aren’t encouraging the next generation to be bigger and better than us, how are we going to leave a better tomorrow? The truth of the matter is as a leader, I can only hope that the next leader after me is EVEN better than I am! And I will do everything in my power to ensure that they are as well-informed and knowledgeable about whatever position I transition someone into. Speaking personally, I used to be the Treasurer of NSANYS and when it came time to transition my successor, she was so well-prepared that she thanked me. She knew exactly what was asked of her, had all her documents organized, and knew if she ever needed me, that I was a call or text away! THIS is how we also intact change! By making sure our leaders are well prepared.
            My last points were about lifelong memories, friends I will never forget, and gave me a place to use my passion. At NSNA Conventions, I have met students from Arkansas, Nevada, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, and all around the states. We’ve laughed, we’ve shared our nursing experiences, and we’ve done our best to make real change. Those are the people that I will see moving on to the American Nurses Association and the National League for Nursing and continuing their leadership through post-graduation professional organizations. These are the friends that I will continue to champion forward and cheer on throughout their nursing career. And lastly, NSNA gave me my passion. My absolute love and passion for leadership and a place to use my leadership in my career for the rest of my life and for good!
            Above all else, I hope that all of our members experience that like I have. And that’s what makes NSNA an organization that is unlike no other. We help students with that passion and grow it into a professional nursing leader that moves on to other organizations with poise, experience in leadership, and knowledge about professional comportment.

What is your favorite thing about being an NSNA member? Leave your comments!

Yours in service and signing off for now,
Lauren

Listen to Your Body and Take the Break!

12/8/2023

Greetings, NSNA members and future colleagues!
            Rarely, we listen to our bodies and take the well-deserved breaks that we need. In our most recent set of resolutions that were accepted this past April, the Student Nurses’ Association from Salisbury University in Salisbury, Maryland presented a resolution on Mindfulness. The numbers in their resolution and the more that are out there today prove that we are experiencing an increased amount of stress and psychological distress! And the same is true for new-graduate nurses. So what are we doing to change these statistics?
            Why not try mindfulness? The students defined it as “a type of meditation in which you focus on being intensely aware of what you’re sensing and feeling in the moment, without interpretation or judgment.” It can be as simple as a new breathing technique! With evidence behind it, mindfulness has reduced anxiety, stress, and created resiliency! You can turn just about anything into mindfulness: eating, walking, coloring, meditation, and more! There is a method that I just learned called body scanning that helps to move your attention slowly from the top of your head and all the way down to your toes. Learn more about mindfulness and how to get the most out of your mindfulness time here!
            Remember that your health is above all else! Take very short breaks during the day and use these techniques instead of longer breaks. It is hard to remember to do these things but set little reminders on your phone throughout the day.

Do you have a favorite mindfulness exercise or one you would like to try? Leave it below!

Yours in service and signing off for now,
Lauren

Nursing Organizations Alliance 2023 Meeting in Providence, Rhode Island

11/19/2023

Greetings, NSNA members and future colleagues!
I hope you are all had a lovely holiday to those who celebrate and take the next few days following Thanksgiving to reach out to loved ones that you are grateful for. Last weekend, I attended the Nursing Organizations Alliance (NOA) Annual Fall Summit in Providence, Rhode Island, which is attended by Presidents and Executive Directors of nursing specialty associations that are members of NOA. It is an organization for association leaders to learn from one another as many share the same issues. President of the American Nurses Association (ANA), Dr. Jennifer Mensik-Kennedy, gave a wonderful presentation that talked about different changes that ANA is outlining and advocating for such as:

Standard documentation for a crisis situation
Every nurse having an NPI number
Proposed minimum RN staffing ratios
Workforce Violence for RNs
Nursing workforce centers for states

I also learned that ANA polled their over 5 million members and found that 89% were employed in nursing with 70% working fulltime. In addition, the average age of members is 46 years old.
Dr. Mensik-Kennedy also discussed a Commonwealth report that suggested U.S. Healthcare spending was two times that of other first world countries. Nursing salaries only account for 5% of this total healthcare spending with healthcare administration costs at 30-40% and drug costs at 10%. If we were to reallocate some of this money by decreasing the cost of drugs and decreasing the budget of administration, we would be able to allocate more money to our nursing salaries and help increase the retention of the nursing profession (with the betterment of work environments and more practice-ready nurses as well—retention is not a simple one fix issue as we know).
After Dr. Mensik-Kennedy’s wonderful presentation, there were meetings on diversity, membership engagement, and more. I attended both membership engagement and learned a lot of insightful ways to engage more members. In the next coming months, we are hoping to implement some of these amazing techniques. Additionally, I was able to help other organizations in sharing our Breakthrough-to-Nursing position and how at NSNA, we promote diversity. Furthermore, the board has a policy during our meetings called the “Ouch” rule. If someone says something offensive or is a microaggression, the person hurt can say ouch and all board meeting business stops. The person who was hurt is asked to speak about what was said and the person who said the word or phrase is asked if they would like to speak in order for them to clarify their statement and apologize. We have found it is a helpful strategy to make sure that everyone feels comfortable and heard. We have never had to use it before but having it in our back pocket in case it needs to be has allowed our board to feel comfortable in their roles. Many organizations were so receptive to this rule that we have at NSNA and I know that many will implement it into their own organizations.
Not only was I able to connect with Dr. Mensik-Kennedy, I was able to see my colleague, Dr. Patricia Sharpnack, Chair of the National League of Nursing (NLN), Dr. Terri Roberts, Executive Director of the American Holistic Nurses Association (AHNA), and Dr. Jane Foote, President of AHNA. All are amazing leaders in their fields and it was so incredible to connect with them yet again at this conference.
There was a lovely reception that was held off-site at a local farm grown place in Providence with local businesses located inside the hall. A small country band played while leaders were able to network and eat all while in their best flannel and jeans! I love when I get the chance to see professional leaders be able to personally connect with other individuals and get to know them as who they are rather than their role. That has been one of my favorite things about meeting all the individuals I have.
Overall, it was probably one of my favorite conferences I’ve been to thus far. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to comment or reach out to me via email at [email protected]!

Yours in service and signing off for now,
Lauren

American Nurses Association-New York (ANA-NY) Annual Conference 2023 in Verona, New York

11/11/2023

Greetings, NSNA members and future colleagues!
            I hope you all are doing well! I recently traveled about five hours north of New York and attended the American Nurses Association New York Chapter’s 11th Annual Conference in Verona, New York. It was a wonderful meeting where nursing leaders like Dr. Kenya Beard, winner of the ANA-NY’s President’s Award, spoke on the theme: Lighting the Way. A silent auction was done for various items to support the organization in addition to donations taken for the ANA-NY Political Action Committee, that supports legislative candidates running for office that support the policy additions/changes of ANA and ANA-NY. The convention was well-attended, and all sessions were engaging!
            I saw many of my nursing leadership colleagues there that I had met when I attended ANA Membership Assembly and represented nursing students. It is such a wonderful thing in nursing leadership to get to see colleagues you don’t see every day at conferences like these. During the business meeting on Friday, November 10th, I was asked to give a brief update on NSNA’s activities and how ANA-NY can engage with nursing students from New York. It was a very successful business meeting with ANA-NY advancing their association through their increased membership numbers even more than before the covid pandemic and more.
            Also, during the business meeting, Dr. Marilyn Dollinger, President of ANA-NY, announced a second President’s Award and to my surprise, she called my name! I was and still am so honored to have accepted this award from Dr. Dollinger, who is an exceptional nursing leader and a genius advocate.
            That night was ANA-NY’s Annual Award Dinners and Gala. Dinner was fabulous and I was thrilled to see my Obstetrics clinical instructor from the semester before this one, Dr. Catherine Bell, adjust at Molloy University and full-time faculty at Adelphi University. Dr. Bell has been one of my favorite instructors that I’ve had thus far and I know I will be following in her footsteps through my Labor and Delivery career post-graduation.
            The following day, breakfast was served, and a few sessions were also held. In the afternoon, I started my drive back to the greater New York City Region, reflecting at my time in Verona.
            As NSNA members, we understand the importance of leadership during our studies. But we also must realize that leadership—regardless of schooling—is essential to our professional development! It is organizations like ANA and your state aligned nursing organization, along with many specialty organizations (like many of our partnership program associations), that continue NSNA’s core values of advocacy, leadership & autonomy, professionalism, care, diversity, and quality education.
Therefore, I know I will be attending many ANA-NY conferences in the future. And am looking forward to my next ANA-NY conference as a member!

Yours in service and signing off for now,
Lauren

NSNA MidYear Convention 2023 San Diego, California

10/28/2023

Greetings, NSNA members and future colleagues!
         I hope you are all packed and ready to meet the Board in MidYear! We are so excited to welcome you to San Diego, California and to NSNA’s 41st MidYear Conference. We cannot wait to bring you a live NCLEX-RN Review session, panels with multiple nursing specialties that are eager for your questions, exhibits, workshops, and networking opportunities you will not find anywhere else. In addtition, MidYear is an amazing conference to attend as it allows you to be personable with the NSNA Nominations and Elections Committee, the Chair of the Resolutions Committee, and the Board of Directors.
         I hope you already are a leader in the NSNA Leadership University Honors Society but if not, we will definitely be speaking about that as well and how you can get involved!
         Our keynote speaker will be the incredible Dr. Laurie Ecoff, PhD, RN, NEA-BC, CNL, who is Vice President of Caster Nursing Institute. She oversees four centers of excellence—professional growth, inquiry and innovation, simulation, and technology and innovative learning and community engagement. Additionally, Dr. Ecoff has oversight of the new Brown Simulation Center, opening in April 2023 in the Sharp Presbys Innovation and Education Center.
Dr. Ecoff started her nursing career as a new graduate nurse on the Oncology Unit at Sharp Memorial Hospital and has previously held positions as Director of Ambulatory at Sharp Grossmont and Director of Research and Education at Sharp Memorial.
In addition, Dr. Ecoff received her Bachelor of Science and PhD in Nursing from the University of San Diego (USD) and a Master of Science in Nursing Administration from San Diego State University.
Dr. Ecoff is a past president of the Association of California Nurse Leaders and currently services on the annual program planning committee. She is a founding member of the San Diego Consortium for Excellence in Nursing and Allied Health, a community-based collaborative between service and academia, which offers an annual Evidenced-Based Practice Institute.
For State Leaders, we will be having our annual Council of State Presidents on Thursday, November 2nd from 8am-4pm PST. In addition to state presidents, all board members are welcome to attend. There will be time for registration and a lunch provided as well. Faculty have plenty of opportunities to get involved in the programming as well with our faculty workshops taking place throughout the convention!
We are offering our American Red Cross Disaster Certification (pre-registration required) and that is open to all students and faculty! Our Advocacy Corner features many different organizations where you and your local/state organization can get involved.
At the close of our first day, we will hold our opening ceremony to welcome you all to the 41st MidYear Convention and to hear our keynote speaker, Dr. Ecoff speak. Right after the insightful keynote, the Foundation of the National Student Nurses’ Association is sponsoring our Masquerade party so be sure to grab your masks and your extravagant outfits! We can’t wait to see you there.
         Friday, November 3rd brings just as much excitement! We have our NCLEX Mini Review also taking place presented by Lippincott PassPoint, our Faculty Workshop, our Advocacy Corner, and sessions that are coming soon! The exhibit hall opens at 11 am (PST) so be sure to head there as soon as it opens! Our exhibitors are eager to meet you and hand out some free goodies!
         Our Career Readiness Panel takes place from 2pm-3:30pm, which will be an amazing discussion and conversation on preparing for our futures! After that, the exhibit hall is still open until 5pm. Sessions will repeat at that time for anyone who would like to attend a session they missed earlier. We are delighted to announce an important session at the upcoming NSNA MidYear Conference that focuses on the development of Interpretive Statements for the newly amended Code of Ethics. This session presents nursing students with a unique opportunity to actively contribute to the refinement and update of the NSNA Code of Ethics.
         As you know, one of the primary goals for the Ethics and Governance Committee this year has been to review and revise the NSNA Code of Ethics. In line with this objective, we have organized roundtable discussions, information sessions, and forums at the MidYear Conference and Annual Convention to engage our members in constructive conversations regarding the creation of interpretive statements.
         The Code of Ethics Interpretive Statements session at the MidYear Conference aims to foster collaboration and knowledge-sharing among nursing students. During this session, participants will have the chance to provide insights, suggestions, and ideas for the interpretive statements that will complement the revised Code of Ethics. This collective effort will ensure the Code reflects the values, principles, and expectations of our esteemed profession.
I am pleased to inform you that any proposed changes resulting from this session will be carefully reviewed by the NSNA Board of Directors, and any proposed changes will be presented to the House of Delegates at the Annual Convention to be voted upon if any proposed changes should be adopted or not.
We encourage you to attend this session on Friday, November 3rd from 6:15-7:30pm PDT.
         Our last business day together in San Diego, November 4th will bring to you an amazing opportunity: Mental Health First Aid! We are so excited for this opportunity and are looking forward to the feedback from you all on what you think! The exhibit hall will be open for a couple of more hours and then, our nursing specialty showcases will begin! We have so many nurses coming to speak from so many specialties and they are excited to answer any questions you may have! Our Faculty Roundtables take place during these showcases so our faculty are not going to want to miss those! And for our last agenda item in San Diego, NSNA will be holding their roundtable discussions to hear feedback from you all! Definitely don’t miss out in shaping our next conventions to come!
         And lastly, Sunday, November 5th is yours! Enjoy as many of the activities San Diego has to offer on your own and we look forward to all the posts of sunny San Diego!
         If you have any questions, please feel free to email [email protected] and someone will get back to you as quickly as we can. We are so excited to see you all in San Diego and I know speaking for the Board of Directors, we are so excited to interact with you all so please say hi!
         Safe travels!

Yours in service and signing off for now,
Lauren

National League for Nursing Education Summit 2023 National Harbor, Maryland

10/11/2023

Greetings, NSNA members and future colleagues!
Every time I travel on behalf of NSNA, it is always such a pleasure to be able to represent all of us! It was especially a pleasure as I attended the National League for Nursing Education Summit in National Harbor, Maryland. Not only did I meet and recognize so many amazing colleagues, but I also got to learn about nursing education from a faculty perspective. The conference started with a 5K that I completed early in the morning on the first day.
After the run, there were sessions on teaching to brain science concepts like priming and retrieval practice. Some of the brain concepts discusses were:

Priming: content about to talk about before you talk about it
Retrieval practice: active recall from memory without using resources
Spaced learning: studying every day
Interleaving: compare and contrast
Generation: think through and work through content haven’t learned yet
Elaboration: adding additional meaning to previous content
Dual coding: mixing words and pictures together (stores in long-term)

When students read their notes and do test questions over and over again, it has been proven that they get better results on their exams. However, these students are more likely to feel what is called “desirable difficulty” or that they didn’t study enough and don’t know anything they were just tested on.
           I also learned the therapeutic communication that should be used in speaking to students and methods to assist them in their journey to success. Things like proper labeling with assignments, flexibility, rubrics to help students define where to get their points from, organized modules, and a detailed calendar in your syllabus. It is also important to be supportive for nursing students. Often, teachers claim to be support or are outright not support by saying, “nursing school becomes your life,” instead of assisting with setting boundaries and helping students by being flexible.
           Additionally, during this session, I was also introduced to the “next thought please” method. If a thought pops into your head about something we don’t need to think about or are overthinking, we can say “next thought please” and ask the thought to disappear. I attended the opening ceremony and listened to Dr. Victor J. Dzau, President of the National Academy of Medicine talk about Climate Change and how it is not only a public health crisis, but an equity crisis as well. He discussed how the health damages from U.S. pollution is the same magnitude as preventable deaths by medication errors and how as the health sector holds 8.5% of all U.S. carbon emissions, we need to take action on environmental health.
           In another session, we learned about how educators can be role models in reducing burnout and providing a safe, autonomous environment. By doing so, it removes barriers to learning, demonstrates respect, reduces potential for reactivation of trauma, and makes the classroom a safe place to fail. And instead of just preaching about processing stress and building resilience, educators need to give the keys to unlock the doors for students. This includes adequate sleep, a well-rounded diet, physical activity, creative outlets, social connection, meditation, and more.
           After this session, Dr. Kenya Williams and I were invited to the NLN Reception in the Presidential Suite to spend time with the many colleagues and scholarship recipients invited as well. It was an honor to receive an invitation and be asked to introduce myself during their welcoming words and presentation of the scholarship winners.
           Dr. Kellie Bryant gave the fantastic 2023 Debra Spunt lecture and talked about how to increase health equity by engaging in personal development, evaluating and enhancing our curriculum, and implementing simulations to promote health equity. We need to turn into upstanders instead of bystanders.
           Then, Dr. Bernadette Mazurek Melnyk from Ohio State University taught us how at-risk students are for suicide, chronic disease, depression, and more. She taught us about the factors playing against students in nursing school but also how to rise above these statistics. Based on evidence-based practice, she recommended physical activity 30 minutes a day for five days a week, eating a minimum of 5 fruits and vegetables per day with other health eating habits, no smoking, alcohol in moderation (one drink per day for men and women), and getting 7 hours of sleep while regularly engaging in stress reduction.
           She also recommends the morning 1-5-5 eye opener 30-day challenge that calls for 1 minute of gratitude, 5 minutes of an inspirational podcast/book, and 5 minutes of movement/physical activity every morning.
           After the closing ceremony, NLN held a wonderful Gala event where they raised money for their Foundation. The Foundation reached their goal of raising $30,000 by exceeding it and raising slightly over $40,000.
           Overall, I had a fantastic time learning about providing excellent education for nursing students and made so many amazing connections with colleagues that I will cherish.

Yours in service and signing off for now,
Lauren

Running for Leadership Opportunities

9/29/2023

Greetings, NSNA members and future colleagues!
I hope that everyone had a wonderful summer and is getting back into the groove of a new semester!
I’d like to talk to you about running for leadership opportunities. Although initially it seems like a pretty scary thing, leadership positions are a great way to gain insightful experience on advocacy, communication, and decision-making. These core qualities and more not only make a successful leader, but a powerful nurse! Therefore, it is highly recommended that every nursing student have some kind of experience in leadership. Whether that is getting involved in your local chapter’s student association, getting involved in your state association, or even through various outside organizations, leadership is a quality that all recognize within the first few minutes of meeting a person. This sets you apart from the next interviewee when it comes time for that job you really want!
But how do you get involved in leadership? My best piece of advice is to find a mentor or an older student that has the experience. They can help pave a path for you that can set you up to do some amazing things! Personally, it was an older nursing student at my school that pushed me to run from the floor for a state association position at our state association convention. He saw something in me that I didn’t recognize in myself and gave me that extra push. If you are already in leadership, I hope that you can be that extra friendly shove for someone else to get their passion sparked for leadership.
However, if you are the first to want to get involved in leadership through nursing organizations and you don’t have a local chapter to join, contact NSNA! We can give you the tools you need to start an organization and be that mentor for younger students that will now have a local chapter to join because of you!
If you are running for a leadership position, best of luck! I know all of us here at NSNA are always cheering you on. Always remember to be confident, creative, and be true to the leader you are. No one can be you like you can.

Yours in service and signing off for now,
Lauren

September: National Suicide Awareness Month

9/14/2023

Greetings, NSNA members and future colleagues!
I had an idea for my blog to do National Awareness Month for some of the months of the year, discussing topics that pertain to each month. September is National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. And our students from the past ten years are so wonderful in having submitted resolutions to NSNA about suicide and mental health. Therefore, I’d like to give the highlights of all our spectacular resolutions submitted.
As we all know from the recent pandemic, Covid-19 inflated the suicide rates especially for the youth of America (National Institute of Mental Health, 2023). This lead to our students from Mineral Area College Student Nurses’ Association in Park Hills, Missouri coming out with a resolution, “In Support of Raising Awareness for Suicide Assessment in Post-Covid 19 Patients.” They provided us with the education and urged us to share with our constituents the risk factors for suicide, promoting awareness, and reassessment of suicide risk. In 2019, a resolution titled, “In Support of Instituting Mental Health Checks in K-12 Public Schools,” was passed by the House of Delegates after being submitted by West Chester University in West Chester, Pennsylvania. They brought shocking research forward that 1 in 6 children in America ages 2-8 are diagnosed with a mental, behavioral, or developmental disorder. Therefore, they urged NSNA to encourage the United States Department of Education to screen students for mental health concerns twice a year with education presented to the students on mental health topics. By teaching kids about taking care of their mental health early on, perhaps we can decrease the suicide rates as they get older.
Also in 2019, a resolution by Mount Carmel College of Nursing in Columbus, Ohio was accepted by the House of Delegates titled, “Promoting Awareness of Mental Health Conditions Causing Increased Risk of Suicide in Nursing Students.” Their resolution discussed the risk that nursing students are at due to their exposure to adverse events and pain and death often. They urged NSNA to inform their constituents of the increased risk of suicide among us. But we can do more than just inform you. At NSNA, we want to give you the tools to be a nurse that protects their patients, but also protects themselves. This is why NSNA does so much education and discussion on self-care.
If you are struggling, please know that you are not alone. Turn towards a loved one or reach out to a hotline (either phone or text). Call or text 988 24/7 to reach a representative. Or chat using the feature located at suicidepreventionlifeline.org. You are never alone.

Yours in service and signing off for now,
Lauren

References
G. U. I. D. E. I. (n.d.). September is National Suicide Prevention Month. GUIDE, Inc. Retrieved September 17, 2023, from https://guideinc.org/2022/09/01/september-is-national-suicide-prevention-month/
National Institute of Mental Health. (2023, May 22). Youth suicide rates increased during the covid-19 pandemic. https://www.nimh.nih.gov/news/science-news/2023/youth-suicide-rates-increased-during-the-covid-19-pandemic

Starting School-Remember the Why

9/14/2023

Greetings, NSNA members and future colleagues!
Can you believe the summer is over? I know it’s always hard for me to get back into the groove after I’ve just had a wonderful summer but it’s time to get to work! And when shifting back into my school schedule, I like to hold onto my “why?” Many people I’ve spoken to don’t use this thinking process and burn out very quickly when it comes to transitioning back to school. Therefore, I’d like to share it with all of you!
My method is very simple, very cost-effective, and requires all but a pen and a post-it! I have a post-it on my calendar board next to my computer. It says, “Lauren Lodico, BSN RN” in big bold letters. Although it is pretty worn out from making it through three full years of nursing school with me, it holds on because it serves a great purpose. It reminds me every time I get stressed and look at my calendar, wondering, “how am I going to do this?” that I CAN do this. It reminds me of WHY I wanted to become a nurse in the first place. It reminds me of everyone behind those little letters that I want so badly behind my name. And it reminds me that I am fearless, brave, and nothing—not even nursing school—can stand in my way from achieving my aspirations and dreams.
It's not easy to hold onto the WHY. However, it is so easy to fall into the pattern of thinking negatively, feeling burnout, and stressed, and feeling alone in nursing school. But I encourage you. Better yet, I challenge you to reframe your brain this semester and choose the positive. Choose the WHY.
Here are some ways that you can make “choose your why” slightly easier:

When you wake up, have your WHY by your bedside. Remind yourself that you can take anything life throws at you today.
Do step 1 BEFORE you touch any electronic device. (Fun fact and as nurses we already know this: it messes with your brain waves, especially in the morning).
Keep your post-it by your laptop for classes, studying, and other assignments. Remind yourself of your WHY (and get a cup of coffee/tea!) when you feel like you are running low on fuel.

As I always tell everyone I meet, if I can do this, so can you! And I truly believe that. So remember your WHY, make sure you take care of yourself, and have a great semester!

Yours in service and signing off for now,
Lauren

Author

My name is Lauren Lodico and I am the 2023-2024 NSNA President. I attend Molloy University in Rockville Centre, NY as a senior in their traditional program. I am expected to graduate in May 2024 with my BSN and a minor in Writing. I aspire to be a future Labor and Delivery nurse with hopes to further my education by going back to school for my Family Nurse Practitioner and PhD, so I can have the pleasure of teaching future nursing students and conducting my own research. I have also published two novels and written several unpublished in genres such as young adult romance, mystery, suspense, and more.

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