International Council of Nurses Student Assembly

Greetings, NSNA members and future colleagues!
I hope your July is filled with lovely summer air, warm beach days, and most of all, relaxation!
On June 30th, I attended the International Council of Nurses’ Student Assembly where students (undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral) gathered to discuss common issues and learn from the ICN Student Steering Group’s wonderful agenda. One of my favorite parts of the day was the roundtable discussions we had on timely questions such as “What would you like to see from your National Nursing Association (NNA)?” Getting to discuss our five key answers and come together to learn about how healthcare looks different in each country was my favorite part. I sat at a table with students from South Africa, Taiwan, Vietnam, Canada, and Lebanon. It was also really shocking and upsetting to learn that many nursing students do not have a separate nursing student association like the National Student Nurses’ Association. Many rely on funding and decision-making done by their National Nursing Association. Canada was the only country that had an entirely separate nursing organization and I was able to meet the Canadian Student Nurses’ Association President, Eyasu Yahob. He is an amazing colleague and inspiring leader. I was able to extend an invitation to him, on behalf of the NSNA, to attend our Annual Convention in April 2024. Hopefully, I will be able to introduce him or one of his colleagues to you come April time. 
Other than the roundtables, I really enjoyed the networking we were able to do during lunch with nursing leaders around the world. I was able to connect with the Jamaican Nurses Association and some of the students from Mexico during my lunch session. 
We also were fortunate to listen to incredible speakers like Dr. Katie Huffling, the Executive Director of the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments and Dr. Christine Genest, a Professor from the Université de Montreal (University of Montreal) on Mental Health in Nursing. 
Overall, it was an amazing day with lots of connections with students, which I loved most of all. Let me know if you have any questions for me in the comments or feel free to email me personally at [email protected]!
Yours in service and signing off for now,
Lauren
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Students from Mexico, USA, and South Korea

Top row: me with students from Mexico Bottom row left to right: Paulina, a PhD student from Canada, and nurses from Jamaica

Me with Róisín O'Connell, the Student and New Graduate Officer for the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation

From left to right: Aline from Lebanon who moved to Canada, Charlene from South Africa, me, Eyasu who is President of the Canadian Student Nurses Association, student from the Canadian Student Nurses Association, Paulina who is a PhD student from Canada, student from Vietnam but studies in Taiwan, Pojen from Taiwan

All students present at the ICN 2023 Student Assembly