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| Union's Student Nursing Association (SNA) President
Chris White & junior SNA member Kami Reddin recently
participated at the National SNA conference in Salt Lake City,
Utah. Union's School of Nursing had the largest representation
among the Tennessee schools. |
Jackson, Tenn. – At a recent meeting of the National Student
Nurses Association in Salt Lake City, Utah, new recruitment tactics were
discussed towards assisting the under-represented populations in the
profession of nursing. Five 51ÉçÇø nursing students attended the
convention with their faculty advisor, nursing instructor Cynthia Fish,
where they were challenged with the latest health topics and concerns of
the field. The Union chapter was the largest in attendance compared to
other Tennessee schools who attended.
"The national trend for enrollment at this time in schools of
nursing is a steady decrease of nursing students, though the job
opportunities are still there," says Fish. "I had several
representatives at the convention stop me as soon as they saw my faculty
advisor badge and ask me if I would take job opportunity information from
their health care facility back to our students."
This steady shortage of nursing students will mean a shortage in nurses
for the future if the trend does not change. According to Chris White,
president of Union's local Student Nursing Association chapter, one area
that is changing rapidly is where registered nurses are working.
"The traditional view is that nurses work in the hospital,"
says White. "Society's needs are dictating that nurses be available
in a wide variety of settings like schools, industrial settings, political
arenas, private practices, and home health settings."
Shortage of nursing students is not the only concern in this field of
healthcare.
"There is a serious gap throughout the country in preparing
educators in the nursing field which could adversely affect healthcare in
the future," Jill Webb, director of Union's master of nursing
program, says. "The new graduate programs being offered by Union and
other schools across the country are extremely important in combating that
problem." According to Webb, the average age of nursing faculty
members across the United States is 55 years old.
With Nursing Week being recognized May 8-12, the School of Nursing at
Union hopes to continue being on the forefront of nursing education by
keeping their students abreast of the new technologies and knowledge that
are changing the face of professional nursing every day. The mission of
the School of Nursing is to be excellence-driven, Christ-centered,
people-focused, and future-directed while preparing qualified individuals
for a career in the caring, therapeutic, teaching profession of nursing.
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