Volume 5, Number 3
Hello Georgia Nursing Students!
I am Loan Nguyen Land, your 2009-2010 EKG Director. As the EKG Director, I intend to keep GA nursing students informed of events with the EKG Newsletters, Blast e-mails, and GANS website (www.ganursingstudents.org). Please check out the website from time to time for updates on conventions, legislative matters, BTN and Community projects, and many others! Our website is full of information as well as career opportunities. Looking for employment or internship opportunities? Take advantage of the resources link on the GANS website (http://
www.ganursingstudents.org) and click on Job Resources link under GANS Resources.
Upcoming events include the Legislative Day on January 28, 2010 and NSNA’s 58th Annual Convention in Orlando, FL from April 7-11, 2010!
Thinking about applying for a NSNA National Office position? The deadline is January 19, 2010! The next COSL retreat is being held this May at Unicoi State Park in Helen, GA. The COSL retreat is an opportunity for you to build and improve leadership skills to enhance your local chapter. GANS sponsors two leaders from each school to attend COSL.
I hope that you are surviving nursing school, whether it is your first or last! Nursing school is no walk in the park, so remember to make time to relax, catch up on your shows on your DVR before they delete themselves, and spend quality time with your friends and family. If you find yourself getting tired of all of this and start wondering why you’re in nursing school, recall what got you into this, and by the way, it’s too late to back out now! It’s only 2-3 years of clinicals, papers, simulation labs, community days, and lectures in return of a lifetime in an awesome, respectable, diverse, and rewarding career. Don’t lose hope, you can make it! Treat yourself every once in a while or go out with your nursing school friends once a month (or every other month – students are usually poor!) and have a few hours to let go of schoolwork.
The EKG is made for you, the future nurses of Georgia. Please send me any ideas, suggestions, a story, or an article that you would like to be in the next EKG edition at gans.ekg@gmail.com. Your involvement is very much appreciated.
Bring it on!
Editorial
A Publication of the Georgia Association of Nursing Studentswww.ganursingstudent.org Winter 2009
In this issue...
Editorial President’s Message First VP’s Message 1 2 3 GANS Convention Highlights Meet Your 2009-2010 GANS Executive Board Legislative Update GANS Awards WinnersUpdates...
3 4 14 7Getting Involved...
Nursing Fun...
15 15 Community Health Breakthrough to Nursing Student Nurses… 15President’s Message:
Kelly Aikens
Hi everyone!
First, I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who came to GANS annual state convention in Athens, GA this year and made it such a successful event! I really enjoyed meeting you and discussing your needs and goals for the next year. I also want to send a special thank you to Liz Patail, NSNA West Director who graciously came to support our event! For those that have not had the privilege to meet Liz, she is a great resource and mentor for not only GANS but all nursing students.
We have a lot of great ideas and plans for the upcoming year! Many of these ideas were discussed during our NSNA Midyear Conference in Phoenix, Arizona. We were fortunate enough to have nine board members attend the conference. We were able to not only learn the details of our positions, but how to improve the positions, the board in general, and our state. I was personally motivated by some of the discussions that took place in COSP (Council of State Presidents). I am very excited for GANS to begin sharing our ideas with you, and assist your chapters with projects and plans as well!
Happy Holidays!
On Sunday, December 13th, GANS hosted an annual Inner Harbour Christmas party to spend time with approximately
20 children, and made cookies and crafts! NIMS Certification
At the Midyear Conference, GANS learned the importance of Disaster Training and Preparedness. Did you know that once you are certified in disaster training (NIMS Certified), you can assist in disaster situations?
The FEMA website states: “A critical tool in promoting the nationwide implementation of NIMS is a well-developed training program that facilitates NIMS training throughout the Nation, growing the number of adequately trained and qualified emergency management/response personnel.”
The NSNA Board is NIMS certified. The previous GANS board was NIMS certified, and the current GANS board is cur-rently working on becoming NIMS certified. I challenge each school chapter to become NIMS certified. This is a great way to be prepared to assist and implement a plan if a disaster strikes in your area. It is also a great way to educate your community about disaster training. Plus, for incentive, there is a Disaster Preparedness award given to a school that is able to show how they put their NIMS certification into action!
The great thing is that you can get certified at home on your computer! Check out this link to get NIMS 100, 200, and 700 Certifications: http://www.fema.gov/emergency/nims/nims_training.shtm#3.
Get Political
January is going to be an exciting month for GANS and all nurses in Georgia because we are having our Legislative Day on the 28th. This is a good way to get involved and learn about how to lobby for nurses in the state. You can sign up
through your school to be one of the students that walk from Georgia State University to the Capital, and don’t forget to wear your white coat! More information regarding 2010’s legislative platform can be found at
http://www.georgianurses.org/legislativelobbyday.htm. NSNA Awards
Just a quick reminder that NSNA Award Applications for school projects and resolutions are DUE received by NSNA at 5:00 p.m. on Friday, March, 19th 2010. To make it easier, NSNA has posted an Awards Booklet that includes
com-prehensive information about the awards and honors and how to apply for them. This information can be found at: http://www.nsna.org/pdf/pubs_awards_booklet_2010.pdf.
Here is a quick list of school awards offered: Newsletter Contest
Website Award
Community Health Project Award
Legislation/Education Political Involvement Award Empowering Resolution Award
Breakthrough to Nursing Award Image of Nursing Award
Bylaws & Policies Award Disaster Preparedness Award
Robert V. Piemonte Financial Excellence Award
NSNA Stellar School Chapter Recognition Program Award
Please apply, we have a great state, and you deserve the recognition!
If there is anything that I can do to help you or your school chapter, please contact me at ganspresident@gmail.com.
First Vice President’s Message:
Kathleen Kebe
continued from page 2...
Hello to all!
WOW, I have to say, that the past year flew right past me. Therefore, I am thrilled to be able to be with GANS for a second year, this time as the First Vice President. It was such a pleasure to have met so many other nursing students at the annual GANS convention back in October. Running for office has probably been the best decision I have made while in nursing school. Being involved with GANS & NSNA has opened my eyes to so many new things, and has taken me to places I never thought possible. I hope each and every one of you will take advantage of the leadership opportunities that are available in your communities, local SNA chapters, GANS, and NSNA.
It is my wish that the 2009-2010 GANS theme: “Spring into Nursing… Fall into your career” will inspire every one of you to find new and creative ways to intensify your passion for nursing. A good way to start is to take advantage of the upcoming winter break by relaxing, and setting new goals. I hope that over the next year I have the chance to interact with as many GANS members as possible, through COSL, convention, and every event in between.
Good luck to you all in your future endeavors!
GANS 57
th
Annual Convention Highlights:
The GANS Convention was a blast!
With the theme, “The Many Faces of Nursing,” the Focus Sessions featured healthcare professionals from different fields of nursing from traveling to OB. The speakers were all educational and encouraging. The keynote and endnote speakers were motivating. We hope to see you again in October at the 2010 GANS Convention in Columbus, GA!
GANS would like to congratulate the winners at the annual convention in October.
These schools and individuals were all outstanding!
Awards on state level:
Scholarships
Dr. Virginia Harmeyer Scholarship
2008-2009 Winner: Kathryn Smiley from Georgia Perimeter College Association of Nursing Students Amount: A scholarship in the amount of $250.00.
About the scholarship: Dr. Virginia M. Harmeyer, Dean Emeritus at Valdosta State University School of Nursing, provided the initial funds for this award. In recognition of her generosity and support, the GANS Executive Board of 1985-1986 named this scholarship in honor of Dr. Harmeyer.
Who is eligible: This scholarship award is based on academic achievement, financial need, student leader-ship, involvement in community activities related to health care and an active interest in the professional organizations in nursing.
Karl Lipinski Scholarship
2008-2009 Winner: John Paul Griffin from Emory Student Nurses Association Amount: A scholarship in the amount of $250.00
About the scholarship: This scholarship is awarded to a male member of the Georgia Association of Nurs-ing Students. Karl Lipinski was the president of GANS in 1999-2000 and wished to establish this scholar-ship to encourage men to enter the field of nursing; however, with his death in 2001, the creation of this scholarship was delayed. The GANS Executive Board of 2002-2003 named this scholarship in honor of Karl Lipinski.
Who is eligible: This scholarship award is based on academic achievement, student leadership, and involve-ment in community activities related to health care.
Mary Long Breakthrough to Nursing Scholarship
2008-2009 Winner: Janice Sackey from Emory Student Nurses Association Amount: A scholarship in the amount of $250.00
About the scholarship: The Mary Long Breakthrough to Nursing Award honors a nursing student with out-standing leadership and peer mentoring. This award highlights the life of Mary Long, who started her ca-reer at Grady Memorial Hospital as a staff nurse in Ambulatory Care, becoming charge nurse and later Di-rector. She was the first black elected President of the Georgia Nurses Association and the first minority chairperson for the Georgia Nurses Association Political Action Committee.
Who is eligible: This individual demonstrates leadership and participation in activities highlighting cultural understanding and mentoring relationships. This individual is also actively involved in Breakthrough to Nursing projects to promote diversity in the profession of nursing.
Emily McNelly Member of the Year Scholarship
2008-2009 Winner: Jaycee Linatok from the Emory Student Nurses Association Amount: A scholarship in the amount of $250.00
GANS 57
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Annual Convention Awards Winners:
About the scholarship: Emily McNelley was an outstanding nurse who was primarily responsible for estab-lishing the Student Nurses Association in Georgia, now known as the Georgia Association of Nursing Stu-dents.
Who is eligible: This award gives recognition to the GANS member who best exhibits leadership, scholar-ship, advocacy, and a passion for the art of nursing. This individual demonstrates outstanding commitment to nursing, clinical practice, and professional development.
Advisor of the Year Award
2008-2009 Winner: Katrina Barnes, Clayton State University Amount: Advisor of the Year Award and $200
About the Award: The Advisor the Year Award is presented to an outstanding faculty advisor who has dem-onstrated exceptional skills in providing guidance, advice and support to the school’s Nursing Student As-sociation.
Chapter Awards
Political Involvement award
2008-2009 Winner: Georgia Baptist College of Nursing at Mercer University
About the award: The purpose of the political involvement award is to educate nursing students about legis-lation that impacts the nursing profession, healthcare delivery, and the political process. The award is given to the school chapter that best represents the student nursing body and has the courage to stand up and speak out on a current political issue. The project should focus on letting lawmakers know what nursing students have to say about current legislation.
Financial Excellence Award
2008-2009 Winner: Medical College of Georgia
About the award: The Financial Excellence Award is given to the school chapter that has demonstrated ex-cellence in increasing revenues, fundraising, and maintaining a balanced budget. This chapter has devel-oped outstanding budget and fundraising activities that reflected the needs and goals of the organization for the past year.
Outstanding BTN Project Award
2008-2009 Winner: Georgia Baptist College of Nursing at Mercer University
About the award: The purpose of the Breakthrough to Nursing Award is to give recognition to a school chap-ter that impacts the community and the profession of nursing through a successful BTN project. Health needs know no boundaries, and all ethnicities, creeds, genders, religions, and sexual orientations need the compassionate care of nurses. Nurses must be culturally competent as well as clinically sound in order to provide the best level of total care. Recruitment of new nurses, retention of currently working nurses and mentoring relationships are all possibilities within Breakthrough to Nursing.
Community Service Project Award
2008-2009 Winner: Georgia Baptist College of Nursing at Mercer University
About the Award: The purpose of the Community Service Award is to give recognition to a student chapter that finds time to give back to the community. Nursing is a profession of compassion and caring, and nurs-ing students have the power to positively impact the community around them. This chapter has the most profound impact on a community by promoting health or preventing illness.
Community Service Grants
2008-2009 Winners: Darton College, Mercer University, Georgia Perimeter, Emory University, Medical College of Georgia, and Macon State College
About the Award: The purpose of these grants is to provide nursing students seed money to conduct small community health projects. These projects should promote health or prevent illness and have a positive impact on the community.
Image of Nursing Award
2008-2009 Winners: Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing at Emory University
About the Award: The purpose of the Image of Nursing Award is to promote a positive image of nursing and demonstrate a significant contribution to the public through community health projects, legislative activ-ism, and health promotion. This award is given to the school that demonstrates appropriate use of media coverage for an event and also promotes a positive image of nursing.
Website of the year
2008-2009 Winner: Clayton State University
About the Award: The website of the year award is to recognize and honor the most outstanding website produced by a nursing school. The websites are judged based on content, creativity, and showcasing of events among other things.
Newsletter of the year
2008-2009 Winner: Clayton State University
About the Award: It is awarded to recognize and honor the most outstanding newsletter produced by a nurs-ing school.
Chapter of the Year
2008-2009 Winner: Clayton State University
About the Award: This award is presented to a chapter that demonstrates a commitment to the nursing fession through activism, leadership, community involvement, and support of the students within the pro-gram.
Other Awards
Penny Wars
2008-2009 Winner: Clayton State University
About the Award: The winner of the Penny Wars receives half of the proceeds from this event. Best Scrapbook
2008-2009 Winner: Darton College
About the Award: The most creative and inclusive scrapbook presented by a school at the GANS convention. Banner Competition Award
2008-2009 Winner: Clayton State University
Thank you to our 2009 GANS
Convention Exhibitors!
Convention this year was a great success, due to the contributions of our exhibitors. As Director of Public Relations, I would like to take this time to recognize these outstanding companies for their generosity and devotion to the im-provement of nursing education. These exhibitors provided sponsorship, which made our annual Convention possi-ble. They also offered our members with the opportunity to learn, network, seek employment, and make the most of their futures in the field of nursing. On behalf of myself as well as the Georgia Association of Nursing Students, it is my privilege to extend our appreciation for your participation in the 2009 GANS Convention, as well as our hope that you will consider exhibiting with us in the future.
Sincerely, Michelle Tovani
Director of Public Relations, Georgia Association of Nursing Students We extend our thanks to:
Tanner Health Systems Hurst Review
Emory University Floyd Medical Center
Children's Healthcare of Atlanta ATI
Phoebe Putney Athens Regional UAB Health System Catholic Health East Gwinnett Hospital System Shepherd Center
Mercer University
The Medical Center of Central GA
Memorial Health University Medical Center Loretta Manning ICAN Publishing
GA Assoc. of Nurse Anesthetists Kaplan
Vanderbilt School of Nursing University of Phoenix Creative Uniforms Emory Healthcare
St. Mary's Healthcare System of Nursing Students Campus RN
Columbus Regional Healthcare System
Meet Your 2009-2010 GANS Executive Board:
Hello all! My name is Kelly Aikens, and it truly is an honor to be elected President of GANS. I am originally from Maine, however I have lived in Macon, Georgia for the past seven years. I am a second degree student at Macon State College. Although I did have a successful career in business, I always had a passion for helping others. I felt that if I did not act on my passion, I would live a life of regret. This decision has changed my life! Since my first semester of nursing school, I have decided to make the most of my time and experience as much as possible. The decisions and efforts that I have taken part of have led me here, and again I just want to say what a privilege it is to serve as your President. My focus for the upcoming year is on opening communication and educating as many schools and students as possible on the many benefits and opportunities available from NSNA, most of which is not obtainable from your class or school books. The experiences that I have had so far with NSNA have been life changing, and I think it will impact you and your school as well if given the opportunity. Please contact me if you are interested in helping increase communication or having GANS attend your school events. I really look forward to speaking and working with you this year!
President:
Kelly Aikens, Macon State College ganspresident@gmail.com
Hello future nurses! My name is Kathleen Kebe, your newly elected 1st Vice President. I am currently in my junior year at Georgia Baptist College of Nursing, patiently awaiting graduation. Last year, I had the great pleasure of serving the GANS board as the Break-through to Nursing Director. During that time I had the opportunity to participate in the 2009 GNA Legislative Day, work with Girl Scouts, and attend NSNA’s national convention in Nashville. I can’t wait to see what is in store for the upcoming year for all of us, espe-cially the planning of the 2010 convention. If you have any suggestion or tips for making the 2010 bigger and better, please feel free to contact me.
First Vice President:
Kathleen Kebe, Georgia Baptist College of Nursing, Mercer University gans1stvp@gmail.com
Second Vice President:
Reed Halterman, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta gans2ndvp@gmail.com
Reed Halterman, current GANS 2nd VP, attends Medical College of Georgia School of Nursing in Augusta, Georgia. There, he is President of the 2011 BSN Nursing Class as well as President-Elect for the school's SNA chapter. He previously attended the University of Georgia. His hobbies are sports (Geaux Saint!), hot air ballooning, and filmmaking.
Hello fellow nursing students! I am a first semester nursing student and first time mem-ber of the NSNA and GANS organizations just like many of you! I very much appreciate being elected to the position of secretary of the board, because it has given me the oppor-tunity to be part of an organization that helps to connect nursing students across the state. I am a born and bred Georgia girl. I was raised in Austell, GA but have lived in Decatur for the last 6 years. I got my undergraduate degree from Emory University and am currently attending Georgia Baptist College of Nursing at Mercer University. If there is anything that I can do to help you or your school with your student nurses association, please let me know!
Secretary:
Katy Cown, Georgia Baptist College of Nursing, Mercer University gans.secretary@gmail.com
Treasurer:
Ojong Klages, Georgia Baptist College of Nursing, Mercer University gans.treasurer@gmail.com
EKG & Website Director:
Loan Nguyen Land, Clayton State University gans.ekg@gmail.com
Loan is currently in the 4th semester of nursing school at Clayton State University and
plans to graduate with a second B.S. degree in May 2010. When she makes time for life, she enjoys taking short trips to go camping with her husband and dog, repelling, hiking, bike riding, and when she has a lot of time, visiting her parents in Louisiana (an 8-hour drive from Atlanta, WOOO!) After graduation and fulfilling GANS duties, she is consider-ing joinconsider-ing the Air Force.
Legislative Director:
Lora Liu, Clayton State University gans.legislative@gmail.com
I am so grateful for this opportunity to serve as the Legislative Director for this year. I have had an interest in the legislative process since my first mock General Assembly in 8th grade; this interest has become a passion as I have participated in the House of Delegates at the NSNA and GANS Conventions. I hope to inspire my fellow nursing students to be in-volved with legislation and realize the important role we have in shaping and influencing healthcare policies and issues. I am a senior at Clayton State University School of Nursing and I live in Atlanta. I have wanted to be a scientist and healthcare professional for as long as I can remember; nurs-ing allows me to be both while employnurs-ing my love of hands-on carnurs-ing for people. I spend any spare time I can find with my devoted husband and friends.
Hello. My name is Ojong Klages. I am a Junior at Georgia Baptist College of Nursing, and I am excited to be the treasurer for GANS. I am a citizen of Germany and a foreign student in the United States of America.
Hobbies: I love exercising, reading, decorating, baking, learning new languages, and trav-eling.
Goals in Life: My long term goal is to become an ER nurse practitioner and join medicine without boundaries to help people in need of health care around the world.
I want to welcome all participating GANS members to an eventful year. In a snapshot, I am a recent graduate from Emory University with a Bachelor of Science in Anthropology and Human Biology I have transitioned my career in the field of nursing after exploring many outlets in healthcare. I am a junior at Georgia Baptist College of Nursing at Mercer University. I have served as a delegate for the past two GANS conventions. My previous involvement at my school’s local chapter of BTN inspired me to take it to the next level and run for the state BTN office position. Currently, I serve on the cultural diversity board of my school’s local chapter and now for you, as BTN Director. Please feel free to contact me for ideas for projects or just starting a Breakthrough to nursing chapter at your school. I look forward to an exciting year promoting the field of nursing to varieties of populations!
Breakthrough to Nursing:
Chiemela Njoku, Georgia Baptist College of Nursing, Mercer University gans.btn@gmail.com
Community Health Director: Mary Steimer, Emory University gans.community@gmail.com
Public Relations Director:
Michelle Tovani, Medical College of Georgia, Athens gans.publicrelations@gmail.com
Hello fellow nursing students! My name is Michelle Tovani. I am 20 years old and am in my first year at the Medical College of Georgia’s School of Nursing in Athens, Georgia. Although I was born in Arizona, I have been here in Georgia since I was 9 months old and have dreamed of going to school in Athens to support the Georgia Bulldogs throughout my life. My passion for people appeared shortly after my passion for Georgia Football, and I decided at a very young age that I would become a nurse, and have been blessed with the opportunity to follow that dream. I am working hard to earn my Bachelor’s degree and hope to continue my educa-tion to become a CRNA. I am engaged to be married May of 2011 and plan to go with my fiancé to Lakenheath, Eng-land, where he will fulfill his duties as an officer in the United States Air Force, and I hope to work in Critical Care on the Air Force Base.
I am honored to have been elected as your Director of Public Relations and plan to work with dedication to in-crease GANS sponsorship for events such as COSL, GANS Convention 2010, and our many outreach projects. I also hope to increase the number of exhibitors who attend our convention so as to provide our members with the best pos-sible opportunity to network and learn. I hope to serve our community to the best of my ability and look forward to the opportunity to work alongside the other board members to improve the future of the Georgia Association of Nurs-ing Students! If you have any questions or suggestions, please do not hesitate to send me an email!
Mary is a junior attending the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing at Emory Uni-versity. Originally from Pittsburgh, she received a Bachelor's of Science in Public Health from the George Washington University in 2006. Community Health is a long time inter-est for Mary. She spent two years volunteering at a large urban clinic in Northern Virginia. Mary's nursing interests include oncology and women's health and she plans to pursue an Adult/Women's Health Nurse Practitioner degree immediately following graduation. As Community Health Director for GANS, Mary plans to assist nursing students throughout the state plan and complete Community Health projects.
Hello, everyone! My name is Emily Pandolfi, and I am excited to be a part of your GANS 2009-2010 board as North District Director! I am currently a junior at Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing at Emory University as a first-degree student. My college ca-reer began as a music performance major at UGA, but as much as I loved music, I had a deep desire to help others. Thus, immediately fell in love with the profession of nursing. As most of you can relate, my experience so far as a nursing student has been incredibly rewarding (and challenging of course!). It is amazing to be surrounded by people who are just as passionate for oth-ers’ well-being and to witness the positive impacts of our efforts as future nurses. My decisions to become involved with Emory Student Nurses Association and GANS have been the best decisions I have made so far. I have already learned SO much and met many fantastic people in such a short amount of time. The experience of being an active member in your student nurses association will undoubtedly influence your career as a future nurse; I am already seeing the influence in my own path. I strongly encourage all of you to become involved.
As North District Director, I plan to be approachable and available as I serve as a resource for colleges in the north district, relaying information, updates, and concerns between GANS and the school chapters. I will be proactive in contacting schools to ensure that nursing student organizations have the resources necessary to operate at the highest level possible.
I truly encourage you as nursing students to get involved and have your voice heard. GANS is shaped by the students within its organization so it is up to us to take an active role and represent as nursing students. I am very excited about working with each of you and look forward to meeting you all. Please don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions, ideas, or concerns. Lastly, I thank all those who voted for me at convention. I truly appreciate your confi-dence in my ability to perform the duties of this position!
North District Director: Emily Pandolfi, Emory University gans.northdistrict@gmail.com
West District Director:
Amy Morgan, University of West Georgia gans.westdistrict@gmail.com
Hello, fellow nursing students! My name is Amy Morgan. I am from Bremen, GA. I am currently a junior at the University of West Georgia School of Nursing. I have always had a passion for nursing. I believe this passion was ignited by my great aunt, Katherine Pope. She was an outstanding nurse that taught me the importance of loving what you do. As your new West District Director, I will be helpful, encouraging, active, resilient, and I will promote togetherness. I feel that my work ethic and communication skills will aide me in effectively executing the position of West District Director. This year, I would like to increase our state’s student membership along with student involvement. I plan to visit each school in the west district and assist you all with any of your activities. Thank you for this opportunity and I am looking forward to an exciting upcoming year!
I have provided my personal contact information which I hope will make me more accessible to members in my district.
Amy Morgan
West District Director
Georgia Association of Nursing Students University Of West Georgia
P.O. Box 941863 Atlanta, GA 31141 678-416-6847 (cell) 888-843-3994 (fax)
Hello fellow nursing students! My name is Sunnie Hanson, and I am a 23-year old junior at the Medical College of Georgia School of Nursing in Athens. I am involved with the SO-NAT Association of Nursing students at my school. I work in the ER at St. Mary's Hospi-tal, which I greatly enjoy. My experience in the ER has definitely gotten me interested in going into Emergency Nursing when I graduate. This year I will strive to get you all ex-cited about and involved with the professional organizations available to you all. I am very excited to be your East District Director for 2009-2010, and I hope to be a great resource for you all to become involved and active members of GANS!
East District Director/Chair:
Sunni Hanson, Medical College of Georgia, Athens gans.eastdistrict@gmail.com
South District Director: Jason Tabb, Bainbridge College gans.southdistrict@gmail.com
Nominations and Elections Committee—North: Minnah Cho, Emory University
gans.necnorth@gmail.com
Hello, fellow nursing students! My name is Minnah Cho, and I am the NEC North repre-sentative. I am in the class of 2011 in the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing. After attending GANS for the first time, I saw great potential for what this association could do, and wanted to be part of it. I also want to share my experience at GANS to other students to show them how they can make a difference, even as a student nurse. I am looking for-ward to meeting potential nursing leaders!
Hello,
My name is Jason Tabb. I am 33 years old and the proud father of a six year-old boy. When I am not studying or attending class, I enjoy coaching Little League baseball and watching other various sports that my son plays in. I am a freshman student in the Bain-bridge College ADN Program located in BainBain-bridge, Georgia. I plan to go into Critical Care or Emergency nursing after I graduate. I have been certified as an Emergency Medical Technician since 2000, and I am a veteran of the Georgia Army National Guard. In the coming year, I hope to in-crease chapter membership, participation and communication in our southern district.
Nominations and Elections Committee—West:
Katie Jankiewicz, Georgia Baptist College of Nursing, Mercer University gans.necwest@gmail.com
Assistant to District Directors: Thasha Chu, Emory University gansasstdd@gmail.com
Thasha Ann Chu, CPST is a 28 year old second degree student in the BSN/MSN program at Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing at Emory University, in the Family Nurse Practi-tioner/Certified Nurse-Midwife segue program. She has two beautiful boys, ages 2 and 5. She has been a breastfeeding counselor, Certified Passenger Safety Technician, video-grapher/editor and has volunteered with many wonderful organizations in her years before nursing school. She is excited to be able to help the District Directors increase membership in their schools, get nursing students in Georgia excited about their professional organiza-tion (GANS), as well as support the rest of the members of the board. She looks forward to serving you this year!
Retired Board Member:
Sarah Hernstrom, Medical College of Georgia, Athens gans.retiredboardmember@gmail.com
Nominations and Elections Committee—East/Chair: Kristen Clay, Middle Georgia College
gans.neceast@gmail.com
Hello future nurses! I am Kristen Clay, your new NEC East/Chair. I live in Warner Robins and am a 2nd year nursing student at Middle Georgia College in Cochran. serve as the Vice President of Middle Georgia College's Association of Nursing Students. I have thor-oughly enjoyed the time that I have served in leadership while being a nursing student. Being an active member of NSNA has given me several opportunities that I would not have had otherwise. During my time as NEC East/Chair, I want to share those experiences and encourage other nurs-ing students to rise up and be leaders as well, by runnnurs-ing for GANS office. I look forward to meetnurs-ing the numerous future nurses across the state!
Currently Vacant:
NEC South
Alternate Board Member
If you are interested in filling one of these positions, please contact your district’s NEC member for
more details. Information and application can be found on the
Running of Office
link from
Greetings to all! Thank you for your support as I take on the position of Legislative Director. This year at the 2009 GANS Convention in Athens, Georgia, we passed four resolutions. The resolutions passed are titled:
* In Support of Increasing Awareness for Prescription Drug Take-Back Facilities for the Private Person (2009) * In Support of Advocating Awareness of the Necessity for Psychosocial Support Programs for Returning Military Veterans (2009)
* In Support of Increasing Awareness for Postpartum Depression Screening for Postpartum Women (2009) * In Support of Increasing Awareness and Education on the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Guidelines for the Prevention of Intravascular Catheter Related Infection (2009)
Please check the GANS website by the end of December for summaries of these resolutions. Please contact me (gans.legislative@gmail.com) if you would like full electronic copies of these resolutions.
GANE Consultant: Terri Worthey, MSN, RN Athens Technical College ganeconsultant@gmail.com
Terri Worthey MSN, RN is currently a Nursing instructor for Athens Technical College and an active member of the Georgia Association for Nursing Education (GANE). She has re-cently volunteered as the GANE consultant for GANS and enjoys mentoring nursing stu-dents. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her family, reading, and internet surfing. Mrs. Worthey is also planning to return to school in a PhD program this fall.
Presidential Advisor: Lynn Waits, RN, C., FNP, MSN Macon State College
gans.presidentialadvisor@gmail.com
Resolutions Passed at the 2009 GANS Convention
Written by Lora Liu, Legislative Director
GNA Consultant: Kay Gatins, M.N., RN Macon State University gnaconsultant@gmail.com
This year the National Student Nurses Association's theme for Community Health is Get Fit, Stay Fit: Wellness, Fitness and Prevention. The wonderful thing about this theme is how wide-reaching it is; it will allow you to explore almost any project you can dream up! In addition, I would encourage you all to think about how you can make your Commu-nity Health project "green". As nursing students we learn how to care for patients and their families and we can (and should) extend this conscientious attitude to the environment we all live in!
Please feel free to contact Mary Steimer, GANS Community Health Director, at gans.community@gmail.com for any questions or support.
Look for more details to come on community health project ideas and award applications!
Community Health Director’s Message:
This year the focus will be targeted to the community. We who are starting or finishing our nursing education ought to think about who inspired us to embark on such an outstanding profession. Now think about whom we can ignite a spark into about nursing. I am aiming my efforts towards men and individuals in under privileged populations. As the Break Through to Nursing Director, I am asking for nursing students across the state to think about ways that this can be put into action. Allow someone else to view what is to be a nurse through the eyes of nursing students and nurses. You can focus & discuss generational differences, racial and gender differ-ences as they relate. I hope that this information will allow you to become creative in upcoming projects for an NSNA award this spring. Thank you so much in advance for all your efforts!
School Spotlight:
Planning an exceptional BTN event? GANS would like to hear about it. E-mail
gans.btn@gmail.com
with
your event details along with any pictures. Then be on the lookout to see if your project is spotlighted on the
website!
BTN Projects in the Making:
Why Do We Want to be Student Nurses?
10. We wanna be broke and have no life ...for about two to three years!
9. Just love the white shoes with Georgia's red dirt! Add rain and makes for an excellent day! 8. The oh so sexy ALL white uniforms.
7. Read, read, and more reading is my favorite hobby.
6. We like to discuss our answers after a test and stress out even more even though it's over.
5. It's a great opportunity to know the technical names. You find every opportunity to use words like "ecchymosis." Yeah! 4. Maybe, we'll meet a hot resident during clinicals.
3. We get to see cool stuff...and sometimes not so cool.
2. It seems like a good idea. Everyone supports it by saying we'll always have a job. 1. Because we CARE.
SAVE THE DATES
NSNA’S 58
THANNUAL CONVENTION
April 7-11, 2010
Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort in Orlando, FL
GANS COSL 2010
May 14-16, 2010
Unicoi State Park in Helen, GA
NSNA Membership
You can sign up for new membership, renew your membership,
or change your contact information using NSNA’s membership website.
Sign up for NSNA’s Annual Convention.
https://nsnamembership.org/
Career Networks
Visit the GANS Career Network!
•Search and apply for job availabilities
•Find externships
•
Research top employers
Sign up at
http://www.ganursingstudents.org
(click on “Job Resources”)
WRITERS WANTED !!!
Tell us about your funny, embarrassing, or moments
that helped you learn and remember.
The EKG wants
you
to submit writing for our next publication!
Deadline:
March 15, 2010
Fill out the Articles Submission Form on the EKG (Newsletter) page.
E-mail the form and your submission to Loan @ ekg.gans@gmail.com !!!
