Vital Signs Newsletter Fall 2014, Issue No. 3

IN TH IS ISSUE:

“It always seems impossible until it’s done” – Nelson Mandela

A Note from the Communications Director At last, the end of the semester has finally come! I hope it finds all you in good health as you approach your final clinical days and begin studying for final exams! It has been an especially wonderful semester for CNSA. Just to briefly recap a few accomplishments we have made this semester, we launched our new SDSUCSNA website and recreated it to fit the needs of our members, initiated a new tutoring program for freshmen nursing students, surpassed our Light the Night fundraising goal and raised $2,004 to fund research to advance therapies and treatment for those suffering from leukemia and lymphoma, hosted Where Will Nursing Take You where

UPCOMING DATES FRIDAY, DEC. 5

ELF DE-STRESS MOVIE NIGHT

FRIDAY, DEC. 18

PINNING CEREMONY

FRIDAY, JAN. 14

NSO SET UP

FRIDAY, JAN. 15

NEW STUDENT ORIENTATION

nursing students gained insight to different avenues in nursing through listening to a variety of guest speakers ranging from navy nurses to traveling nurses to oncology nurses and so on! The Medication Safety Administration Event was also a great hit this semester, which offered a valuable learning experience for all the nursing students to further develop their critical thinking skills when administering medication. There are many more notable memories and accomplishments we have made this semester and it is all due to the commitment, support, and dedication by members like you! I hope you all continue to excel in this profession and keep your passion burning as you progress in your endeavors! Best of luck to you all, and thank you so much for all your dedication to SDSU-CNSA!

Reflections on 46 years in nursing I graduated in 1968 and began my career in an adult ICU. After a year and a half, I switched to pediatrics and never

looked back!

Things were different then, far fewer drugs to know, no IV pumps so we counted drip rates, there were no nursing diagnoses, the nursing process was still called the scientific method, and we wore white nylons and nursing caps!

On our 42-bed unit, there were 3 RNs per shift—one who gave medications,

Carolyn Walker, RN, PhD

one “team leader” and one charge nurse who took orders off charts.

I started teaching in 1979 and loved that too. It was a perfect blend of being with patients and with students. So what has kept me in nursing for so many years? ♥Just plain love taking care of children and their families.

I hope each of you will find an area in nursing that will keep you as excited about nursing as pediatrics has for me.

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Legislative Corner:

SELECTIVE HUMAN BREEDING

should be able to effectively translate genetic and genomic information to patients with an understanding of the associated ethical issues.

A technique in reproductive genetics called preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) is an embryo screening procedure that can be used to identify deadly gene mutations and alter a child's genes. Originally, PGD

AUTHOR:

was developed to screen embryos for one disease: cystic

GENESIS REYES

fibrosis. Today, due to advances in the mapping of the

human genome, it is reported that this technique can be used to distinguish virtually any disease Genetics is a field of medicine that is having a

caused by a single defective gene, such as breast

major impact on how healthcare practitioners treat

cancer, muscular dystrophy, Sickle-­‐cell anemia, and

disease. The science of genetics has quickly become so

hemophilia amongst many others. In early October

sophisticated that it can be used to treat and prevent

2014, because of how quickly this industry is growing, the

diseases prior to conception. Scientists are able to do

FDA proposed guidelines to review certain genetic testing in

this by creating and testing embryos in a lab, then

order to ensure the technology used in the diagnosis of

implanting the healthy embryos into a mother's womb.

serious diseases is accurate and safe. But with the promise

While this field is controversial, individuals who are

of this technology also comes the fear that some parents

worried about passing on defective and potentially

would want to use it to select genetic traits in their children

dangerous genes may see this as an opportunity to

that have nothing to do with disease. Presently, there are no

“breed out disease.” This new direction in healthcare

laws in the United States limiting what this kind of

warrants nurses to integrate genetics and genomics

technology can be used to screen for, which leaves the

based practices into their scope of practice. Nurses

decisions up to the scientists.

An important responsibility of the professional nurse in the healthcare system is health promotion and maintenance of a

health-­‐promoting lifestyle . As aspiring professional nurses, we accept the present and emerging roles of the profession, which include being a health promoter, provider of health care , a nd a

role model to our clients . In order to educate our clients about specific strategies to improve health, there must be an understanding of health concepts and knowledge of health-­‐ promoting behaviors. In addition, nursing students must understand the importance of their personal health-­‐promoting lifestyle and have responsibility for their own health in order to have the knowledge and skills to e ducate their c lients.

This can be particularly challenging because despite the

concepts of health promotion in the classrooms that nursing students are exposed to, studies have found that they do not particularly a pply them to t heir o wn l ives d ue t o h igh levels of stress.

In the article Health-Promotion Behaviors of Undergraduate Nursing Students: A Survey Analysis, p revious l iterature h as f ound t hat “compared with students in courses of study other than nursing, n ursing students usually s pend m ore t ime i n class, i n

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the laboratory, a nd i n the clinical s etting, and

care for themselves are at risk for fatigue,

they have more emotional demands made on

burnout, and stress” (Wells-­‐Federman). It will be a

them. In addition, to the particular stresses

much more difficult challenge to be a health-­‐

of a nursing program, these students face

promoter and educate others to maintain a health-­‐

similar issues experienced by mainstream

promoting lifestyle if self-­‐care isn’t practiced in

academic s tudents, i ncluding a f ear o f failure,

the individual’s life. The lack of self-­‐care can also

lack of free time, and long study hours”

prohibit the nursing student from becoming the

(Bryer, C herkis, & R aman, 2 014).

comprehensive, competent, and wholesome nurse

As a result, the need for self-­‐care becomes

they aspire to b e i f self-­‐care i s n eglected.

significant in the life of a nursing student and in the

aspiration

to

be

a

wholesome

and

comprehensive n urse i n t he f uture.

Self-­‐care

can

be

defined

It is critical to avoid the negative consequences of lack of self-­‐care and reap the benefits of self-­‐care. When we teach our clients

as

active

participation to better the quality of your

the benefits of self-­‐care it includes, but is not limited t o:

health. It can be a challenge for nursing students

“better symptom management, such as

to practice self-­‐care because they are primed to

reduced pain, anxiety, depression, and

be early nurturers and think of others before

tiredness; improved feelings of well being;

themselves. In addition, nursing students are also

increased life-­‐expectancy; improved quality

rewarded to put other’s needs before their own,

of life of greater independence; fewer

are high achievers, p erfectionists, a nd can be very

outpatient and emergency department

self-­‐critical.

visits; fewer hospital admissions and

Other factors that contribute to the

shorter

stays;

regulated

or

reduced

challenge of practicing self-­‐care are the sense of

medicines intake; and fewer days off work”

lack of time, having kids or significant others in

(Cross, 2011).

their lives to take care of on top of their studies,

As for ourselves, it reduces occupational fatigue,

having the inability to say “no” to others, the lack

gives us the ability to manage the demands of our

of assertiveness to ask for help, the feeling of not

nursing school curriculum and the demands of our

wanting to let others down, and feeling guilty or

future profession, and it also makes us better role

selfish for practicing self-­‐care. The list of factors

models for those around us including our clients. If

that prohibit nursing students from self-­‐care can be

you really think about it, caring for the self is a

endless.

prerequisite t o c are f or o thers.

Despite all the contributing factors that

There

are

many

different

ways

to

make self-­‐care difficult to practice, it remains

incorporate self-­‐care to your daily life to keep your

significant for nursing students to understand the

mind, body, and spirit healthy. Try to make time

importance of self-­‐care because “those who do not

for self-­‐care and create realistic goals for yourself daily such as: eating healthier foods and fully

daily such as: eating healthier foods and fully nourishing your body, find the time to move daily and exercise a few times a week (we all know the benefits of mobility, right?), avoid those all-­‐nighters when studying and make sleep a priority, develop a breathing and mediation practice, find something you love to do and do it daily, make time to be alone when you need to be alone, and learn to develop a positive attitude and with a spirit of gratitude to end your day. Practice all these and there will better results in work and study will be produced. Not only that but your quality of life will be enhanced and you can be the role model others w ill n eed y ou t o be!

“To me self care means staying balanced in all aspects of my life. Meaning it’s important to take time off of studying to refresh and fill my own cup.”

– Sophie Hanson, 1st semester “What self care means to me is going on a long run outside to get fresh air and relieve the build up of stress, not to mention the many psychological and physiological benefits running gives your body!”

“Self care to me is taking one hour out of my day to forget – Katie Caruso, 2nd semester about Organic Chemistry or Microbiology, and spend time with my friends while exercising at the gym.”

- Sheryl Warfield, Freshman “Self care: 30 second dance party TID PRN when stressed. --- Predicted outcomes are happiness and stress relief when effective. If still stressed, increase does to 1 full minute.”

-Jessica Fitch, 2nd semester Sources: Cross, S. (2011). THE ROLE OF PRACTICE NURSES IN EDUCATING PATIENTS TO SELF-CARE. Primary Health Care, 21(7), 16-19.

Bryer J, Cherkis F, Raman J. Health-­‐Promotion Behaviors of Undergraduate Nursing Students: A Survey Analysis. Nursing Education Perspectives [serial online]. November 2013;34(6):410-­‐415. Available from: CINAHL Plus with Full Text, Ipswich, MA. Accessed November 30, 2014.

Destress

Written By:

Sarah Provencher

!

!! ! ! !

As finals come closer, you might catch yourself daydreaming of that day when your freedom returns: winter break.

You may have visions of Netflix marathons, all snug in your bed, or some clean hair on top of your post-finals head.

Perhaps dreaming of ice-skating in a hand knitted wrap, or a lovely burrito induced long winter’s nap.

Fact: nursing school is stressfu l.

It is important that you give yourself that much needed TLC after the bustle of finals to revamp your mental, emotional, and physical health and wellbeing.

So what are some ways you can do this?? ! !

Treat Yo-self!

Buy that pair of boots you’ve been wanting, go surfing, get your favorite sushi roll for dinner, take a long bath, or spend the whole day in bed napping. It’s up to you— find what your soul is craving & reward yourself for all that studying—you deserve it!

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Change of scenery: Sometimes it can be a really refreshing change of pace to change scenery. Go somewhere new, or explore a beloved place you are familiar with close by. Take a road trip up the Pacific Coast Highway to see the lovely coastal sights of Big Sur, or stay local and rearrange your furniture to give yourself a new outlook.

Hang out with friends:

With a busy school schedule, it can be difficult to maintain friendships outside of school. Use this time to rekindle relationships. Have a Christmas cookie decorating or ugly sweater party to make it festive. Laughter is the best medicine, and reviving your friendships will help you and your friends to recharge. !

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v 32 total attendees

v 20 participating delegates from our outnumbering other

The Experience of CNSA State Convention and its Limitless Opportunities

school chapter

Written by Sarah Provencher

school chapter,

delegates

This year’s CNSA state convention was held in Pomona, California on October 17-­‐19. But what is convention, and what do you do at convention? This question was

v 1 Resolution passed by Devon Vandeweile

asked many times among classmates, at clinical, and during coffee breaks. The CNSA

convention is an amazing opportunity offering growth in leadership, career development, and inter-chapter nursing community statewide. This year’s theme

v 6 SDSU-CNSA Members running for state chair positions v 2 winners of state chair positions: Narisa Kanchana for Cultural Awareness Chair & Danielle Gardener for Mentorship/Membershi p South chair v Scholarship Winners: Elissa Moore & Makalya Marco

was “To Infinity and Beyond: Limitless Opportunities in Nursing”, and the opportunities really were limitless! There were resume reviews performed by nursing hiring managers, an extensive eight-­‐hour NCLEX review, and informative presentations on advanced practice nursing opportunities and how to land your first job as an RN. It might seem like information overload, but the presentations performed by current and retired nursing leaders were fun, helpful, and concise.

Keynote speakers at convention included nurse leaders Dr. Judith Karshmer, Judith Berg, and Patricia McFarland, who explored traits that made for a successful nursing career and challenges facing the nursing profession today. Breakout sessions included “Rules to Break” for a successful nursing career, and “Limitless Opportunities: New Roles in Nursing”.

Every year at convention, CSNA chapters across the state come together to vote on legislature as a community, which then becomes agenda to be presented at the National level of NSNA. Many students are aware of level of pain being included in taking vitals, but what many are unaware of is that in 2001, Columbus State University’s Student Nursing Association submitted a resolution to make pain the 5th vital sign,

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which was passed by NSNA, supported by the American Nursing Association, and is now included in Nursing curriculum nationwide.

Delegates are chosen by each CNSA chapter and have the opportunity to vote on resolutions and engage in discussion amongst the leaders from other state chapters. This year at convention, SDSU School of Nursing had 20 participating delegates, more than any other chapter in attendance. Devon Vandeweile, a fourth semester student, was selected to present a resolution she drafted on PTSD following childbirth, an issue she very passionately declared needed more awareness and support in our patient populations.

Re-­‐elections for state board chair positions also occur at convention. The CNSA state board is made up of extremely passionate and hard working students from chapters all across California who oversee CNSA’s performance across the state and offer support to individual chapters. This year, we can proudly announce that 6 CNSA members from SDSU courageously ran for positions: Oliver Erece for Communications Director, Sarah Provencher for Breathrough to Nursing, Genesis Reyes for Legislative Director, and Ariane Luzano for President. We would like to congratulate Danielle Gardner who was elected as Mentorship and Membership Director of Southern chapters of California, and Narisa Kanchana, who was elected the position of Cultural Awareness. CNSA president Elissa Moore shared, “As CNSA president, I would just like to state how proud CNSA is of everyone who ran for state positions and represented our chapter in such a positive and professional light among other chapters of the state.

Also, we offer a special thanks to the delegates from our chapter who participated at convention”. We would also like to recognize Elissa Moore for receiving the Association of California Nurse Leaders Scholarship, and Makayla Marco for being awarded the Katie Bray Guiney Scholarship, both very prestigious awards.

Convention was a great experience, both personally and collectively. It brought forth inspiration, challenges, and a sense of teamwork and community among nursing schools across the state. The experiences gained from attending convention really were to infinity and beyond, and I highly recommend attending convention at some point during nursing school.

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DANIELLE GARDNER

When our local Nursing Student chapter

new nursing education core standards set by

went to the California Nursing Students’

the Board of Registered Nursing. I will also

Association (CNSA) state conference, everyone

be creating a California-­‐specific

had the opportunity to run for a position on the

membership toolkit for each individual

state board. Since I am so passionate about CNSA

chapter. Lastly, I hope to increase the

and membership in a pre-­‐professional

amount of CNSA chapters by ten percent.

organization, I chose to run for Membership

This is about three new chapters south of

Director South. Apparently, my speech went well;

Fresno, California.

I got the majority vote and I became the new

Membership Director South!

passionate about what will occur in the next

year, and I cannot wait for CNSA to

As the Membership Director South, I serve

I am extremely excited and

as the liaison between the CNSA State board and

represent very well at the National Student

every local chapter from Fresno, California to the

Nurses’ Annual Convention this April. It will

Mexico border. In addition, I am in charge of

be a great year for CNSA memberships! If

planning a CNSA Membership South Meeting. My

you are interested in helping me plan the

goals include expanding California’s overall CNSA

Membership South Meeting or in getting

membership numbers by ten percent through

involved at the state level, please contact

educating school deans and faculty about the

me at cnsamemsouthdir@gmail.com.

importance of nursing leadership roles that are available in CNSA and by recommending school participation in order for students to meet the

Mentors & Mentees Needed!!

Whether you had the best mentor in the world, or you didn’t have one at all, we are calling YOU to be a mentor. The mentorship program here at San Diego State University is a great opportunity to begin practicing habits that you will carry on into the workplace. It is also a great opportunity to meet new people, invest in each other’s lives, help another terrified nursing student, and earn cord points (2 per mentee). If you are a current 1st, 2nd, 3rd, or 4th semester student you are welcome to sign up at this link: www.surveymonkey.com/s/QXXDQXS. For more information contact Danielle Gardner at daniellegardner16@yahoo.com

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Hi, my name is Narisa Kanchana and

allows us nursing students to grow in an environment that facilitates personal and

California Nursing Students’ A ssociation

professional development! I encourage all of

(CNSA) on the state level as cultural

you to consider joining a committee on the

awareness committee chair. My goals are to

CNSA state level to gain experience. If you

develop a cultural awareness committee

happen to be interested in joining my

with representation throughout the state,

committee, please e-­‐mail me at:

advocate the need for increased culturally

cnsaculturalawareness@gmail.com

competent practice into statewide nursing education curriculum, and to educate all chapters of CNSA about the nursing implications for various cultures including aggregate cultures (disability, homeless, generational, and religious cultures). Our overall goal for this committee is to give nursing students the opportunity to act as large-­‐scale patient advocates.

It is truly an honor to be serving as a

chair on the board of an organization that

NARISA KANCHANA

I will be representing SDSU through

CONGRATULATIONS, DEVON VANDEWEILDE Four resolutions were passed during CNSA State Convention, one of which belonged to our very own SDSU 4th semester nursing student, Devon Vandeweilde. Her topic was In Support of Increasing

Awareness to Prevent PTSD Following Childbirth. To read her resolution and the rest of the resolutions presented at the 2014 CNSA State Convention visit: sdsucnsa.weebly.com/resoultions.html

Elf De-stress Movie Night

Friday, December 5, 2014 Izaak Walton once stated, “Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter� so what better way to celebrate your successes of this long semester and de-stress before hiding in cafes and libraries for finals this semester than joining your mentors, mentees, and your nursing friends for a good ol’ movie night! We look forward to seeing you all there!

7:00pm at Sterling Alvarado Contact Danielle Gardner for more information

Daniellegardner16@yahoo.com

This issue was created by the

Vital Signs Committee Aimee Deleon Sung Eun Jung Jessica Gomez Sarah Provencher Kyle Little Joanna Gumban Oliver Erece* Merchandise

Special Photo Credit Danielle Gardner Marilyn Cerrillo Narisa Kanchana Jessica Song Elyssa Aguirre Malayna Tolley

Interested in joining the Vital Signs Committee?

Sign up on the SDSU-CNSA website at: Sdsucnsa.weebly.com/events— committees.html or contact Aimee Deleon at cnsacomm@gmail.com for more information