Monday, February 16, 2004
Opportunities in Nursing
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What is it like to be a flight nurse? What are the qualifications for entering graduate school in nursing? How does a nurse talk to a family about organ donation? What can a nurse with an entrepreneurial spirit achieve? Student nurses from throughout the state learned about these topics and more when they met in February in Indianapolis for the annual state conference of the Indiana Association of Nursing Students (IANS). Chief planner for the conference, titled Opportunities in Nursing, was Angela Jones, IANS president and a USI nursing student. The experience of organizing the conference put Jones in touch with nursing professionals in a variety of fields and developed her insight into planning a complex event. “And, it’s been a lot of fun,” she said. As IANS president, Jones attended the four-day National Student Nurses’ Association (NSNA) annual meeting in Phoenix last April and the organization’s mid-year meeting during November in New Orleans. At these conferences, she learned more about how the organization operates at the state and national levels and made contacts with potential speakers and vendors for the state meeting. Among the speakers at the IANS annual meeting was Dr. Ann H. White, USI program director for graduate nursing, who spoke about admission to graduate school and the opportunities that await nurses who earn an advanced degree. Ron Krouse, a flight nurse with Lifeline aeromedical service in Indianapolis, talked about patient management during transport of ill or injured persons via helicopter. Representatives from the Indiana Organ Procurement Organization covered the nurse’s role in organ procurement. Two nursing faculty from the University of Indianapolis gave a joint presentation for those interested in discovering a unique mission or creating a nursing practice that may be unlike common clinical situations. Approximately 15 USI nursing students attended the conference in Indianapolis. Jones also serves as chair of fund raising for the USI Association of Nursing Students. The USI chapter participates in a number of community service activities, sponsors speakers who talk about opportunities in nursing, provides leadership opportunities, and enhances faculty and student interaction. Both the USI chapter and the state organization, which registers more than 1,000 nursing students from throughout Indiana, are affiliated with NSNA. Jones will earn an associate degree in nursing in May and expects to complete a bachelor’s degree in May 2005. At the same time, she is working toward a bachelor’s in health services at USI with completion also expected for 2005. She earned an undergraduate degree in biology in 2001 at University of Indianapolis and worked at Bristol Myers-Squibb Company in Evansville before returning to college to prepare for a career in health care. Jones works as a student nurse at St. Mary’s Medical Center in Evansville. She is a 1997 graduate of Marion High School in Marion, Indiana. |
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