Student Nurses' Association Celebrates Larger Membership and Productive Year
A successful mentoring program, a holiday gift drive for low-income families and an NCLEX review competition were just some of the activities organized this past year by IU School of Nursing Bloomington’s active Student Nurses’ Association (SNA). With a growing membership of approximately 120 students, the chapter is a local affiliate of the National Student Nurses’ Association (NSNA), founded in 1952 and dedicated to promoting the professional development of nursing students.
Katelyn Nordhoff, 2017-18 SNA president, said the chapter has made a concerted effort to boost membership in recent years, working to attract more pre-nursing and sophomore nursing students to the organization.
“Membership this past year was the highest we’ve had in a very long time,” Nordhoff said. “In addition to using email invites and apps like GroupMe, our board of directors attended sophomore orientation to hand out flyers, and we mailed flyers to students’ homes during the summer.”
Robust awareness efforts recruited nearly 300 pre-nursing and nursing students to participate in the Bloomington SNA’s mentoring program, now in its third year. The popular initiative pairs juniors and seniors with underclass nursing students to provide support, guidance and advice during the early phases of nursing school.
“The mentoring program is highly beneficial,” said Nordhoff, who became a member of the SNA in her freshman year at IU. “It really helps get everyone through the program.”
In addition to collecting donations for the Shalom Center, a Bloomington homeless shelter, SNA members also sponsored a holiday gift drive for children living in a subsidized low-income housing complex in Bloomington. Generous donations from nursing students and others allowed SNA to deliver holiday gifts to every child in the development.
Nordhoff said significant support from nursing school faculty has contributed to the chapter’s success.
“We wouldn’t be able to run the organization without the support we’ve gotten from our professors,” Nordhoff explained. “They provide input when we have new ideas for events or activities, and they are always available for questions and to help us get the word out to our members.”
