 |
Pictured above: Campers participate in a team-building exercise called the human knot to learn the importance of working closely with others – an essential practice in nursing.
Adventures in Nursing Career Camp
Learning about nursing starts long before nursing school for some eager students. Each summer, children throughout the United States partake in nursing camps in a fun environment to learn more about the nursing profession.
The Third District Nurses of Minnesota Nurses Association, with funding support from the Johnson & Johnson Campaign for Nursing's Future, created the "Adventures in Nursing" career camp in 2002 to help kids get a better idea of what nursing is all about. The career camp will take place next month.
"We designed the one-day camp to help kids gain clarity and really understand what nurses do," said Laurel Anderson, camp director and Third District Nurses' membership coordinator. "We play educational and interactive games using props to make our programs both fun and educational."
Campers practice a variety of nursing skills, such as taking vital signs and applying casts on other campers. They also meet in small groups with one of the registered nurse camp counselors to practice teamwork exercises and learn more about nursing school options and what to do before starting nursing school.
"We want to continue to find ways to support nursing, and nurse camps for youth are a great way to encourage our next generation to enter nursing and preserve the profession," said Anderson.
Campers must be age 16 or older to attend.
To learn more about the "Adventures in Nursing" career camp, visit http://www.nursesce.com/membership
/events/adventures.php.. |
 |
 |
This is the final opportunity to complete the Nursing Notes survey! We've heard from a few hundred of you already, but the more feedback the better! Your comments are important and will help us better understand how to improve the newsletter to better meet your needs.
We invite you to participate in the survey, which will take approximately five minutes to complete. All information and responses will remain anonymous. The survey will close on August 10.
We thank you in advance for your participation and appreciate your continued readership and support.
|
 |
 |
Congratulations to Andrea Higham, director of the Johnson & Johnson Campaign for Nursing's Future, who recently received the National Student Nurses' Association's (NSNA) highest honor, Honorary Membership. This mark of distinction is awarded by the House of Delegates on recommendation by the NSNA Board of Directors to individuals who have rendered distinguished service or valuable assistance to NSNA.
"It has been an honor and a privilege to work with Andrea throughout my involvement with NSNA and the Foundation of the NSNA (FNSNA)," said immediate past-president Jenna Sanders. "Students nationwide have benefited from Andrea's tireless advocacy for the nursing profession, and her passion for spreading the message about the need for increased nursing workforce funding. Andrea sits among the elite in champions for NSNA's mission, and we were thrilled to present her with this honor."
To learn more, visit www.nsna.org.
|
|
|
 |
| School nurses and administrators who participated in the 2008 Johnson & Johnson School Health Leadership Program gathered at The Heldrich Center in New Brunswick, N.J. |
Unique Training Experiences Make a Summer Splash
As healthcare practices and treatment options continually advance, so do opportunities for nurses to strengthen their general practice and specialty skills. For many nurses and nursing students, the summer is an ideal time to enhance their knowledge by participating in unique hands-on training programs.
One such program for school nurses held earlier this month – and now in its 22nd year – helps shape the health and lifestyle behaviors of future generations.
Each year, approximately 20 to 35 school nurses and their principals are selected from across the world to take part in a five-day Johnson & Johnson School Health Leadership Program. The program helps participants better understand adolescent health issues, the potential causes of adolescent risk behaviors and best practices in health education.
"In addition to course topics such as drug abuse prevention and healthy lifestyles for adolescents, the curriculum includes classes to help empower school nurses to feel confident with the skills they have," said founding program director, Gail Milgram, Ed.D., who also serves as director of the Education and Training Division at the Center of Alcohol Studies at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. "We equip nurses and administrators to partner with the community for support and ultimately implement successful health education programs that meet the needs of their students and communities."
"Having been a clinical nurse in the hospital setting for 13 years and a school nurse for an additional nine, I know that education and training is an ongoing process," said Dvora Citron, RN, MS and school nurse at Acalanes High School in Lafayette, Calif., who attended the 2008 Johnson & Johnson School Health Leadership Program. "The program was very insightful, and we also received a grant from Johnson & Johnson Corporate Contributions to implement new ideas generated during the program. We organized a student-based health council, which gives students an opportunity to be involved in health leadership programs and be role models for their peers."
Citron, an active member in the California School Nurse Association, recently participated in a diabetes training conference and this month will also attend a seminar on eating disorders in adolescents. "School nurses must stay on the cutting edge of clinical practice, training, research and education," said Citron. "As nurses, we always have to be on top of the game in order to provide the best care for people."
There are numerous training programs designed to help nurses expand their skills and improve their knowledge of health issues and patient care.
In June, 30 nurses from across the state of Mississippi took part in a five day Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners Training program at Ocean Springs Hospital in Ocean Springs, Miss., to learn how to better care for patients who have been sexually assaulted.
The United States Army and Navy both offer unique summer training programs for nursing students who are enrolled in the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) to introduce them to the roles and responsibilities of U.S. Army and Navy nurses.
Nurses interested in honing their media and presentation skills can enroll in a Silence-to-Voice workshop facilitated by Bernice Buresh and Suzanne Gordon, authors of the book, From Silence to Voice. Nurses gain public speaking skills and learn how to be media, community and workplace spokespeople for the important life-saving work that nurses do.
To find nurse training programs and other continuing education (CE) opportunities of interest, check with your state nursing association or visit www.nurse.com.
For information on the Johnson & Johnson School Health Leadership Program, visit www.alcoholstudies.rutgers.edu.
 |
| Nurse writers develop and edit content for books, manuals, Web sites, publications, clinical trial manuscripts and nursing school curriculum or courses for training programs. |
Writing for Their Own
Writing for the healthcare community can be challenging, especially with the variety of medical terminology, acronyms and abbreviations healthcare professionals often use. Like all writers, nurse writers, who are sometimes called professional medical communicators, must not only be expert communicators who have a solid understanding of their audience, but they must also be able to understand and translate very technical information. While some nurses write as full-time jobs, many nurses do so on a part-time, freelance basis as a way to contribute to the profession and keep up-to-date on the latest changes in the medical field.
The responsibilities of nurse writers often include writing and editing content for books, manuals, Web sites, publications, clinical trial manuscripts, nursing school curriculum or courses for training programs that help nurses fulfill continuing education (CE) credits. According to a 2007 survey by the American Medical Writers Association (AMWA), medical communicators are happy with their work. In fact, 94 percent of AMWA members surveyed reported they were satisfied with their jobs as medical communicators.
Julie Henry, RN, MPA, began her career as a nurse writer when she took a job at the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP). Early in her nursing career, she recognized first-hand the need for nurse writers. "I was in charge of the practice management area at the AAFP, and our members frequently requested information on beginning their own practice," explained Henry. "We didn't have a formal resource to provide, so I took it upon myself to work with doctors and other experts in the field to create a comprehensive book."
As with Henry's book, the process for developing texts and other resources requires medical communicators to collaborate and work closely with other healthcare experts. As part of their jobs, nurse writers do a great deal of research and editing before their article or manuscript is ever published because their manuscripts must include the most current information. Often times because of the ever-evolving nature of the field, once a journal or magazine goes to print, the research may already be outdated.
"When I first started writing, I was mostly writing meeting summaries and letters and was often in need of resources that didn't exist, so I began creating my own!" said Henry, who is also a freelance writer and author of Getting Answers About Cancer. "It's a rewarding and different way to help both patients and other healthcare professionals."
For more information on careers in nurse writing, visit www.campaignfornursing.com.
 Angela Klimaszewski, RN, MSN, Technical Content Editor
Q: Why did you decide to pursue a career in nursing?
A: My mother worked in a first aid center, and when I was little she always brought me along. As I got older, I knew I wanted to follow in her footsteps and become a nurse. I entered Loyola University of Chicago with a double major in nursing and art, but the nursing degree prevailed in the end. I have since earned a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) and have been practicing for the past 27 years.
Q: What inspired you to become a nurse writer?
A: In 1994, I volunteered to write a chapter for a book on urologic nursing and ended up with the chapter on male genitalia! This was my first stab at professional writing, and the experience taught me a great deal about the importance of deadlines and editing. Nevertheless, I loved it and craved more opportunities to write. I became involved with clinical trials for medical research with the Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) and quickly got bitten by the research bug. However, I realized there was no information for nurses venturing from general nursing to clinical trial nursing, so I collaborated with four other nurses to create the Manual for Clinical Trial Nursing Practice and Education in 2000.
Q: What advice would you offer to nurses interested in medical writing?
A: I suggest nurses who are interested in writing for the profession start out writing small pieces first, such as articles for their local nursing association chapter newsletter or medical conference summaries. Many nursing magazines will put out calls for volunteers to write manuscripts, and even if you have never written something before, challenge yourself and give it a try. Once you see your name in print for the first time, you will experience a thrill and find yourself volunteering to write anything and everything that comes your way. I also recommend reading whatever medical information and nursing journals you can get your hands on. It is important to review the different writing styles and stay current on the latest in the healthcare field. The more you are knowledgeable on a topic, the better prepared you will be to write about it.
Q: How has nursing impacted your life?
A: I dreamed of becoming a nurse since I was a little kid, and I followed a dream that has taken me places I never would have imagined. I have held many positions as a clinical nurse specialist, instructor, administrator and nurse researcher, but the part of nursing that has impacted me the most has been my experience working directly with patients. The little things nurses can do for patients make an extraordinary difference, from fluffing a pillow to giving a back rub to a patient in pain.
|
