COSP conference held in Little Rock
– Megan Black
Ambrosia Caruso, Megan Black, Lane Bauman and Dustin Carter
SAU Student Nurses’ Association executive board members Dustin Carter, Lane Bauman, Ambrosia Caruso and Megan Black and Faculty Advisor Stephanie Seymour traveled to the Council of School Presidents (COSP) on Saturday, September 15th in Little Rock.
The conference is held annually to promote communication among chapters and foster connections between executive officers. Held at St. Vincent’s, activities included a discussion of the 2012 Arkansas Nursing Student Association Convention, a presentation on the Hurst Review and an open forum for chapter questions.
Nursing spotlight
– JP Mobley, APN, MSN
JP Mobley, APN, MSN
Hello and welcome to a new semester! What an adventure you have ahead of you. As someone who has been in your shoes, I would recommend you buckle down, study, take care of your body (rest, eat right, exercise) and stay positive. Remember…if it were easy, everyone would do it. The hard work will pay off!
As I entered my final year of my BSN degree, I observed an Advanced Practice Nurse (APN), better known as a nurse practitioner. I admired her bedside manner and the autonomy that she had to use her skills to assess and treat patients. I was convinced that this was the tract for me!
Now, fourteen years, a husband and two kids later, I am entering my seventh year of Advanced Practice Nursing. On a daily basis, I see patients, assess symptoms, order and interpret lab and other diagnostic tests, and provide diagnosis and treatments. Patients often refer to me as a doctor; however, I remind them that I am a nurse practitioner and there is a difference.
The patients I see range from 18 to 97. I see everything from runny noses to heart attacks, from stomach viruses to trauma. I never know what a day will hold. I practice at Southern Medical Group with another nurse practitioner and three physicians. In Arkansas, APNs must have a collaborative practice physician who can be their backup and admit patients to the hospital. I write prescriptions, suture, remove toenails, remove skin lesions, and the list goes on and on.
I hope as you experience clinicals, you will keep an open mind about where you will fit into the field of nursing. It is vast and the options are many. The rewards are immeasurable. Good luck and Godspeed!
Nursing fundraiser
– Megan Black
Pictured left to right: Morgan Seals, Terri Cameron, Gabby Smith, Tiffany Campbell, Lindsey Fowler, Stephanie Kiilsgaard, Rhonda Lagesse-Nugent, Whitley Hill, Kinze Pickett, Dustin Carter and Ericha Burt.
The Bachelor of Science in Nursing senior class combined with the Student Nurses’ Association to host a bake sale Thursday, September 6, in the Reynolds Center on the SAU Campus.
The seniors sold cookies and other baked goods to faculty, staff and other students in an effort to raise money to attend this year’s Arkansas Nursing Student Association Convention in Little Rock October 10-12.
During the four hour sale, the students raised over $500 to go towards conference expenses. Each BSN senior is required to attend the ANSA convention; therefore, the students decided on a bake sale fundraiser to help cover costs.
The cookies that were not sold were taken to Wentworth Place and Magnolia Regional Medical Center – past clinical sites of the BSN students.
Give your back a break
– SMG Group
Having back pain after pouring over those nursing books for hours and hours? Try these helpful exercises for low back pain courtesy of Southern Medical Group in Magnolia.
For the first exercise, lie on your back with your arms above your head and knees bent. Move one knee as far as you can toward your chest and at the same time straighten the other leg. Return to the original position. Repeat the movements this time switching legs. Relax and repeat.
For the next exercise, lie on your back with a small pillow under you head, arms at your side and knees bent. Now bring you knees up to your chest, and with your hands clasped, pull your knees toward your chest.
Hold for 10 seconds keeping your knees together and shoulders flat on the floor. Repeat the pulling and holding movement three times. Relax and repeat.
The last exercise begins by relaxing your arms above your head with your knees bent. Tighten the muscles of your lower abdomen and buttocks at the same time to flatten your back against the floor. This is the flat back position. Hold the position for 10 seconds, relax and repeat.
Remember: Perform only those exercises recommended by your doctor. Do not overdo the exercise, especially in the beginning. Start by trying the movements slowly and carefully.
On the Chart is an e-Newsletter published by the Student Nurses’ Association of Southern Arkansas University. For suggestions or submissions, please contact Megan Black at mlblack9421@muleriders.saumag.edu.
