AJN Spring Break with Student Nurses in Phoenix: Brighter Job Prospects for New Graduates?

Author: Maureen Shawn Kennedy, MA, RN, AJN Editor-in-Chief

National Association of Student Nurses (NSNA).

Like other meetings, this one was filled from morning to late evening with educational sessions, exhibitions, CV writing consultations, and for some – discussion of over 60 resolutions within the House of Delegates. Keynotes discussed:

• health care reform (Gery Lamb).
• progress in implementing recommendations from the Future of Nursing report (Zuzanna Hassmiller).
• clinical ethics and moral suffering (Veronika Feeg and Cynda Rushton).
• and final speech, a fee to proceed the legacy of nursing into the longer term (Kind regards).

Concurrent sessions, largely attended by Starbucks-fueled students, covered nursing specialties, exam assistance, licensing and legal/ethical issues, and clinical topics. (Betsy Todd, ALLclinical editor, who can be an epidemiologist, led a session titled “Is It Safe: Protecting Ourselves and Our Patients from Infectious Diseases”).

The few students I spoke with who were graduating at the tip of the semester didn’t seem to indicate the identical concerns about job security as students in previous years. Perhaps it is because the job market for brand spanking new nurse graduates is improving, not less than based on recent data from NSNA’s annual graduate survey.

Report within the January issue of ” Dean’s notesresearcher Veronica Feeg, associate dean of the Molloy School of Nursing and executive director of NSNA Diana J. Mancino It should be noted that in a September 2014 survey of NSNA members who graduated in 2014, 78% reported that they had secured an RN position within six months of graduation. This represents an increase over the previous two years, when results were 76% for 2013 graduates and 66% for 2012 graduates.

was probably the most interesting place on the conference. One particularly successful location (judging by the long lines of scholars waiting to get in) was the Johnson & Johnson location Dream room. Sponsored by Johnson & Johnson’s Campaign for the Future of Nursingwithin the iDream Room, students could hear speakers discuss profession topics resembling job interviews, personal branding and long-term profession development, watch videos featuring stories from experienced nurses, find out about different nurse specialties, get knowledgeable digital portrait on a USB drive, and way more.

I’m at all times impressed by NSNA’s resources for college students (see this post about last yr’s meeting). For students who’re serious about getting start of their nursing profession, NSNA is the organization to affix.