Passing resolutions at the National Student Nurses Association convention
Fifteen Saddleback College nursing students had the opportunity to present public health resolutions at the National Student Nurses Association Convention in Salt Lake City, Utah, last month.
“It’s like a political arena,” said Linda Call, Saddleback nursing instructor. “The American Nursing Association [is] very involved politically in shaping health care policy. At Nationals students get a taste of what it’s like to shape public policy.”
During the convention, resolutions, propositions to benefit public health care, were offered to the House of Delegates during the convention. These resolutions, when adopted, are the basis for the policies and actions of NSNA, according to the organization’s official website, nsna.org.
More than 30 resolutions were offered during the convention, including an adopted resolution from the California Nursing Students’ Association. Their resolution called for “increased education and awareness of blood transfusion alternatives and blood management options for patients,” according to the list of resolutions given at the convention.
The students taken from Saddleback to the national convention were all board members of the California Nursing Association.
“[CNSA] is a professional organization for student nurses,” said Call. “It provides the opportunity to learn about leadership and how to shape the future of nursing.”
“We try to go every year,” Call said. “Any California Nursing Student Association member can go to any conference. As a chapter we have the opportunity to send delegates [to vote on resolutions].”
The national convention also enables the student nurses to make networking connections and learn from a variety of different lectures, which include an arrangement of topics from pet assisted therapy to learning about healthy water sources.