FALL SEMESTER VOLUME 02 ISSUE 02 | WINTER EDITION 2015-2016

RUTGERS SENATE THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF RUSON

OF NURSING

I ALONE CANNOT CHANGE THE WORLD

BUT I CAN CAST

BLESSED MOTHER TERESA, MISSIONARY

A STONE ACROSS THE WATERS TO

CREATE MANY

RIPPLES

emily guina, freshman

I CHOSE NURSING BECAUSE OF HOW THE MEDICAL CARE AND COMPASSION MIXED ARE WHAT TRULY BRINGS A PERSON TO FULL HEALING, WHICH TRULY DEFINES WHAT I WANT TO DO. alvin magbag, freshman

I REALLY WANTED TO HELP OTHERS AND I KNOW THAT BEING SICK OR BEING IN RE-COVERY IS A DIFFICULT TIME FOR PEOPLE SO I WANT TO HELP MAKE THAT PART OF THEIR LIVES EASIER. “”

STUDENTS AND TEACHERS ALIKE RESPONDED TO THE QUESTION:

“WHY NURSING?” IN THEIR OWN

WORDS

EACH OF THE RESPONSES HAD

DIFFERENT VIEWS ON WHY NURSING WAS THE CAREER

FOR THEM

(Kristianne Lopez, Class of 2017) “I chose nursing because I made an investment. Not a materialistic investment, but an investment in life. Human life is so beautiful - from beginning to the end. I chose nursing because I want to be able to lift people up, mind body and soul. I want to empower people to reach their fullest potential and promote health and care. I want to be at the bedside and show my patients the compassion they need in their most vulnerable state. I want my patients to know that there is someone who can treat and care for them holisti-cally, and not just view them as an illness or diagnosis. I want my patients to know that they are valued, that their health is valued, and their life is valued.” (Kevin Bayhon, Class of 2019) “I chose nursing as a major because I was exposed to and influenced by the nurses in my family that took care of me.” (Elizabeth Orsag, Class of 2019) “I chose nursing as my major because I couldn't imagine myself becoming anything else, having a job where you're able to help people is an amazing thing, and my mom is a nurse and I've always wanted to be

suzzane shugg, BSN, MSN, RN, ACNP, DNP

NURSING IS POSSIBLY THE PROBABLY THE BEST CAREER THERE IS BECAUSE YOU CAN DO WHATEVER YOU WANT; IT'S CUSTOMIZABLE, IT'S FLEXIBLE, AND IT REALLY LETS YOU DECIDE HOW YOU WANT TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN A PERSON'S LIFE. “”

D

Everyone has a different reason for pursuing a career: some for money, power, or glory, and others for self-fulfillment, personal interest, or hopes and dreams. Nonetheless, the reasons behind be-coming a nurse is endlessly diverse. Scattered on these two pages are just some of the responses from fellow nursing students: ( Nicole Bathan, Class of 2019) “Growing up, my mom, who is a nurse herself, always wanted me to go into the medical field. I thought about being a doctor, but nev-er a nurse. I realized that maybe medicine was not right for me, and wanted to go into the social sciences. I refused to be pressured or forced into choosing nursing as a career. But after I was accepted into the Rutgers School of Nursing, something in me just clicked— it’s hard to explain! A switch just turned on! I realized that this is what I wanted to explore all along, but I had to understand it on my own terms. I didn’t want to listen to anybody but myself. It seems like the perfect fit for me. Now, I couldn’t be happier with my choice.” (Ariel Chun , Class of 2019) “Why do I want to be a nurse? I want to be a nurse, because I love interacting with people and helping people. As a nurse, I will work hard for hours interacting with people and helping people. It's a career that I wouldn't mind at all. You are going to end up dealing with difficult people, but at the end of the day I come out knowing that I was able to meet someone knew and help them. In addition to that, cancer runs in my family, and a couple months ago my aunt died. As my family and I would visit her in the hospital, you can only see the nurses providing for her. I never saw a doctor. I only saw the nurses. I want to be like them.” (Pak Chau, Class of 2018) “I chose to be a nurse because I chose to make a difference.”

WHY NURSING SCHOOL?

nicole bathan, freshman

(A) NICOLE BATHAN, PICTURE ABOVE, INTERVIEWED FELLOW NURSING STUDENTS AND ASKED WHY EACH OF THE STUDENTS WANT TO BECOME A NURSE

I CHOSE TO BE A NURSE

BECAUSE

I CHOSE TO

MAKE A

DIFFERENCE

(Sabrina Zolnierczyk, Class of 2017) “I actually did not plan on choosing nursing, but knowing I wanted to go into health care I decided to give it a shot; this was the best decision I made because I found my passion in choosing nursing as a career and dedicating my life to helping others." (Gabrielle Menguito, Class of 2019) “I chose nursing because I liked the idea of close communication with patients and working alongside doctors.” (Dominique Flores, Class of 2019) “My dad gave me a first aid kit when I was younger and I used to help little kids in an after school care program who would trip and fall; it was nice seeing little kids smile and run around again happily after helping them.” (Angelica Balce, Class of 2019) “I chose nursing because the thought of being able to help a patient and make them smile during their toughest days makes me feel like I'm doing something good for the world.”

As of 2013, UMDNJ was officially dissolved and integrated into Rutgers. With the integration, Rutgers received several programs including a medical school, a dental school, nursing programs, and others. Effective 2014, Rutgers nursing merged the nursing programs at Blackwood, New Brunswick, Newark, and Bergen St (from UMDNJ) into a singular program that shares similar curric-ulum and rebranded the merged schools as the Rutgers School of Nursing. The current Rutgers School of Nursing now offers a four-year generic program, an second degree program, an RN to BSN program, and a plethora of grad school opportunities.

Rutgers used to have different names across the campuses. The program at New Brunswick and Newark were called Rutgers College of Nursing and the Bergen St program was called School of Nursing. In order unify the Rutgers programs and also to match other prestigious nursing programs (who also have ‘School of Nursing’ in their titles), Rutgers decided to rebrand to Rutgers School of Nursing which includes different level degrees.

For some underclassmen just entering the Rutgers School of Nursing, the words ‘merger’ and ‘integration’ might seem to pop up from time-to-time. For some upperclassmen already in the nursing school, some of you might still be confused in regards to what the merger and integration are. Why are we now the Rutgers School of Nursing and no longer the Rutgers College of Nursing? Why does the merger matter? Why should I care? If you ask yourself that whenever the merger is brought up, look no further and question no more! Here are three of common ques-tions that will clear everything up and bring you up to date.

NURSING SCHOOL MERGER: Q&A

1.

2.

3.

what is it.

what now.

why the name.

As a result of the merger, Rutgers now has more staff, students, facilities, and opportunities for students. Directly after the mer-ger, Rutgers was pushed into the Top 25 graduate nursing schools in the country. With the new programs, Rutgers also combined existing program and created Rutgers Biomedical Health Sciences (RBHS) which incorporates all the medical field tracts and allows for a special interdisciplinary experience program to happen.

“” Tis the season to spread joy and cheer and that’s exactly what the Rutgers School of Nursing (RUSON) did as a collective student body. The RUSON student senate wanted to keep those who would be spending the holidays in a hospital in their thoughts during this festive season. Two tables were set up in different locations: one in RUSON New Brunswick lead by Jesica Lee and the other in RUSON Newark by Millicent Moseray. Each location had a variety of craft supplies and holiday cheer. Although the holidays were preceded by finals, a vast portion of nursing students took time away from their studies to create cards for patients at University Hospital in Newark, New Jer-sey. The cards varied in themes, from get well soon to happy holi-days. They were filled with a variety of encouraging messages and vibrant colors and art work. Over 50 students participated and over 50 cards were made, each personalized by the student who made them. Those who volunteered were in high spirits and loved to con-tribute to the card making process. The cards were distributed by RU-SON students Suraya Almosbeh and Ysa Borstel to patients on the hepatology F yellow floor and the patients on the onocology H yellow floor. The recipients were in high spirits and welcomed the cards. The holidays are all about spreading joy and cheer. The card making and distribution were a huge success.

(A) STUDENT NURSES HANDCRAFTED CARDS FOR PATIENTS STAYING AT UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL OVER THE HOLIDAYS

gabby, lazzara sophomore

GIVING BACK IS A GIFT OF ITS OWN!

HOLIDAY CARDS

jesica lee, junior

A

pak chau, sophomore

B (B) THE ROPES COURSE HELPED PROMORE PROBLEM SOLVIGN SKILLS WITHIN A GROUP (C) THE BALANCE ENFORCED THE IDEA OF PUTTING IN A TEAM EFFORT TO ACCOMPLISH A COMMON GOAL

A LEADER IS ONE WHO

KNOWS THE

JOHN C MAXWELL, AUTHOR

WAY, GOES THE WAY,

AND SHOWS

THE WAY

(D) THE SILENT LOG CHALLENGE TESTED COMMUNICATION SKILLS; IT REQUIRED CREATIVITY AN TEAM COORDINATION (E) THE SHIPS AND SAILORS EXERCISE TRAINED THE ABILITY TO LISTEN AND FOLLOW

C

E D

The Rutgers University Student Senate class councils, Community Outreach Committee, and executive board got together this past fall for a leadership retreat. Despite having to wake up early morn-ing for a reasonably long bus ride up a mountain, the trip was noth-ing short of an amazing experience. Just the break from the text-books and immersing into nature’s embrace was a refreshing expe-rience in itself. Held at Camp Vacamas, student leaders got the opportunity to take part in team building activities and learned more about theirs roles in the senate. Practical sessions provided pertinent information re-garding how to successfully plan events, organize fundraisers, and even manage time. Apart from the basic training, students also re-ceived some more unique training as well. From ropes courses to personality tests, students really got a better understanding about what it means to be a leader. The exercises and activities stressed the importance of communication with other team members and defining one’s own identity as a person.

alana lai, sophomore

FALL RUSON LEADERSHIP TRIP

RUSON STUDENT SENATE is the governing association of the Rutgers Nursing for students; the organization helps tackle any problems that arise throughout nursing school and also helps plan events to benefit students

When someone says the words “winter sea-son” many people may jitter in anticipation for the holiday season: from Christmas, to Hanukkah, to the Asian New Year. It’s the time of the year to give and the Rutgers School of Nursing Student Senate is taking full advantage...well to give back anyway! Although the joyous holidays get all of the attention, one ‘holiday’ that might be buried in the mountains of shimmery tinsel and fairy lights is HIV/AIDS awareness month. Just like how (the more popular) Breast Cancer awareness month is February, De-cember marks the month to raise awareness for HIV/AIDS and fundraise/campaign for

research. With just a couple dedicated stu-dents banding together in the pre-holiday rush, 50 personalized ornaments were per-sonalized and personalized to be sold in order to help support the UNICEF initiative for an AIDS-free generation. In the end, this small project raised over $130 towards the cause and the ornaments continued to hang throughout the month of December (mainly on faculty door handles) as a reminder of not only the upcoming holi-days, but also the support towards finding a cure for HIV/AIDS.

The idea that inspired me to start “The Give & Take Charity Project” stemmed from helping a homeless man that once lived under a bridge on Route 18 in New Bruns-wick. I use to feed the homeless man a lot during last year, until one day he vanished. After realizing the man will never return, I couldn’t help but to think that he had passed. That thought created a feeling in-side me of wanting to do something grand for those in need like the homeless man. Suddenly, I became determined on finding a method that could feed a large population of people that are in need of food. This deter-mination would lead to the birth of the “The Give & Take Charity Project”. The basic concept of the charity project was to collect donations to help feed those in need. In order to turn idea of the charity project into a reality required help from other indi-

viduals. I had the wonderful opportunity to work alongside with nursing students Su-raya Almosbeh and Rebecca Lintag who are involved with the Rutgers University School of Nursing Student Senate and Mr. Polley who is the advisor of the American Assembly of Men (AAMN) in Nursing Chapter at Rutgers School of Nursing. By working together we set up a GofundMe page, which is a website that allowed the donors to make any donations via online. Since the success of the project was de-pendent on the donors we knew we had to allure their interest. Therefore we decided for every $5 the donors donate, we will enter them into a drawing. The drawing will give the donors a chance to win prizes (Overnight stay at the Golden Nugget Casi-no (includes 100 dining credit), an LG Gpad 8.0 tablet,..etc). As a result, we were

able to successfully collect $1516 from No-vember, 8- November, 30 (which triple the goal of $500 we originally set to collect). The donations will be split into half. Half of the donations will be given to Elijah’s Promise Soup Kitchen located in New Brunswick and the other to a local soup kitchen in Newark. With this donation, the community soup kitchens will be able to serve an average of 300 free meals to those in need in their community. The charity project turned out better than I anticipated. I want to say thank to everyone who support-ed/donated to The Give & Take Charity Project! Due to your generous donations and your passion, we are able to make sig-nificant difference in the lives of many!

katrina enriquez, junior

MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A GOOD SUPPORT SYSTEM BECAUSE THINGS ARE ONLY GOING TO GET HARDER FROM HERE. IT DOESN’T MATTER WHO MAKES IT UP, JUST MAKE SURE YOU HAVE ONE.

“” THE GIFT OF GIVING

pak chau, sophomore

GIVE & TAKE CHARITY PROJECT

richie tran, junior

julia chin, sophomore

SOMETIMES IT MAY SEEM HOPELESS WHEN YOU ARE FUNDRAISING FOR A CAUSE YET THERE ISN’T MUCH OF A TURNOUT; JUST REMEMBER THAT EVERY BIT HELPS AND NEVER GIVE UP!

“” UNICEF is an international organization dedicated in helping mothers & children; the AIDS-free generation initiative is to allow for safe birth practice to re-duce HIV infection

AN EASY WAY TO GET INVOLVED IN GIVING BACK IS TO CREATE PROJECTS BASED ON MONTH; BY COMBINING A DISEASE AWARENESS MONTH WITH A SEASONAL SALES, PEOPLE WILL MORE LIKELY SUPPORT THE FUNDRAISER AND CAUSE

(F) HOLIDAY ORNAMENTS WERE DECORATED BY NURSING STUDENTS AND THEN SOLD IN ORDER TO BOTH RAISE AWARENESS FOR NATIONAL HIV/AIDS MONTH AND FUNDRAISE FOR UNICEF

F

FOR IT IS IN GIVING

FRANCIS OF ASSISI, PRIEST AND FOUNDER OF FRIARS MINOR

THAT WE RECIEVE

It doesn’t always take an army of people to have a successful event or project. It only takes one person to start something big. Both the Give and Take Charity and the Gift of Giving projects started with an idea and stemmed into successful ways to give back! Get proactive, set goals, and make a differ-ence yourself!

person.

1

I have truly never had such a reward-ing experience as volunteering at the AVON Walk to End Breast Cancer! As the coordinator for the event this year, I was so incredibly proud of the team of 50+ nursing students that came to cheer for the walk percipi-ents who walked nearly 39 miles for their cause! AS a committee, Community Out-reach didn’t just attend the event, but also we held an apparel sale fund-raiser during the month of September to promote Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October! We sold t-shirts that read: “Rutgers Fights for the Cure!” This was our most successful fundraiser and the most meaningful to me personally! We raised $450 and donated it to the Avon Walk to End Breast Cancer! AND CustomInk even donated another $30 in our

name. What was most rewarding was knowing that we helped 2 uninsured women access life-saving tests, such as a mammogram or a bone scan to see if breast cancer has spread. We also won CustomInk’s Photo of the Week with a group picture of all the awesome Rutgers students at the AVON Walk and we won $100 to donate to charity! With the successes of this year’s cheering station, hope-fully next year will even more suc-cess. Working alongside a group of kind, caring, compassionate, and selfless future nurses, I look forward in continuing to make a difference with those around me! Nothing is more rewarding than seeing a smile on someone’s face and knowing that you were able to help brighten their day and lessen their load, often when they need it most!

MAKING A DIFFERENCE

molly naft, sophomore

It was such a rewarding experience to be able to cheer with everyone. Students from all different campuses came and I was just amazed at the amount of people that came on that cold and windy morning to come to-gether to cheer for these walkers. These walkers smiled, high-fived and thanked us as they passed by. There were even some participants who took pictures and recorded us cheering for them. Even people weren’t even students of RUSON came to cheer with us. I remember vividly a man who came up to the cheering station who asked a student next to me, “What group is this?”

“We’re Rutgers School of Nursing,” the student replied. The man nodded his head and decided to stick around and cheer with us. He stayed with us for a while until he saw his wife coming down the line and proceeded to join her. It was all a heartwarming experience, to see the RUSON stu-dents come together to support, to see the walkers smile as we cheer them on, and to see people in the community joining us in supporting the AVON Breast Cancer Walk par-ticipants. I’ve never been more excit-ed ever for the future and I’m look-ing forward to the upcoming Com-munity Outreach Committee events.

CHEERING ON WITH AVON

dominique flores, freshman

Although the AVON walk cheering station event has been held annually for the past 6 year, there was never previously a drive towards fundraising for the AVON breast cancer foundation. However, with some small side fundraisers like the t-shirt sales, the Community Outreach Committee was able to raise a record $480 to donate towards breast cancer research.

$480

donated.

In one word, the weather was frigid. The event was early on a Sunday morn-ing. It in center city New York which was some hours away for some of the students. Despite these conditions, over 50 college nursing students showed up this year from the different campuses to support the walkers.

manpower.

50+

G

H I

(I) THE COMMUNITY OUTREACH COMMITTEE NOT ONLY SET UP THE PROJECT BUT ALSO FUND-RAISED FOR BREAST CANCER RESEARCH

(H) STUDENTS FROM THE DIFFERENT GRADES AND DIFFERENT CAMPUSES GOT TO GETHER FOR THE COMMUNITY SERVICE PROJECT

(G) OVER 50 NURSING STUDENTS ATTENDED THE AVON CHEERING STATION HELD IN NEW YORK CITY TO SUPORT THE WALKERS WE RISE BY

LIFTING

OTHERS

ROBERT INGERSOLL, LAWYER AND POLITICIAN

Nursing is a unique profession, and contrary to popular belief, the hospital is only one of many areas a nurse can practice. From the laboratory to the classroom or from the courtroom to the military base; nurses can find a fulfilling and interesting career that suits their individual preferences and needs. To help students explore specialties available to them, the Rutgers School of Nursing Student Senate organized a nursing careers event, "Putting the Pieces To-gether: Where do you fit in?" on November 6th, 2015. The guest speakers included critical Dr. Amita Avadhani (Critical Care APN), Dr. Rachel Lyons (Pediatric DNP), Dr. Suzanne Shugg (Clinical Lipidologist), Ms. Molly Bradshaw (APN & former mili-tary nurse) and Mrs. Hosana Tordecilla (Student Registered Nurse Anesthetist). A panel style event, the students were able to listen to the guests’ educational backgrounds, specific career paths and the life lessons they have learned along the way. Sharing their individu-al experiences with the audience of over 60 RUSON students, stu-dents described the speakers’ stories as, “personable and relatable”. Dr. Amita Avadhani shared her beginning interest in psychiatric nursing and how her preferences have changed into critical care over time, an experience that many new nurses may face upon starting in the workforce. Molly Bradshaw, found her calling serving as a nurse in the United States Marine Corp, which prompted several student inquiries about the special training a nurse would receive in that career. Like Dr. Rachel Lyons, students may now be inclined to have a specific interest that is dear to their heart, such as her efforts on obesity prevention to underserved youth. Whilst Hosana Torde-cilla may be studying to practice in one of the highest paying nurs-ing careers, the advice she shared emphasized that regardless of sal-

ary, choosing a field that you find enjoyable will make the career fulfilling. Rutgers School of Nursing students may have found a new gust of inspiration and drive within one of the many respective fields men-tioned during the panel, but this might not be the case for all in at-tendance. Student nurses may not know what nursing specialty they prefer or where in the far travels of the world they will be practicing, but as Dr. Suzanne Shugg stated, “you can do whatever you want; [nursing is] customizable, it's flexible, and it really lets you decide how you want to make a difference in a person's life”.

katrina enriquez, junior

MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A GOOD SUPPORT SYSTEM BECAUSE THINGS ARE ONLY GOING TO GET HARDER FROM HERE. IT DOESN’T MATTER WHO MAKES IT UP, JUST MAKE SURE YOU HAVE ONE.

“”

amita avadhani, DNP, DCC, ACNP, ANP, CCRN, APN

IT'S BECAUSE YOU GET TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE NOT ONLY WITH PATIENTS BUT THEIR FAMILY AS WELL; IT'S THE HUMANISTIC ASPECT THAT'S TRULY THE REWARDING PART TO BEING A NURSE!

“”

RUTGERS NURSING GRAD offers the highest the amount of nursing programs in the state; these specialty DNP programs in-clude but are not limited to acute care, primary care, pediatric care, midwifery, and anesthesia.

PUTTING THE PIECES TOGETHER

suraya almosbeh, senior

K

The Community Ambassadors at Rutgers Univer-sity hosted Healthy Halloween, a day towards health promotion in celebration of Halloween and fun, presented for the children and families of Stephen Crane Village in Newark, NJ. The team, led by Cheryl Pantini, included students in the accelerated BSN program and School of Nursing graduate programs – Sabina Ulysse, Siara Sealy, Christie Lyn Costanza, Magnolita Bonheur, Angie Garcia, Nadia Liung, Stephenie Carter and Sean Lo. The Jordan and Harris Community Health Center, under the leadership of Dr. Cindy Sickora, opened a fourth clinic at the Stephen Crane Vil-lage community in Newark, NJ on October 1, 2015 towards equalizing health care disparities. The Community Ambassadors saw a unique op-portunity. Fundraising efforts and generous dona-tions from local businesses and sponsors made the event possible. The festival focused on fun for children but also served to welcome families to the clinic, introduce the Community Ambassadors as representatives of Rutgers, and strengthened developing relationships between the Stephen

Crane Village community and Rutgers University. The event took place on Monday, October 19, 2015 between 3:30-5:30 in the afternoon at the Stephen Crane Community Center. Attending were approximately 130 people, children and fam-ilies from the community and a host of volunteers from Rutgers University. The event itinerary in-cluded a pick-your-own-pumpkin patch and paint-ing center, goody bag design workshop, Monster Mash dance party with a DJ, and several game stations, including a Health Trivia station. Chil-dren and families were offered farm-picked apples and healthy snacks during the event. Parents left the celebration with literature outlining available clinical services and a greatened assurance about the utility and benefit of the clinic. The hope is that health promotion will be evidenced by in-creased attendance at the Jordan and Harris Com-munity Health Center. That, of course, was the parents’ take-away. The kids left with a painted pumpkin, goody bags filled with apples and healthy treats, smiles, and the memory of a fun and healthy day with new friends.

J

HAPPY HEALTHY HALLOWEEN

cheryl pantini, level 3

(J) STUDENTS AT THE BERGEN ST CAMPUS HELPED PROMOTE THE NEWLY OPENED CLINIC AS WELL AS THE IDEA OF PUBLIC HEALTH; THERE WAS A HALLOWEEN PARTY FOR CHILDREN IN THE LOCAL AREA TO CELEBRATE

BE THE CHANGE

MAHATMA GANDHI, CIVIL RIGHTS LEADER AND ANTI-WAR ACTIVIST

YOU WANT TO SEE

(K) THE EVENT FEA-TURED A PANEL OF DISINGUISHED AND DIVERSE NURSING PROFESIONALS THAT PRACTICE AT BOTH THE MASTERS AND DOCTORATE LEVELS; EACH GAVE THEIR INDIVIDUAL INSIGHTS ON THE NURSING FIELD TO STUDENTS

RUTGERS SENATE THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF RUSON

OF NURSING

PRESIDENT AT LARGE SURAYA ALMOSBEH SUALMO@SCARLETMAIL RUSON VICE PRESIDENT REBECCA LINTAG RAL186@SCARLETMAIL RUSON SECRETARY RACHEL SISON RNS66@SCARLETMAIL RUSON TREASURER KEVIN LO KCL53@SCARLETMAIL COMMUNITY OUTREACH COORDINATOR MOLLY NAFT MOLLYNAFt@GMAIL

UNIVERSITY SENATOR PAK CHAU PAKWACHAU@GMAIL STUDENT AFFAIRS REPRESENTATIVE (NB) JESICA LEE JESICA.G.LEE@GMAIL STUDENT AFFAIRS REPRESENTATIVE (NWK) MILLICENT MOSERAY MILLYANDB@GMAIL ACADEMIC AFFAIR REPRESENTATIVE JEFFREY DYNOF JEFFREY.DYNOF@RUTGERS

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