Nursing student group adjusts to pandemic, focuses on professional development
Alyssa Vilda knew being president of the Nursing Student Association (NSA) at Binghamton University’s Decker College of Nursing and Health Sciences for the 2020-21 academic year would be a challenge due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“This year because of COVID, I knew that the NSA wouldn’t be able to do too many social events,” the senior nursing student from New Windsor, N.Y., said.
In fact, the NSA held only one in-person event during the fall semester, a tie-dyeing craft project, which was limited in attendance due to social distancing.
The NSA also collaborated with the Mindset Mentors (a group of students interning and minoring in Decker’s Health and Wellness Studies Division) to provide a virtual educational workshop for nursing students on how to change their mindset to more effectively deal with stress.
In addition to determining how to keep its members — undergraduate nursing students — engaged and connected during a pandemic, Vilda tackled a project that hadn’t been touched in more than three decades: she revised the NSA’s Constitution and gained approval from Binghamton University’s Student Association for the new governance document.
“The NSA’s Constitution hasn’t been updated since 1997 — before I was born,” Vilda said.
She also decided it was time to take the NSA in a new direction.
“With my presidency, I wanted to put a new focus on professional development,” Vilda said. “I established a new role within the NSA — a professional development chair — to spearhead events to help nursing students grow as professionals.”
The NSA planned a variety of virtual professional development events throughout the fall semester, including workshops on developing a résumé, as well as how to create a LinkedIn profile. The workshops, held respectively in October and November, drew 80 participants combined and included assistance from Binghamton University’s Fleishman Center for Career and Professional Development.
“Nursing students need to have a résumé to market their skills and background to gain employers’ attention; it serves as a connection between you and prospective employers,” said Leann Krahn ’20, a graduate assistant at the Fleishman Center who conducted the workshops for the NSA.
“Nursing students also need a LinkedIn profile to expand their professional network and personal brand and to find opportunities,” she added. “Through LinkedIn, nursing students can build a base of professional contacts for future reference, create a support network as they explore new career options, create strong personal connections that can lead to multiple professional opportunities and further explore their career options through informational interviews with their connections.”
Krahn was impressed that the NSA reached out to the Fleishman Center for help.
“Looking for jobs and growing professionally is always a difficult process,” she said. “I believe that the NSA’s focus on professional development this year will provide nursing students with the necessary information and guidance to become successful, competitive candidates when applying for externships and full-time jobs.”
The NSA also collaborated with Decker’s Mary E. Mahoney Nursing Support Group to hold a summer job and externship panel event from 4:30-6:30 p.m. Nov. 12, via Zoom.
This event, which drew more than 70 attendees, featured panels of senior nursing students who had completed externships during the summer at coveted hospitals or healthcare systems in the Metro New York area, as well as the Binghamton area.
The six panels focused on those who externed at:
- Hackensack Meridian University Medical Center and Garnet Health Medical Center
- Mt. Sinai South Nassau and Northwell Health’s North Shore University Hospital, Zucker Hillside Hospital, Huntington Hospital and Plainview Hospital
- Northwell Health’s Lenox Hill Hospital and Staten Island University Hospital
- Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
- NYU Langone Medical Center
- UHS and Lourdes Ascension
Each session opened with the panelists explaining where they had completed their externship, including the hospital unit they were placed in. Then, attendees had the opportunity to ask questions about their experiences, as well as the application and interview processes.
Panelists provided attendees with frank assessments of their externship experiences, as well as tips on how to land one of these desirable opportunities (most of these externships receive hundreds of applicants and accept just a few).
The NSA wrapped up the fall semester with a series of presentations featuring Decker alumni; the events were held at 5 p.m. each night from Nov. 17 to Nov. 20. These Alumni Week presentations gave the students the chance to learn about “life after Decker,” as well as make professional connections with alumni.
Alumni participating were: Nov. 17 – Cami Daleo ’19, Amanda Biancardi ’17 and Stephanie Kreizman-Goldberg ’08; Nov. 18 – Lisa Staccone ’04; Nov. 19 – Caroline Hennelly ’19 and Alexa LaScala ’20; and Nov. 20 – Alanna Dodrill ’20 and Amanda Kadamthottu ’20.
The Alumni Week events were well attended, drawing more than 50 participants over four nights.
“Clearly we had a lot going on this semester, despite COVID regulations,” Vilda said. “I know I was definitely ambitious this semester in terms of events, but I think these changes will stay long after I graduate.”