Emporia State University students in the Department of Nursing brought home four major awards from the Kansas Association of Nursing Students state convention held late last month in Wichita.
The department received the School of Excellence Award, the Image of Nursing Award, Break-through to Nursing Award and the Community Health Award.
Six Emporia State nursing students also were elected to state offices, and two were selected for offices in the National Student Nurses Association.
Their state successes followed the department’s receiving the Stellar School Award at the national association’s convention earlier this year.
Linda Adams-Wendling, department chair and professor of nursing, said the achievements were another example of the strong leadership attributes of Emporia State’s nursing students.
“This past year has been full of amazing accomplishments for our nursing program,” said Adams-Wendling. “... (W)e are so very proud of them. It is truly a great day to be a Nursing Hornet.”
The School of Nursing has been named one of the top programs in the nation and No. 1 in the State of Kansas by CollegeAtlas.com and U.S. News & World Report, respectively.
“The girls and the guys are completely dedicated to the process and they love to help others,” said Keri Jarvis, assistant professor of nursing and lead advisor for the Emporia State University Kansas Association of Nursing Students (E-KANS).
Kari Hess is co-advisor for the group.
Jarvis said the student nurses make time to volunteer in health-related activities such as the diabetic health fair, the Heart Chase and other special events, where they have the opportunity to help improve the health of the community while also garnering additional experience in performing nursing functions as part of the volunteer work.
Those activities result in better quality, more well-rounded nurses at graduation.
“They don’t have to do this, but they do,” Jarvis said. “The motivation behind it isn’t ‘What award can we win?’ but the motivation is ‘How can we help others?’”
Nursing students also are closely involved in their local, state and national organizations, attending conferences and meetings and working within the groups as officers to gain leadership experience and to enhance knowledge of their profession.
Those elected to state offices were: Joy Baker, historian and newsletter editor; Payton Shook, treasurer; Zachary Mandell, nominations and elections chair; Katelyn Hund, secretary; Anna McDermed, Breakthrough to Nursing chair; and Lacy Sanborn, projects chair.
Adam Tebben was elected director of the National Student Nurses Association, and Bridget Camien was elected to the resolutions committee. Camien also is president of the Emporia State University Kansas Association of Nursing Students (E-KANS).
The School of Nursing admits 44 students per class and maintains a list of applicants waiting to be accepted into the program.