The 21th annual Duke Energy Great American Teach-In was held in Pinellas County’s public schools Wednesday, November 16, 2016. Members of the community are invited into the schools for an hour, a few class periods or a day. Participants may tell students about a career, hobby or personal experience; organize an activity; read a story or teach a class.

Nursing students from Mrs. Castillo’s Level 3 class visited Ponce de Leon Elementary School in Largo. The students spoke about the importance of good hand hygiene, organized a handwashing exercise using “fake germs”, and spoke about their love for nursing and how important it is to stay in school.

St. Petersburg College of Nursing faculty and board members of the Student Nurses Association participated in the Making Strides of Pinellas on Saturday, October 15, 2016 in Vinoy Park, St. Petersburg.

Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walks are the largest network of breast cancer awareness events in the nation, uniting communities with a shared determination to help free the world from the pain and suffering of breast cancer.

On October 20, 2016, Dr. Joni Melville’s Level III nursing class visited the Lifeline helicopter at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital. The nursing students were given a tour of the critical care transport system which focuses on critically ill children and newborns from all areas of the United States. The Pediatric Team is a service of the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center. The team is staffed by pediatric critical care nurses and physicians who accompany the Lifeline staff on pediatric calls by ground ambulance, helicopter, and fixed wing aircraft.  All requests for pediatric transport are received by the transport team in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU).  The team triages the call to determine the need for specialty care prior to arrival of the team.  The team uses specialized equipment to monitor and provide care for children from birth through eighteen years of age.They also provide international transport of ill children if needed. The nursing students loved the tour and were able to explore the integration of trauma and transport nursing.

Family and friends of nursing students were invited to an open house sponsored by the Student Government Association on September 30th at the Health Education Center. The guests were given a tour of the nursing simulation lab and faculty spoke about the expectations of the student throughout the nursing program. The open house provided an opportunity for friends and family of nursing students to get a true glimpse of “a day in the life of a nursing student”.

Rosalie Gimenez, a level I nursing student is pictured here with her family as she shared with them what is expected of her as a nursing student in the SPC ADN nursing program.

As the Fall semester starts ADN nursing students created a new information board letting nursing students know about the huge benefits of belonging to their professional organization, the Student Nurses Association (SNA). Members of SPC’s SNA, Melissa Rosado and Savanah Cuthbertson, proudly show the board which highlights some of the many resources available from SNA to help students be successful. SNA offers opportunities such as community health issues, disaster planning, leadership skills, global initiatives, and scholarships. They have state and national meetings which are forums to help students network and learn leadership skills. The display board with more information is in the main hall on the second floor of HEC. To learn more about SNA visit http://www.nsna.org/