Dear Gator Nurses,

I want to begin by congratulating all of our new BSN Class of 2023, as well as Accelerated BSN Class of 2022 students. With the start of a new school year, we are excited to accomplish new goals and experiences within the many College of Nursing student organizations. If you have not yet been involved with the college's University of Florida Student Nursing Association (UFSNA), Nursing College Council (NCC) or Nurses Leading Change (NLC) student organizations, now is your time to join! We have a ton of new opportunities this upcoming year for pre-nursing and nursing students. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to contact me.

Look out for an email announcing our first general body meeting for fall 2021! I am excited to meet all of you and remember, GO GATOR NURSING!!!!

Sincerely,

Alexis Bouters

UFSNA President

I want to start off by saying congratulations incoming Gator Nurses!

What an amazing accomplishment already. I remember being in your shoes what seems like just a couple weeks ago. The time goes by extremely fast! With that being said, information comes at you fast. Nursing school is not easy, but remember, you’re not alone. Reach out to your peers, professors and advisors in times of uncertainty for support.

Need help with study techniques? With nursing concepts? With unexpected life challenges? The College of Nursing is full of wonderful people who are there to help you every step of the way. If you feel comfortable taking on more than you already are, get involved in the various clubs and programs offered by the college to connect with others who share similar goals. Clinicals are intimidating at first, but never give up that golden opportunity to perform a skill— you’ll regret it! It’s all a learning experience.

I encourage you all to take time for yourself every day. Exercise, eat healthy and surround yourself with people who make you happy. Don’t forget to relax when you can! Nursing school can be greatly demanding and intensely overwhelming at times, but remember, the journey begins with small steps.

The work you put in is worth it. Sooner than you know you’ll be sitting at your pinning ceremony thinking “where did the time go?” just as I was. My last piece of advice to you is to stay organized, study hard, make memories and be kind.

Good luck! Believe in yourself, because I believe in each and every one of you! 

-Kayla Vigliotti (ABSN 2021; DNP 2025)

This summer, I had the privilege to work as a professional nursing assistant at Duke University Hospital on a pulmonary stepdown unit. I worked alongside my nurse preceptor during the entirety of the 10-week program and words cannot describe how grateful I was to be a part of their amazing team! This clinical partnership strengthened my awareness of the overall nursing scope of practice and enhanced my critical thinking skills. I gained valuable experience with intubated patients, tracheostomy care and positive airway pressure therapy.

I truly believe that this experience helped me expand upon what I think is one of the most crucial elements to becoming a nurse: Learning how to work well in stressful situations while remaining calm and having the ability to improve someone’s quality of life. Although I watched and participated in numerous rapid responses on our floor, I look forward to gaining the knowledge needed become a leader in these types of high-pressure circumstances.

I am extremely appreciative for the inspiring nursing staff who opened my eyes to different aspects of nursing I never thought I’d love. I will be forever thankful for the relationships that I have gained this summer and the knowledge I acquired from this experience!

-Jenna Enten (BSN 2022)

Submitted by NLC

Nurses Leading Change is excited to take on the new academic year with numerous diversity and educational initiatives in the works. Currently, we are continuing our work with the homeless community in Gainesville. One project approved and forthcoming is resourceful bags to hand out to the homeless community with educational pamphlets. Nurses Leading Change plans to take on language barriers in the health care field by teaming with the Equal Access Clinic to create easy translation handouts from English to Spanish with commonly used phrases and medical terms. This year, the organization is also forming many new committees to tackle health disparities and social issues in different forms. For each general body meeting, we will have a theme on completing our purpose of decreasing health disparities. We are eager to provide important and informational meetings that will educate the future field of nurses into becoming the best versions of themselves and making healthcare personalized to all populations.

As the executive board continues planning for the year, we are thrilled with the progress we have made to expand Nurses Leading Change’s impact in both the College of Nursing, as well as the Gainesville and Jacksonville communities.