UNA is actively seeking nominations for their executive board.

Positions that are being sought are: President, President Elect, 1st Vice President, 2nd Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer.  We are also looking for nominations for the House Of Delegates.  The qualifications for nominees can be found in the bylaws,  you can find a copy of our bylaws under About us.   Please send all nominees information by email to una@xmission.com with their name and contact information.
 

  Utah Nurses Association wants to express our appreciation to  Little Giant Ladder System for giving us computers to give away to student nurses.   So far we have given away 18 computers and here are some thank you's  from a few of  the recipients.

Utah Nurses Association,
 
My name is Consuelo Hillegas. I am a student at Southern Utah University in the Nursing Program. I was so delighted to hear about the computer giveaways. I know I benefit from this, and I'm so thankful for it! I spend a lot of time using the school's computer however the school is not open all the time so it will be nice to have a computer at home where I can do homework all night : )
 I deeply express all my gratitude to the people who were so generous to help out a student like me. I greatly appreciate it!!
 
Sincerely,
Consuelo Hillega

I am writing this email to thank you and your organization for ever so kindly donating computers to nursing students throughout Utah. It is very considerate of your organization to allow nursing students to come  by to your office to pick up a computer .

In the nursing program, a student definitely needs a computer to research health topics, and create great presentations for the classes. When entering the health profession, it is always important for us students to keep tabs on the latest evidenced based research there is out there.

I want to truly thank you for your generosity, and I know the computer will help me finish my assignments and stay on top of the latest nursing and medical research. Thank you.

Sincerely,
Nalisa Ahir

     Your family has had an emergency and you were very impressed by the kindness of the nurses who cared for your loved one. You have been wondering what to do with your life and suddenly you realize that this is it: You want to be a nurse. A significant number of nurses do come to their career decision through such a pathway. This experience is a good motivator to change your life.

     Make no mistake about it…to become a nurse IS to change your life forever. Once you have worked as a nurse, you will never look at minor injuries and major traumas the same way again. The changes one undergoes to become a nurse may vary a bit from person to person, but essentially they involve changing one’s thinking. Many people believe that the soul and essence of nursing is caring. This is partly true. Caring is not, however, simply being nurturing and making a person feel comforted and secure. Caring involves crucial actions and decisions that MAKE a person secure and enable that person to heal if at all possible.

     Nursing in the modern clinical setting involves knowing key aspects of a wide variety of conditions, medical problems, injuries, preventative practices, communication techniques, and time management. A solid science, math and humanities background lays the groundwork for key courses that are more clinically related. Anatomy, physiology, statistics, literature and languages all prepare the person who would strive to be a nurse. The nurse must successfully study and thoroughly understand principles of pathophysiology, psychology, pharmacology, and hundreds of direct patient care techniques. The study of these areas is refined and focused when the nurse also studies core concepts of nursing for various populations, the very young, the very old, the traumatically injured, the chronically ill and the mentally ill. Able, appropriate communication skills tie all this knowledge together and enable the bedside nurse to explain the plan of care to the patient. The community health nurse may also teach or lead an entire community to better health practices – this requires knowledge and fine diplomacy on the part of the nurse.

     Many students excel at academic preparation such as that described above. However the true challenge of nursing is not the book-learning, but the ability to apply this learning to help patients or community members reach their best outcomes: full recovery, partial recovery with the best rehabilitation and follow-up available, or a dignified death for those who can not recover. This practical application of material learned in the classroom requires excellent people-skills, clear decisive thinking, good time management, physical strength and endurance, extraordinary patience, and capable, gentle hands. Some students find the multiple skills required to be rather overwhelming, but persistence and patience with self goes a long ways to mastering this complex set of skills needed to become a safe, effective graduate nurse.