The Student Nurses at Penn do a lot more than attend clinicals and prepare for exams -- they represent the entire state of Pennsylvania.
Recently, SNAP members were elected to the Student Nurses' Association of Pennsylvania's executive board. The chapter was also recognized statewide, receiving the association's Silver Achievement Award for both membership and recruitment of student nurses.
Thirteen SNAP members attended the 51st annual, two-day Student Nurses' Association of Pennsylvania Convention last month to receive the awards.
Gathering in Pittsburgh, a total of 750 nursing students from seven different regions of Pennsylvania met to attend panels, vote on parliamentary procedures and network with health care systems and hospitals from all over the state.
SNAP "has worked hard to gain recognition over the past few years, and it finally seems like our efforts have been rewarded," SNAP President and School of Nursing senior Jen Palladino, said.
She added that both winning the Chapter Excellence Award and having three student delegates elected to the state board proves Penn's success.
"Previously, [few students] from Penn had ever served on the state board, and now we have three Penn students representing Pennsylvania -- that's exciting," Palladino said.
Nursing senior Laura Breyfogle was re-elected to serve her second term as president on the state board of directors.
"I didn't have any competition this year, so I guess I did a good job last year," Breyfogle said.
As president, Breyfogle will be running the "business between meetings, evaluating staff and serving as a liaison between the state and national nursing organizations," she said. Still, the part of her job she looks most forward to is serving with two other fellow Penn students.
Caroline Cantillon, a junior in the Nursing School and public relations and events chair for SNAP, has been elected to the position of secretary/treasurer.
"I am also very excited to be able to serve on the state board," Cantillon said, adding that "this is a great opportunity and I look forward to the year ahead."
Rounding out the trio of Penn's state representatives is Noele Kasper, a Nursing junior and vice president of SNAP. Kasper has been elected as the greater Philadelphia regional coordinator to maintain the lines of communication between Penn's board of directors and other members of the region.
Director of Communications for the Nursing School Joy McIntyre praised the three new student leaders."It was a great showing for Penn and heading up the [Student Nurses' Association of Pennsylvania's] organization is a great leadership role," she said in an e-mail.
Six nursing students received merit-based scholarship awards that totaled over $1,000.
These scholarships are open to all 2,700 state members, but only 17 scholarships are actually awarded -- this year, Penn students received over one-third of the awards.
According to Breyfogle, the SNAP convention proved to quite a success, with students taking with them much more than three state board positions and six scholarships.
"It has been an important part of our education," she said, adding that it was ultimately a chance to learn "leadership skills [necessary] to advancing nursing."
