from our original plan because we have had such a great response from our community in wanting to participate!  When we first started we hoped to reach at least 75 people.  We have involved so much of our community that our local hospital has agreed to help sponsor the event.  The marketing director for the hospital believes that we should plan to have 200 to 300 people attend with all the free health screenings, speakers, and door prizes we now have to offer.

Again, the event will be October 11, 2008 from 10 am to 3 pm at the Evangelistic Temple here in Palestine.  We have approximately 50 different agencies, doctor's offices, health associations (ex. American Cancer Society), dentist offices and such setting up booths at our event.  The fire department, department of public safety, and sheriff's department will have presentations on safety.  Stewart Blood Bank will be holding a blood drive during the event.  We have also invited the LVN students and the EMT students at the community college down the road (Trinity Valley Community College) to help with this event.  We will also have speakers regarding everything from car seat safety to hospice.   Someone from ACCESS (our mental health agency) will present their new STAR program for at risk teens, and local home health agencies will present information on Advance Directives.

I know that UT Tyler is a big university covering three different campuses and when most people think of UT Tyler they think of Tyler and the Tyler campus.  The Palestine campus is a small campus in a small rural town.  With all three campuses joining forces and holding this event in Palestine we are able to do something quite big in a small area.  Providing not only free health screenings but some much needed health and safety literacy to our community.

As you can tell I am pretty jazzed about our event.  With all that said, I hope that many TNSA members will be able to come and show their support. If you have any questions regarding the event, please feel free to contact me at tcorson@patriots.uttyler.edu. Thank you! 

Page Four

UT Tyler (continued)

My name is Kevin Johnson, your new Northern Regional Director for TNSA.  Currently I am a fourth semester student attending North Lake College, a satellite campus of El Centro.  Over the last 7 months, I have worked as an Extern in the ICU at Charleton Methodist Hospital.  Upon graduating in December, I have plans to work in an ICU and further my education by obtaining my BSN.  Hopefully, I will finish my NP in the next 4 fours.

Over the last year and half of nursing school, I have learned the only way to get through a nursing program is with a group of friends that are there to support you and want to work just as hard as you do.  I have become best friends with this group and, I will never forget them.  I want to take a moment and wish each of them the best of luck during our fourth semester.

I am very excited about being part of the board members and the ideas and goals we are bringing to the table.  Over the course of the next eight months I hope to unite communication lines between the nursing programs and facilitate an easy way of communication for sharing of ideas.

If anyone has questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me or anyone on the board.  Good luck everyone and it will all be worth it!!!

Support Groups Help

by Kevin Johnson, TNSA North Regional Director

I am very pleased and humbled to be the new Eastern Regional Director for TNSA. To share a little bit about myself, I am in my last year of nursing school. and have been very busy with many new clinical experiences.  I am almost 99% sure that I have found a new love in the operating room, and feel this is where I would like to begin my career as a nurse.  I still have a slight feeling that I may choose Labor and Delivery; however, I will be more confident of this decision once I finish all of my rotations.  After completing my first degree from Baylor, I stayed out of the healthcare field for a while. I am now extremely excited to be able to go back to nursing school.  I feel that nursing school will allow me to help others and apply some of the leadership skills I gained along the way towards wonderful organizations, such as TNSA. 

In this new role, I would like to be able to work on issues, such as increasing the number of students enrolled in nursing schools across Texas, as well as, the retention rates of students in their respective programs.  At my nursing school, Houston Baptist University, we have a wonderful mentoring program that has really encouraged various cohorts to unite and be resources to each other.  I would like to encourage many other nursing schools to adopt a program similar to ours.  Lastly, I hope that as a TNSA board we are able to fulfill our duty to provide the Texas nursing students with leadership, guidance, and an ear to listen.  I look forward to meeting many new fellow students and faculty at the upcoming Council of Schools. 

Enger Returns to

Health Care

by Kimberly Enger, TNSA East Regional Director

My name is Joyce Alexander and I am the Southern Regional Director for the  Texas Student Nurse’s Association (TSNA). I have been an active member of the National Student Nurse’s Association (NSNA) since my second semester of nursing school. I am in my fourth semester of nursing at Central Texas College in Killeen, TX. I am a wife of nine years and I have a seven year old son.  I enjoy shopping and decorating to pass time. I spent four and a half years in the United States Army as a Human Resource Specialist.

I’ve always wanted to be a nurse since I could remember. After I got out of the military I enrolled in college where I started my journey into the nursing profession. I first obtained my Certified Nurse’s Assistance license. I believe the CNA’s are the backbone to nursing. I realized in order to be a good nurse I needed to understand how it felt and what it took to be at the beginning of the profession. I knew that I needed to start from the ground up, not only to make me a better nurse, but also to get a complete understanding of the nursing profession as a whole.

When I attended the conference back in February, who would have thought I would have left as the Southern Regional Director of TSNA!  I want to use this opportunity to bridge the gap between communication and the colleges in my region. I want to be a liaison between the students and TSNA.  The most opportune time for nursing students to get involved in TSNA in my opinion is the first semester. I also think that it is very important to be an active participant in the political aspect of one’s nursing career. Start now and make a difference. Be a part of your future today because you are tomorrow’s nurses.

Alexander Pursues Childhood Dream of Becoming a Nurse

by Joyce Alexander, TNSA South Regional Director

I was reluctant, at first, to consider nursing.  My fiancé had told me about all of the benefits that accompany a career in nursing and I had tossed the idea of entering healthcare around a few times.  Finally, I decided to try my hand in nursing and it was one of the greatest choices I made.  I am very grateful and humbled to have the opportunity to enter such a wonderful profession and I look forward to making improvements in this profession whenever possible.  That is the reason I decided to join TNSA and run for state office.  While attending the last State Convention in Austin, I had witnessed an opportunity to improve the nursing profession and TNSA.  I hoped to bring some new ideas and energy to this organization, and I have renewed enthusiasm with a similarly motivated Board of Directors.  I hope to get people excited about TNSA.  I want people to know that they have a voice.  I want us to work together to get through school, and also improve as a whole, the profession of nursing.  With all that being said, I also want us to have fun.

Ah yes, fun.  That is the other big reason I decided to pursue a career in nursing.  Fun and enjoyment are big motivators in my life.  Ask anyone who knows me and they will say I am a man who plays harder than I work.  I feel that this is a surprisingly good fit for nursing because I enjoy learning and socializing.  I hope that all of you can find as much fun as possible in nursing school; because even though school is difficult, life should always be enjoyable.

Everidge Says “Enjoy Life as You Study to Be a Nurse”

by Joseph Everidge, TNSA West Regional Director