Nursing Conference in Durham, NC

WOW, this weekend has been amazing! I’m still trying to take it all in. The North Carolina Association of Student Nurses (NCANS) Annual Convention in Durham, NC was awesome. This was our (Melia, Tiffani, and I) first time at an NCANS conference. It was also the first time that Gardner-Webb had been represented at an NCANS conference in years. Each day we went to sessions where nursing professors and educators spoke about different fields of nursing and did NCLEX reviews. (NCLEX is the national test we have to take to get our RN license.) There were also representatives from the National Bone Marrow Donation Registry there signing individuals up for the national registry. A sample has to be taken so that they can identify what type you are, and all you have to do is swab the inside of your mouth with a sterile cotton swab. There is usually a fee for this registration, but at this conference they were offering it for free. All of us signed up to be on the registry.

NCANS has a State Board of Directors that serves for the year. The Executive Board includes: the President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer. NCANS has divided North Carolina up into 5 districts and one person from each district can serve as a District Director. There is also a Publications Director that edits the NCANS website and journal, The Hypodermic. Any nursing student in North Carolina can apply for one of these positions. Students at the NCANS conference will vote and elect new officers for the upcoming year. We didn't know anything about this until our second day at the conference. Tiffani and I talked with a lady who had been President a year ago and was now the Executive Consultant for this past year’s board. She was very helpful in giving us information about it and in motivating us to seriously consider running. I ran as a write-in candidate for the District I Director, and Tiffani ran as a write-in candidate for the Publications Director. Everyone voted and we were elected for those positions on this year’s board!

I am now the 2008-2009 District I Director for the North Carolina Association of Student Nurses!! I can't believe that I'm serving on a State Board of Directors! God has truly had a hand in all that has happened – from making a way for us to come to the conference virtually free to allowing Tiffani and I to participate in nursing on a state level. I'm so thankful and so excited about all the new opportunities and experiences coming up this year!

One more thing. . . .
Since we are on the Board of Directors, Tiffani and I get to go to the National Convention in November – in Reno, Nevada!!!!