What’s New with Nursing?

Have you ever seen a nursing student just sitting around, relaxing, and not talking about medical terminology at Vanguard? Chances are you have not. 

Nursing students have extremely busy schedules that include long classes, clinicals at local hospitals, labs, spending hours studying, and more. 

Vanguard’s nursing program is highly competitive and gradually growing with time. The first cohort was introduced to the program five years ago and only had sixteen students. They are now onto cohort five, which are current juniors, and have capped at thirty-two students. 

One accomplishment within the nursing department is the continuation of the SNAVU club. SNAVU is the Student Nurse Association of Vanguard University. This club intends to help build up a reputation for the Vanguard nursing program and gain more connections to hospitals and organizations. All nursing students are welcome to join SNAVU.

Brady Picking, a senior, nursing major, and current SNAVU president mentioned, “Our goal at SNAVU is to engage nursing students professionally and get them experience, but also provide opportunities for them to relax, have fun, and understand that there needs to be a balance to their life.” 

SNAVU started with the first cohort and faced some ups and downs over the last several years. Since nursing majors are so busy, adding another aspect to their schedule could be difficult to maintain. The first cohort was responsible for creating the basis for the club and cohort two created the by-laws. 

Picking added, “We are really trying to build it up and make it sustainable. We are trying to create a training document that can be passed on from cohort to cohort.”

SNAVU has a lot planned for the semester. They are currently partnered with the health center to administer flu and Covid vaccinations as well as blood drives. They also hope to execute a Health Fair to inform students about health education.

The nursing students at Vanguard work incredibly hard not only in their classes, building up SNAVU, and at in-person clinicals, but are also making a difference within our community. They continue to gear up for life post-Vanguard as they apply to work at nearby hospitals, physician offices, and nursing facilities.

Brady Picking concluded the interview with, “I think I can speak for the entire department when I say we are all excited to have our licenses and be operating as full-blown nurses.”