Philadelphia, PA November 14, 2008 -Student Nurses at Penn (SNAP) sent fifteen nursing students to the 56^th Annual Convention for the Student Nurses’ Association of Pennsylvania in Harrisburg, PA, which took place from November 12^th to the 14^th.  The theme this year was “Nursing: The Heart of Technology”.  They joined over 500 attendees from across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and participated in the various networking, professional development, and organizational governance opportunities offered at the conference.

The fifteen students who attended the Convention were as follows: Nursing Freshman Karen McVay; Sophomores Brittany Horvath and Naomi Yager; Juniors Bridget Baginsky, Maura Rinehimer and Megan Vanbuskirk; Seniors Maura Holt and Kristine Villapando; and BSN Second-Degree students Laura Anderson, Deirdre Casey, Kelly Cassels, Caitlin Hildebrand, Olivia Prebus, Elizabeth Shields, and Jennifer J. Wilson. 

One of the major highlights of the Convention was the Annual Awards Banquet, which took place on Thursday night.  Out of the 37 scholarship award winners, 14 of them were Penn students.  In total, they received $6,500—in amounts ranging from $250 to $1,000—out of the $17,000 (over one-third) awarded at the ceremony.  In addition to scholarship awards, Penn’s SNAP also received the following Local Chapter Awards: Gold Achievement Award for both retaining and increasing National Student Nurses’ Association (NSNA) membership, Website Award runner-up, and the Community Service Award.  An amazing surprise was the news that Dr. Diane Spatz was also awarded Faculty Adviser of the Year.   

Penn Nursing also had significant roles in state SNAP’s student-run government.  Kristine Villapando, Bridget Baginsky, Olivia Prebus, Brittany Horvath, and Naomi Yager served as the University of Pennsylvania’s delegates in the House of Delegates.  Our local SNAP’s Legislative Coordinator Olivia Prebus presented a resolution in support of vaginal microbicide development to the House.  Allison Nill, Legislative Coordinator for the state SNAP Board, also presented a resolution in support of increasing awareness and improving prevention strategies for MRSA.  Both resolutions passed virtually unanimously. 

The Penn students also enjoyed talks from Keynote Speaker Patricia A. Knecht, and attended workshops on the role of technology in the numerous areas of the nursing profession.  Furthermore, they had an opportunity to network with almost 80 potential employers, graduate schools across the country, and with hundreds of other Pennsylvania nursing students.