Past Events
The following events are a glimpse of what we have been up to over the spring and summer semesters in the School of Nursing and Health Professions. Visit our events page to learn about upcoming offerings.
Saturday, April 25 | First Annual Marin Youth Leaders Summit
Graduate MPH students enrolled in Communicating for Healthy Behavior and Social Change course participated in a minority youth summit in San Rafael, California. The first annual Marin Youth Leaders Summit was co-organized by USF’s Dr. Marcianna Nosek and members of a community activist group, Youth for Justice, which is part of the greater organization Alcohol Justice located in the Canal District, a predominantly Latino immigrant community in San Rafael.
The Youth for Justice community facilitator, Maite Duran, and Professor Nosek serve together on the Alcohol for Justice Community Coalition, working toward alcohol and drug abuse prevention in youth. Professor Nosek and Ms. Duran have worked together on other projects, such as a nonviolent communication training with Latino youth and parents. The idea for the youth summit naturally unfolded as a means for Youth for Justice members to network with other minority activists in the county.
As an integral part of the summit, students in Professor Nosek's spring semester course developed content and activities to promote health in five areas: Diet and Nutrition, Physical Activity and Exercise, Mental Health, Sexual Health, and Drug and Alcohol Abuse Prevention. Working in groups throughout the semester as a course assignment, students devised action plans based on Empowerment Theory and created fun, informative activities to share with the youth participants at various tables during the summit. Highlights included: a salad eating contest and a bilingual information sheet (titled "Let's taco 'bout it") describing the nutritional facts of ingredients in a taco, hula hoop contests, a condom dart game, launching paper airplanes made with aspirations written on them by the youth, and bringing awareness around the issue of cough syrup and the active ingredient called DXM, which currently is a popular abused substance among youth. Following community based participatory aims, some students in the course attended a meeting with the youth prior to the summit to ascertain the youth's needs and requests about information on the chosen topics which were also originally discussed with and decided upon by the youth.
Students in the Health Behavior course also participated in workshops at the summit to establish an equal exchange of facilitating and participating. Workshop topics included Native American History and Culture, Cultural Organizing 101, Marijuana Risks, and Narratives by the Peace Makers, an activist group comprised of children of incarcerated parents.
When reflecting on the experience, youth and students alike reported a sense of community and the youth, in particular, shared appreciation for the students' dedication and recalled health prevention activities that they hope to continue throughout the year, such as exercising more, turning off their cell phones, and eating more nutritiously. Even though overall participation was lower than expected for youth beyond the canal district, plans to improve the summit have already been discussed by the Youth for Justice group, which already reflects an increase in empowerment and ownership of this shared event.
Wednesday, May 27 | BSN White Coat Ceremony
The Bachelor of Science in Nursing Department formally welcomed the CNL 20 cohort via their White Coat Ceremony. The ceremony was attended not just by students and faculty, but by family and friends of the CNL 20 cohort, creating a room full of support and anticipation as the newly minted nursing students prepared for their first semester of study. Students helped each other drape their white coats and put on their APGF (Arnold P. Gold Foundation) pins for the first time.
Dr. Patricia Lynch, as one of her last acts as Associate Dean for Pre-licensure Programs before retiring, gave a rousing speech, ending with these wonderful words of encouragement: “I am at a stage in my life where I ask – What difference have I made? But, you are at a stage in your life where you ask – What difference will I make?”
Timothy Godfrey, SJ provided a blessing of the hands, emphasizing the importance of training not just the hands and the head, but the heart. Dr. Enna Trevathan’s closing remarks reminded the students that the expectation of academic and professional excellence, combined with strong ethics and an emphasis on care of the whole person, makes USF-educated nurses standouts in their field. Overall, an excellent grounding in principles and mission!
Friday, September 18 | Sacramento Stand Down
VANAP students and majority of faculty volunteered at the Sacramento Stand Down.
Friday, October 2 |Annual All School Advisory Board Meeting
(by invite only)
