John Arce, on the National Student Nurses' Association
Bree LeMaire, RN, MA

John Arce, president of the National Student Nurses’ Association, is a senior nursing student at Charleston (S.C.) Southern University who expects to graduate in May 2005 with his BSN. He has received several honors, including winning the Capture Your Dreams Scholarship in 2003, and has been on the dean’s list for the past three years. He is on active duty as a Navy corpsman and is pursuing his education through the Navy’s Medical Enlisted Commissioning Program. Arce is married with two children.

Why did you decide to pursue nursing as a career?

I’ve had 11 years of training in the Navy and was working as an independent duty corpsman. That means that I practiced medicine as a primary care provider and had my own patients that I followed. Looking at my career path, I realized that I couldn’t do this outside the Navy without a license, so I applied for the Medical Enlisted Commissioning Program. When I graduate next May, I’ll be commissioned as an ensign, a Navy corps officer.

I’ve had many mentors along the way. This was my best career path. My first year in nursing school, NSNA had an orientation where they described membership as a way to offer service to others. I saw in many ways that it was like the Navy in that the opportunity is there to become a better person while serving others. In my junior year, I ran for a state position and then was encouraged to run for a national position.

What is NSNA and why join it?

This is the preprofessional organization for nursing students. Members come from all areas: prenursing programs, associate degree, diploma, baccalaureate, generic master’s, and generic doctoral programs, as well as RN and BSN completion programs. We have more than 38,000 members, and we are there to help future nurses prepare to be an RN.

After graduation, students become sustaining members, using their experience to contribute to the organization. We also have memberships for corporations, agencies, schools, and individuals who do not qualify as nursing students. This special membership category offers opportunities to support the goals and purposes of NSNA.

I get asked about joining all the time. I’ve learned in the Navy not to pass up opportunities and this is an opportunity to learn management and leadership skills. It also offers an opportunity to see how dynamic and diverse nursing really is. There’s an abundance of mentorship and guidance and this is the place to find out where the future is in nursing.

How does NSNA mentor students?

Two conventions (in mid-November and April) will present an abundance of information both from the exhibitors and the sessions.

Our mid-year convention November 11-12, 2004, in Daytona Beach, Fla., will have a networking breakfast and [the National League for Nursing] education update with NLN president Joyce Murray, RN, PhD.

Our keynote speaker will be Melodie Chenevert, RN, MA, president of ProNurse in Gaithersburg, Md. Her talk, “Through the Looking Glass,” tells nurses of the tools they can use to cope with their rapidly changing personal and professional lives.

We also have a website, nsna.org, with FAQs as well as bulletin boards where advice is available.

The national convention will be April 6-10, 2005, in Salt Lake City, UT.

What changes in student demographics have you observed?

That’s an interesting question because I addressed this at the ANA convention. I used the NSNA board as an indication of nursing’s composition today. We are exceptionally diverse in gender, age, and ethnicity. Collectively, the board has 24.5 children (my wife is expecting in November), and we have members with grandchildren.

We are multicultural with assorted educational backgrounds, all the way from an associate degree representation to one board member who has an MA in public health.

We see this same composition at the professional level. Looking to the ANA as an example, there is definitely an increase in men as well as ethnicity and it all is continually changing.

What do you see for nursing’s future?

One of our goals is to help avert the nursing shortage. We have some intelligent students who don’t back down from a challenge. We are preparing for increased responsibilities with fewer people, but all in all, it’s a bright future for nursing.

What is the most important thing we can do for today’s student nurse?

The greatest thing a nurse can do when a student comes onto their unit is to provide leadership and mentorship when students come into your area.

Pass on your knowledge and share your experience. We are preparing nurses for the future and it’s so important to take the extra time to invest in that future. It could come down to one day when they are taking care of you.

Bree LeMaire, RN, MA, is a freelance writer. To comment on this story, send e-mail to editorca@nurseweek.com.