Nursing Students

When the nursing workforce is more representative of the communities they care for, access to quality care and patient outcomes improve for all. But building a diverse workforce requires intentional inclusivity across the professional pipeline – including the nursing school environment. Two unique programs funded by Johnson & Johnson’s Our Race to Health Equity initiative (ORTHE) are proactively working to improve the experience of nurses and nursing students of color.

For nearly 30 years, nursing, pharmacy, physical therapy and dentistry students and more have taken healthcare to their surrounding community, perhaps where it’s needed most. The Farmworker Family Health Program, launched by a nurse leader at Georgia State in 1993, and carried on by Emory University in 2001, provides various students an opportunity to offer basic care for the underserved migrant farmworkers of Colquitt, Cook, Brooks, and Tift counties in southwest, GA. Learn about its inception and how it grew to a nurse-led, community-focused effort.

COVID-19 is taking a significant toll on the mental health of both adults and children. A student-led webinar series from The Ohio State University College of Nursing is providing children and teens with evidence-based tips to help improve their health and wellbeing amid this pandemic and beyond.

Bringing together students of multiple backgrounds, majors, and experience levels, the Master of Healthcare Innovation program at The Ohio State University College of Nursing is empowering today’s healthcare leaders to embrace human-centered design and develop their pioneering solutions.

Sheri Sawchuk, DNP, APRN, NP-C, CNE, fell into nursing by providence – she attended an informational session for a local nursing program after driving a friend there and ultimately enrolled in classes herself for the following semester. In 2013, Sheri first learned of the Global Health Education Program (GHEP) at Chamberlain University from the program’s founder, Susan Fletcher, EdD, MSN, BSN. Today, after finding her passion at the intersection of nursing, education, and global health, and with 15 years of international relief work under her belt, Sheri leads nursing students on international GHEP trips to help up-and-coming nurses identify their nursing passions.

At Johnson & Johnson, we believe that nurses are the backbone of our healthcare system, and our critical partners on the front lines of care. Nurse-led innovation has resulted in important healthcare advancements throughout history – and Johnson & Johnson is committed to helping nurses continue addressing patient needs through resources and opportunities like the J&J Nurses Innovate QuickFire Challenge.

As the traditional role of a nurse continues to expand to help foster innovation, leadership, and entrepreneurship, nurses with excellent clinical and administrative skills are in higher demand than ever before. One program that is helping future nurses build this valuable dual skillset is the Nursing and Health Care Management (NHCM) program at the University of Pennsylvania (Penn), which aims to prepare student nurses to become transformative practitioners and leaders.

Following the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011, the TOMODACHI J&J Disaster Nursing Training Program has worked to support the reconstruction of affected areas by providing educational programs for Japanese nursing students interested in further developing their skills in disaster medicine. Launched in 2015, the program has successfully provided learning opportunities for a total of 28 nursing students and is scheduled to continue through the year 2020.

After a nearly 20-year nursing career, Patricia (Tricia) Cady, RN, ADN, BSN, decided to return to school to pursue her BSN at the University of Virginia (UVA) School of Nursing, where she observed a long-standing problem with extubations in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). To help address this issue, Tricia developed the idea for the Cady Hug, a flexible vest that helps protect neonates from accidental extubations while keeping them comfortable and their tubes accessible for their care providers.

Nancy P. Hanrahan, PhD, RN, FAAN, executive director and associate dean of healthcare innovation and entrepreneurship at the Bouve College of Health Sciences and professor and former dean of the School of Nursing at Northeastern University, is firmly committed to evolving the reputation of nursing.