PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — Northern Maine Community College’s Student Nurses’ Association hosted their first conference on March 23 focused on the future of nursing in Aroostook County, which drew a crowd of nearly 80 students.
The event featured two keynote speakers, Lynn King, DNS, RN, and Erin Stratton, PhD, RN, of the American Nurses’ Association, who presented together on the topic of incivility in nursing.
Other professionals in the field also gave presentations, including Thomas P. Judge, CCTP, of LifeFlight of Maine. His talk was titled “So you want to be a flight nurse?”
“Without exposure to these opportunities, students are unaware of what’s available to them,” Janelle Pottle, president of the Student Nurses’ Association, said. “We wanted to put together a conference that put everybody in one room—employers, students, vendors, and potential students—and share some ideas about how we envision the future of nursing.”
Pottle, originally from Calais, rose to presidency in fall 2018 after first holding the vice-president chair for one year in the organization.
“There are different SNA groups around the state; however, the NMCC association has the most nationally-registered members,” Pottle explains.
After graduating from NMCC this spring, Pottle plans to work in a hospital and begin working towards her bachelor of science in nursing, perhaps at the University of Maine at Fort Kent. Originally Pottle planned to enroll in the NMCC cohort in Calais, but was waitlisted; when a spot opened up in Presque Isle she jumped at the opportunity.
“This year’s conference was a tremendous success. There is a lot of interest for continuing an annual conference to help students realize the opportunities available here in Aroostook County,” Pottle said.
Cary Medical Center co-sponsored the event.
“We appreciate the community support we received. In the future we hope to involve more employers from the healthcare field. This is an opportunity for them to provide information on the wide variety of jobs available in healthcare,” Pottle explained.
