This year, eight nursing students were selected to represent Boise State at the 2015 Western Institute of Nursing (WIN) conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico on April 22 – 25. Cara Gallegos and Mark Siemon, assistant professors of the School of Nursing, facilitated the experience.
Each year, students from Boise State are invited to submit an abstract for a poster presentation to WIN. The abstracts are reviewed by faculty, and if selected, the student creates a poster to present. The mission of WIN is to bring together a diverse community of nurses in a shared commitment to advance nursing science, education, and practice to improve health outcomes. Topics ranged from the use of high fidelity simulation in baccalaureate programs to the use of acupuncture during labor.
“I attended the WIN conference during my seventh semester. Overall it was an awesome experience! I was nervous about our poster presentation, but it was actually really fun. Everyone was friendly and excited to share and learn about different areas of research. I realized in talking to other nurses and students at WIN that our nursing education is going to open the door to a vast number of opportunities, more than I ever imagined. I would definitely recommend WIN to other students. We learned about interesting research being done in our field, attended informative education sessions, networked with students, nurses, and educators, and spoke with graduate school recruiters from all over the west coasts” said a student.
“I went to WIN during my seventh semester. WIN was not what I expected. I thought that it would be a good experience and fun to travel with my fellow classmates. I did not expect it to be such an inspiring experience. There were grad schools with booths where I was able to speak with representatives of the schools and get an idea of what they had to offer. It made me feel very excited for grad school opportunities and what that entailed. I was also very inspired by all of the research presentations. It inspired me to keep (research) as a big part of my career as a nurse. I would definitely recommend WIN to another student! I’ll never forget the camaraderie that was gained with my classmates and the stimulating future-dreaming it induced in me,” said a student.