1. Engaging Student Nurses and Schools of Nursing
Patrick Flynn
Erin Dickman, MS, RN, OCN

2. Agenda Today’s Discussion Topics Student Membership Rules and Benefits
Resources Available
Outreach Opportunities
Follow-Up
What are students looking for?

3. Student Memberships Requirements Benefits Pre-licensure Full-time
Graduate degree (post RN) students do not qualify for free membership.
If they are in first 5 years of licensure, they qualify for Early Career Professional category.
Benefits
Free 1 year membership
If still student when time to renew, they may renew for free.
Online, on-demand Cancer Basics course for FREE.
Receive all benefits of membership with exception of ability to vote.

4. Resources Available Marketing Informative
Student Flyer – Outlines the benefits and qualifiers of free student membership.
Cancer Basics – Information regarding the free online, on-demand course our students will receive.
Career Center – High-level overview of the career resources included in an ONS membership.
Student Application – Student-centric membership application.
Informative
Career Guide – Yearly guide to help our members and students further their professional skills.
Student Presentation – General ONS student oriented power point presentation that includes slides for you to entire local chapter info.
Case Study (piloting) – Created by and ONS staff nurse, a case study that can be done with nursing students that encourages critical thinking and discussion.
You – The best resource for students is you and your experience. Share this with them.

5. Outreach Opportunities
How to get in front of students
Career Fairs – Most schools offer a career fair for their students. Contact school to get involved.
Student Nursing Association (SNA) – A lot of nursing schools have a local chapter of the National Student Nurses’ Association (NSNA). Those chapters are always looking for speakers for professional events or vendors for a statewide convention.
Oncology Interest Groups – Some schools will have a group of nursing students that have created an interest group. Check with your local schools to see if any exist.
Scholarship – If your chapter has the funds, create a scholarship for your local schools that can be used for their books or towards their classes.
Partnership – Work with the school to offer a resume building workshop during one of their leadership clinical courses.

6. Why Do Student Nurses Join Organizations?
Networking and mentorship opportunities
2. Career advancement
I am going to focus on two of the biggest reasons (not to say other students might join for different driving factors):
The networking and mentorship opportunities (aka someone told them to join or they knew someone in it)
Career advancement – they want to get a job
The catch is… none of this matters if they do not want to work in Oncology…
We need to help cultivate a passion for caring for oncology patients and that comes with an experience or a connection

7. Finding the Right Career Fit
Why Oncology?
First, we want to find students that are passionate about oncology or have the attributes to work in the profession. Patrick spoke to many ways on how you can connect with students
Trick question – most of us just wanted to find a job. We were so scared that our 4 years of tireless endless hard work was worthless if we didn’t find a job or didn’t pass the NCLEX. It is important to remember those feelings and to understand where these students are coming from.
We all want a meaningful career that we love
How did you find that Oncology was right for you?
Once we find the right student:
We need to make a connection.
Tell them why you got into oncology nursing
Share with them your involved in ONS
What does ONS give back to you? Networking, Continuing education, leadership opportunities, scholarships, etc.
Invite them to a meeting
Continue to reach out to them

8. Strategies
Focus your efforts on helping them start a meaningful career:
Provide them a resume building class or point them to the career center
Help them practice their interview skills
Precept students on your unit
Set up a NCLEX review session
Connect them with shadowing opportunities
Provide them with 1:1 career mentoring
Coordinate a panel with a variety of nursing professions so they know all the career options
Invite them to meetings
so they can ask questions about different career options. Examples are nurse educator, research nurse, nurse manager, nurse practitioner, etc.

9. To receive any materials mentioned in this presentation:
Patrick Flynn – Group Relations Manager