SONvitals

Op-Ed: Consequences of Student Loan Caps

From Dean Sarah Szanton’s op-ed in The Hill, “The Ugly Truth About the Student Loan Caps in Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful’ Law”:

“Nurses make up the largest segment of the healthcare workforce. Their education emphasizes prevention and whole-person care for people and communities. Nurses are central to the shift from reactive “sick care” to proactive prevention, so restricting their ability to enter the profession is not just shortsighted, it’s self-defeating.”

Presentation for Faculty Candidate for Nurse Anesthetist-DNP Program: Dr. Richard Conley

Faculty Candidate Presentation for Nurse Anesthetist-DNP Program, “Oxytocin Harmful or Helpful? A Dosing Protocol for Cesarean Sections”, 11 am-noon Wednesday, July 23, via Zoom (Password: 434523). Richard P. Conley Jr., DNP, CRNA, CNE, assistant professor and assistant director Nurse Anesthesia Program, University of Maryland, School of Medicine. Audience: Faculty, Staff, Students

Congratulations to our DAISY Award Recipients!

The SON DAISY team is proud to recognize Sarah Brodine, MSN, RN, and Dian Grandison, CRNP, for their excellence in precepting, as well as Maria Lao, MSN, BSN, RN, PCCN, and Chelsea Wensdorfer, CRNP, for their excellence in clinical teaching.

Pack with Purpose: Honoring Palliative Care with Care Kits

The Palliative Care Student Interest Group will be holding a care-kit making event 4-6 pm Wednesday, July 30 in the Hub for nurses at Gilchrist Hospice Center in Baltimore. There will be music, snacks, and information about Gilchrist. We will have all the materials to make the care kits (gift bags, snacks, lip balms, face masks, compression socks, etc). For more information, contact Shinbee ([email protected]) or Rachel ([email protected])!

Research Honors and Fuld Fellowship Poster Day

Join us August 6 in celebrating the scholarly achievements of our nursing students at the Summer 2025 Research Honors and Fuld Fellowship Poster Day. This in-person event showcases innovative research and evidence-based projects led by undergraduate and graduate nursing scholars, highlighting their contributions to advancing nursing science and practice. Please take this opportunity to support the next generation of nurse leaders and researchers. Date: August 6, 2025 at 5.30-6.30 pm Venue: Carpenter rooms A and B No RSVP needed. Audience: All JHSON Date/Time: Wednesday, August 6, 2025 (09:30 pm – 06:30 pm)

The Birth of a Doula

In January 2025, student Shiauna Ledbetter joined the Birth Companions program, training as a doula to offer free services to people having babies in the greater Baltimore area. In the Afro, she describes her own baptism by fire—and the inspiration for her journey toward advancing care for Black women giving birth:

My grandmother is a midwife. I grew up watching her serve people with so much love and strength. So much passion. She’s not delivering babies anymore, but she’s still in it—helping rebuild a birth center in Asheville, North Carolina, doing birth-inspired art, always encouraging me. She’s mailed me books about midwifery, nudged me to think about the bigger picture. She’s always emphasized the importance of representation in this field, especially for Black women.

Presentation for Faculty Candidate for Nurse Anesthetist-DNP Program: Dr. Priscilla Aguirre

Faculty Candidate Presentation for Nurse Anesthetist-DNP Program: “The Impact of High-Fidelity Simulation on Nurse Anesthesia Students’ Knowledge, Self-Confidence, and Psychomotor Skills,” noon-1 pm Tuesday, July 29 via Zoom (Password: 346668). Priscilla Aguirre, DNP, CRNA, CHSE, is an assistant professor at the University of Maryland School of Nursing. Audience: Faculty, Staff, Students