Message from Dean Sanford

Greetings to our UMMC School of Nursing family!

I hope our December newsletter finds you enjoying the cooler temperatures and planning for a joyful time at the holidays. I remain honored to be your dean and excited to see the wonderful outcomes produced by committed faculty, staff and students. I want to share some thoughts about a recent area of growth for our school. We have always valued membership and participation in professional nursing organizations; however, we realized that our students need the opportunity to participate, grow, and lead in the Mississippi Association of Nursing Students.

I am proud to share that we had a record breaking 180+ students attend the state MASN meeting last month held at Mississippi Nurses' Association (MNA) Convention. Our UMMC SON students not only participated, but also sought election for state leadership roles and won! Congratulations to Oxford Accelerated student Matthew Hartzog (MASN state board president), Oxford Accelerated student Anna Claire Williams (2nd vice-president), and Traditional BSN junior Celeste Knighton (director of communications). Traditional BSN senior Sara Kennedy also served as the UMMC representative to the nominations and elections committee. (In this newsletter, you will read more details about the meeting and the students’ experience.) A special thank you to MASN faculty advisors Dr. Tara Price and Ms. Jessica Pickens. Our chapter would not be successful without the investment of time and encouragement from these generous faculty!

Being an advocate for nursing and our patients is a professional responsibility of all nurses. The students and faculty at our flagship university are modeling professionalism and advocating for the advancement of nursing at the highest levels. We have much to celebrate… awards, honors, recognitions, grant awards, and outstanding leadership. I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season and experience great joy with family and friends. Please enjoy this month’s newsletter highlighting the latest and greatest from our school of nursing.

Best Wishes,

Julie Sanford, DNS, RN, FAAN, ANEF
Dean and Professor
School of Nursing
University of Mississippi Medical Center