Jenna Druce

2015-2016 Community Health Director

California Baptist University
Graduation: April 2016

I am thrilled to serve as your Community Health Director for the 2015-2016 term. At the local level, I have been actively involved with my school’s CNSA chapter since  being accepted into the nursing program and served as Treasurer on the Executive Board for 2015. Our chapter has a heavy focus on outreach and giving back to our community and I plan to bring that passion to the state level.

I became involved in nursing after graduating high school and enrolling in courses at a community college. When the major earthquake and tsunami struck Japan in 2011, I asked myself how I would be able to make a difference in my community if the same scenario happened in California. I began to seriously explore the career of nursing and changed my major for the last time. I had finally found my calling.

After my second semester of nursing school, I travelled with a small group of nursing students to remote villages in Thailand as part of a nursing mission trip. During this journey, I became aware of how nurses can play a major role in improving the lives of  our  patients through health education and wellness promotion. I am excited to help CNSA have a greater impact on the community and encourage nursing students to make a commitment to care for their communities and to make a difference outside the acute care setting.

Goals:

• Identify: Help local chapters consult with community members and leaders to identify the needs of the public. By partnering with CNSA chapters, local government, and community organizations, we can identify and create solutions to these problems. I will assist chapter leaders to find at least two activities that can be done annually to establish and promote CNSA members as an integral part of the nursing community.

• Implement: Once needs have been identified, collaborate with local businesses, charities, and other available resources to implement solutions. I will strive to make CNSA a hub of information regarding public health trends, monthly toolkits, and highlighting chapter outreach.

• Improve: By the end of my term as Community Health Director, local chapters will have improved the public’s perception of the role nurses play within their community. With the Affordable Care Act, health care is no longer just about treating the ill; it is about a preventative approach that requires a shift in what our communities think of nurses. The increased community involvement will improve the comfort level of the student to promote health and wellness outside of the acute care setting.