This post is written by Manatee Community Foundation intern Keisha Georges, a senior at Southeast High School who hopes to study nursing after graduation. Ms. Georges is a participant in the Gamma Xi Boulé Foundation‘s Journey to Success program.

We are fortunate to live in a community with excellent programs and people who invest in nursing education. The Suncoast Nursing Action Coalition (SNAC) is one such initiative that receives support for scholarships through The Bishop Parker Foundation and Manatee Community Foundation.

During the pandemic, we have noticed increased needs for nurses and nursing skills that address different situations.

I recently researched an organization that can support local nurses with online education. The Academy of Medical-Surgical Nurses (AMSN) was originally called “American Nurses Association” and was founded by six women. Medical-Surgical nurses provide care to adults with various issues before and after surgery. It has several settings: in the field for hospital, outpatient settings like homes, and telemedicine.

The membership organization recently made a new addition to their program called the “Nursing Competency Framework.” It measures your nursing skills, the understanding of your personal character traits to contribute to the job, and learning where you excel. It includes an online certificate program.

AMSN also offers a behavioral health program certificate that helps nurses support patients who have behavioral health issues. Through this course, nurses gain the knowledge they need in a next-level health crisis and to extend “compassion and dignity.”

It offers credits learning about “suicide, substance-related and addictive disorders, complex behaviors, personality disorders, and de-escalation of situations.” This certification “improves overall outcomes and reduces readmission, professional development and career growth.” This is very relevant for challenges many people are experiencing now.

Most important to me is the online course called, “Introduction to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for the Healthcare Workforce”. This is a 6-module e-learning course that meets the needs of the patient and Health Care Providers. This certificate program covers how nurses can create a “culture of appreciation and inclusion” and helps nurses increase their awareness of structural and unconscious bias.

The course is not available yet but will begin in the summer of 2022. Programs like this advance the community, giving us more understanding of each other.

Nurses and nursing students in Manatee County who keep learning will touch a deeper level when it comes to our patients, and they will support the health of our whole community. I look forward to sharing online learning programs such as those I explored here and during my college days.