Office of Strategic Wellness and Opportunity
All are welcome here. We really mean it.
The need for a diverse nursing workforce has never been greater. Not just because patients want caregivers who look like them and speak their language - though that's part it it - but because we understand that you can't reduce health inequities and improve care and patients' health outcomes without a widened view of the world derived through engagement across difference, understanding, and humility.
The School of Nursing creates structures that build belonging: through programming and events for students, faculty, and staff; support of student affinity groups; through learning opportunities, pilot classes, workshops, and community reads; through curricular and academic support of faculty to help them build and grow a culture of humility, respect, and belonging; and through its support and ongoing work to create admissions processes that take into account applicants' backstories and experiences as well as their academic strengths and promise.
American Association for Men in Nursing chapter (formerly MAN Club)
- Faculty advisors: Curtis Stowers and Ivy Hinton
Asian American Pacific Islander Nursing Student Association (AAPINSA)
- Follow them on Instagram (@aapinsa_uva)
- Faculty advisors: Jeongok Logan and Ha Do Byon
Beta Kappa, a Sigma honor society chapter
- Malinda Whitlow, president and associate professor (2024-25)
Black Student Nurses Alliance (BSNA)
- Follow them on Instagram (@uva_bsna)
- Faculty advisor: Christina Langston
Diversity in Nursing for a Better Community (DNBC)
- Follow them on Instagram (@dnbc_uva)
Latinx Nursing Student Union (LNSU)
- Follow them on Instagram (@lnsu_uva)
Nursing Student Council
- Follow them on Instagram (@uva_nsc)
qRN
- Follow them on Instagram (@qrnatuva)
- Faculty advisor: Ivy Hinton
Student Nurses Association of Virginia (SNAV)
- Follow them on Instagram (@snavatuva)
*Non-Affiliation Statement for Student Organizations
Although these organizations have members who are UVA students and may have University employees associated or engaged in their activities and affairs, the organizations are not a part of or an agency of the University. They are separate and independent organizations that are responsible for and manage their own activities and affairs. The University does not direct, supervise, or control the organizations and is not responsible for the organizations' contracts, acts, or omissions.
The School's signature Compassionate Care Initiative exists to advance compassionate care as a professional work ethic in healthcare and a defining value of University of Virginia School of Nursing. Compassion involves recognizing and alleviating suffering, not just for patients but also for health workers and organizations, ultimately benefiting society.
LEARN MORE ABOUT CCI
In 2021, UVA Health and UVA School of Nursing earned a $2.14M HRSA grant to improve the well-being and safety of the American healthcare workforce, with a particular focus on clinicians, responders, and students in central Virginia. Since then, the Wisdom and Wellbeing program has trained more than 5,000 medical center workers, nursing students, medical students, and community health workers in the Peer Support approach, hundreds of whom have become Peer Support Champions on their units and in their work environments.
- Joel Anderson, director
- Natalie May, associate research professor
- Mary Burton, project administrator
LEARN MORE ABOUT WISDOM & WELLBEING PROGRAM
This group supports all School of Nursing students and are publicly identified as people students can come to for support or to confidentially debrief and/or problem solve a situation.
Advocates commit to building deeper relationships, mentoring, and helping students navigate the academic environment, keen to address obstacles, and committed to reducing feelings of isolation. Advocates also develop genuine connections with students by gaining a fuller picture of their lives and concerns.
Advocates show up. They help plan and attend social functions and take part in community engagement activities that nurture a welcoming and inclusive climate at the School. They also always take time to respond. When something happens within the School of Nursing, at UVA, or takes place in contexts outside of UVA that impacts students, advocates will serve as "first responders," and are committed to being visible and available to students in distress and working with School leaders, faculty, and staff to systematically address these issues in a timely and respectful fashion. While it is our aim to have all faculty and staff become advocates for our students, the role of faculty and staff advocates fills a gap that students have identified and is above and beyond the usual advising role.
