DENS Announce 2017-2018 Officers
The Duke Emergency Nursing Students (DENS) organization recently announced its newest leaders.
Keely Hall was elected president. Hall served as DENS vice president last semester and looks forward to continuing her commitment to the student organization through the role of president.In her nomination, Hall wrote: "My experience as an undergraduate leading and organizing philanthropic events and my work experience managing pediatric clinical trials have taught me accountability, teamwork and outreach. I am an organized hard worker and I welcome the opportunity to rise to the occasion and apply these skills to the position of president."
Kevin O'Hara was elected as vice president. O'Hara wrote in his nomination: "If voted vice president of DENS, I would bring years of experience from my former job managing teams and projects, as well as designing events and activities. I would like to see a continuation of learning experiences for DUSON students who are interested in the field of emergency nursing. Most importantly, my strong leadership, team-management and organizational skills will help keep DENS on a strong footing so that the organization may thrive to benefit students for years to come."
Sarah Zavaleta was elected education chair. In her nomination, Zavaleta wrote: "Prior to entering DUSON, I spent four years working and volunteering in various EMS organizations as an EMT. I also served on the executive board of a volunteer 911 organization as the external operations officer. In this position, I collaborated with the chief to coordinate employee training and educational opportunities, improved our organization's constitution, and provided a voice for our members during executive meetings. I am running for the position of education chair because I believe my experiences have prepared me to be a strong leader. One of my goals is to further the interests of my fellow students in emergency medicine, and hopefully prepare future nursing leaders in the ED."
Katelyn Cioffi was elected injury prevention representative. Cioffi wrote in her nomination: "I grew up in the mountains of North Carolina and loved spending any opportunity I could outside either hiking or taking photos. After graduating from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, I joined the Peace Corps and served in Guatemala promoting basic hygiene methods and measuring malnutrition rates in children. After the Peace Corps, I moved to Fairbanks, Ala. where I served in AmeriCorps working as a youth advocate for native Alaskan youth living with disabilities. I would love to be considered for the injury prevention representative in DENS because I believe it is key to experiencing life at its fullest while being safe. I am a huge proponent of helmets, after working with many Native Alaskans with traumatic brain injuries from skiing and snow mobile injuries, as well as cyclist and rock climbers in other parts of the United States. I would like to take as many different avenues to teach injury prevention so that we as future nurses can serve our communities to the fullest."