UL Lafayette student and registered nurse Brandi Borden believes in staying busy.
She works in the trauma intensive care unit at University Medical Center in New Orleans, where COVID-19 patients occupied all 24 beds until recently.
Borden, 45, is the mother of an 8-year-old son. She is also pursuing her RN to BSN online at UL Lafayette.
And she’s the newly-elected president of the National Student Nurses' Association Board of Directors for 2020-2021. The NSNA mentors students preparing for initial licensure as registered nurses. The 60,000-member nonprofit association is based in New York.
Borden, a member of the UL Student Nurses' Association, was elected NSNA president earlier this month. A virtual election was held after the association’s national convention was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In her new role, Borden will lead a 10-member board that includes students from universities such as Baylor, Penn State and Villanova. She is in the process of establishing committees that will help her work on NSNA policies in areas such as ethics, health, and sexual harassment.
“Nurses are caretakers. Our job is to help people. As a registered nurse and a student, I feel I have a lot to contribute to the association,” she said.
Dr. Melinda Oberleitner, dean of the College of Nursing and Allied Health Professions, agreed. She said Borden’s leadership qualities and dedication to service exemplify character traits expected of all nurses.
“It’s a remarkable accomplishment, and beyond that, it will provide tremendous experiences for her to develop as a nurse and as a leader,” Oberleitner said.
Borden began taking online RN to BSN courses at the University in the fall. She anticipates completing her degree requirements in August 2021.
Borden then plans to continue her studies, and is considering several options, including becoming a family nurse practitioner or a certified registered nurse anesthetist.
“Nursing is amazing because you can do so many things. You can stay at the bedside your entire career if you want to, but you also have the opportunity to branch out,” she said.
Learn more about the National Student Nurses' Association at www.nsna.org.
Photo caption: Brandi Borden, a RN to BSN online student at UL Lafayette and a registered nurse, was recently elected president of the 60,000-member National Student Nurses' Association. Photo credit: Submitted photo