YSN in the Community
Student Diversity Action Committee
SDAC is the student arm of DAC, and works to make YSN a safe space for students
of all backgrounds. SDAC comes together
to discuss our concerns, needs, and
accomplishments surrounding issues of
diversity, including race, ethnicity, gender,
sexuality, both in the community and in
healthcare. Recent events include community health fairs, a neighborhood clean-up, guest lecturers, and conferences. Learn how to get involved in the SDAC newsletter, The Outreacher: Issue 1 (.pdf) Issue 2 (.pdf)
 Dean Grey interviewed as part of "Lunch Time Leaders" podcast series
YSN Dean Margaret Grey was interviewed by several eighth grade students from Wallingford's Moran Middle School as part of their "Lunchtime Leaders" podcast series.
The Dean's interview focused on nursing as a 21st century career. Listen here.
About YSN in the Community
Today, YSN is recognized throughout Greater New Haven for its role in improving the health of our local community, especially among the community's most vulnerable populations, for providing health education and mentorship in public schools, for advancing diversity training and education throughout Yale University, and for increasing opportunities for high school students to pursue university education and careers in the allied health sciences. In many of these initiatives, YSN has partnered with the Yale Office of New Haven and State Affairs, and continues to provide a broad range of resources to the greater Yale University community in improving the quality of life in New Haven and in the State of Connecticut.
In addition to being involved in the School-sponsored community partnerships, the majority of our faculty, students and staff also volunteer at institutions and not for profit organizations where they live and work. Their dedication to community service and their wealth of local, regional and international expertise enables YSN to continue to provide leadership in nursing education, research and clinical practice.
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Community Links
Student Spotlight
"AWESOME. I loved it!" This is Vanessa Reid's exuberant characterization of her community health experience this summer on a South Dakota reservation. A former GEPN student who entered YSN last fall, Vanessa extends this positive attitude beyond community health. Asked whether she was happy with her decision to enter nursing, she replies, "Absolutely! Without question."
Before enrolling at YSN, Vanessa spent four years teaching various science classes at New Haven's Career High School, a long-time partner with YSN. Vanessa's involvement with her Career students exceeded classroom instruction. Approachable and sympathetic, Vanessa was one of few teachers whom students trusted with "very personal issues," especially health and sexuality.
These experiences and her long-standing interest in health care led Vanessa to contemplate a career change: "As a public school teacher, you can only go so far in helping students with [health] problems. I realized I wanted to do more to serve them... I began to research the roles and practices of midwives and nurse practitioners and felt like the philosophy clicked with my personality and goals." Vanessa applied to YSN and was accepted into the pediatric nurse practitioner (PNP) track.
Having begun what she terms her "natural progression" into nursing, Vanessa hopes to integrate nursing practice into the school setting. As a PNP, she will be able to conduct more "candid discussions" about health and the body. "I can be more open for [students] as a nurse," Vanessa explains, "than I could as a teacher." Vanessa is also considering pursuing a doctorate in nursing education.
Not only does Vanessa speak positively about her experiences, those who describe her sing her praises. Fellow GEPN Elizabeth Burke, who worked alongside Vanessa in South Dakota: "She is caring, intelligent, well-organized, and truly has a gift in caring for others." Also "a great cook and a talented musician," Vanessa brings a diversity of talents and interests to the field of nursing. As Burke exclaims, "She rocks, period!"
Vanessa has participated in a number of volunteer activities at Career High School, from leading clinical training sessions to providing mentorship for college bound Career seniors. "The students are always so glad to see Vanessa," said Minna Kaufman, and instructor in the Career High School Clinical Nursing Assistant track. "She and other YSN volunteers do so much to keep our students excited about careers in nursing."
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