Biography and Information about Interns
Yvonne Nguyen, BSN, RN, Senior Intern
Yvonne Nguyen, BSN, graduated from the Valley Foundation School of Nursing (TVFSON) at San Jose State University (SJSU in May 2020. While serving as a Junior Intern from 2019-2020, she helped organize a September 2019 hikingevent, took minutes at the Board meetings, and was President of the Public Health Nursing Club (PHNC). In her role as President, she had the PHNC co-sponsor the November 2019 event entitled, Community Healthcare Leadership with a Global Impact. Yvonne also assisted with the audiovisual logistics. Dr. Colleen O’Leary-Kelly, current Director of TVSON at SJSU ,was present for the event.
The November 2019 event included 2 keynote presenters and an alumni speaker. One keynote address was deliveredby Deborah Nelson: MS, PHN, RNC-OB Lecturer, OB/Peds/FNP Simulation Coordinator, and Clinical Placement Coordinator. The title of her presentation was, Global Partnerships in Action, An International Collabora- tion between TVFSON and Grenada, West Indies. Mrs. Nelson reviewed the framework and the importance of cultivating an ethically sound global service learning-nursing program. She reflected on her work with colleagues to maintain a sustainable collaborative international partnership program in Grenada with St. George’s University, the Ministry of Health, and their community health nurses. Mrs. Nelson reviewed their conducted research to improve nurse education best practices. Granada healthcare manager, Maureen Strachan, expressed gratitude and looked forward to continued visits.
Katherine Abriam-Yago Ed.D, RN, Professor and former Director of TVSON, SJSU, was the second keynote presenter. The title of Presentation: Empowering Communities-A Personal Journey. Dr. Abriam-Yago reviewed her journey with pivotal moments, family focus, and commitment to student recruitment and retention. She also demonstrated her passion about the value of leadership for the underserved populations, with a focus on her current national research project in the Filipino- American communities. The goal of the research is threefold: to create a community based national network of Filipino American Patient Centered Care Outcome Research Nayong (villages) to engage Filipino Americans in their healthcare; to address the specific needs of Filipino Americans so they can make informed healthcare decisions; and to engage in patient centered outcome research.
Jennifer Chavez, Junior Intern
Jennifer Chavez became intrigued with the nurses’ commitment to patient-centered care. During high school, she enjoyed visiting her mom at the hospital after giving birth to her two sisters. Deep down she wanted to pursue a career in the medical field, but had the fear of failing due to the demands required in a field that is responsible for the safe care of others. After her first year of college she realized her passion for nursing. Now that she is completing her final semester at the Valley foundation School of Nursing (TVSON) at San Jose State University (SJSU), there is no doubt that she had chosen the best career path.
Jennifer serves as the Treasurer for her cohort's Fall 2020’s graduation ceremony and is the President of Assembly of Nurse Scholars (ANS), a nursing organization on campus that promotes life-long learning through networking and enrichment activities. In this capacity she continues to facilitate a positive environment utilizing integrity, flexibility, and diplomacy to ensure efficient collaboration. She works with a team of 12 officers and junior leaders to provide nursing students with learning opportunities. As ANS President, she coordinates meetings, events, and caters to the academic and professional needs of nursing and pre- nursing students in order to help them succeed in their nursing journey. In addition, she oversees, delegates, and works side-by- side with officers for membership coordination, finances, ACE IT tutoring, and communication with visiting professional speakers. Her contribution to ANS allowed her to earn the Outstanding Program of the Year ACE IT Tutoring.
Currently Jennifer also volunteers with the TVFSON Simulation Team at SJSU to assist faculty set up and conduct simulations for nursing students. She also volunteers at Kaiser Permanente, San Jose, CA and works as a caregiver in Los Altos, CA to assist a woman who is quadriplegic with activities of daily living (ADL’s) and specific personal care in the morning and at night. Jennifer is diligent, adaptable and has the motivation to work cooperatively with a dynamic team of healthcare professionals and further her knowledge and expertise in providing safe, quality patient-centered care. She believes
that “the Leadership Intern Program can assist the development of my potential by allowing me to connect with various healthcare professionals, who can serve as mentors and guide me through my nursing journey as I wish to learn more about issues related to nursing research and evidence-based practice. Being knowledgeable about healthcare issues and teaching others is key to effective problem solving. She plans to become an active member leader of the Alpha Gamma Chapter by attending and contributing to Board of Director meetings and eventually mentor future chapter officers and members”.
Tai Ngo, Junior Intern
One of the main reasons why Tai Ngo chose nursing was because of an impactful event in his life at age 13 when he witnessed the decline in his grandmother’s health, who lived in Vietnam. “I came to the United States from Vietnam when I was around 7; and I didn’t get a chance to visit my grandmother again until the end of middle school. One night she suddenly had a stroke, was rushed to the hospital, and was asked to pay the bill upon admission. There was no care, no passion, and no love in these people’s eyes which built up my frustration towards this kind of insensitivity and motivated me to choose a profession where I can do good. When people ask why I want to become a nurse? I tell them I want to become a piece of hope for humanity, and to create a more positive image of nurses for everyone to see”.
Tai’s most valuable experience while at the Valley School of Nursing (TVSON) at San Jose State University (SJSU) was the patient-centered care in the clinical setting. These valuable learning experiences gave him the confidence in communication, skill proficiency, and professional development. He states, “Due to the pandemic, I began to miss the time I’ve spent away from bedside nursing; so I took a position as a Student Nurse Technician (SNT) at Veteran’s Affairs Hospital in Palo Alto, CA in order to reorient myself to the setting. I am currently in the Intermediate Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Although I’m not able to practice skills, the nurses here are willing to prepare me for the ICU setting. From assisting with wound care to taking part in rapid responses, I have learned so much from working on this unit”.
Tai believes that “evidence-based practice is what drives medical professionals to provide the best care for their patients. But just knowing what the practice is one thing, and applying the concept and the research is another. Our nursing goals are to provide the best patient-centered care without compromising their safety and that is what evidenced-based research is all about; keeping us up-to-date on the best practices that improve our efficiency and still maintain patient safety. Also, the evolution of technology as well as the disease process also drives us to learn more, do more research, and understand the best practices to watch over the patients’ welfare”.
For Tai, “leadership is a concept that I’m still wrapping my head around; how can I be a better leader? What are some changes that I need to make in order to provide the best for everyone? I have never taken up a leadership position until I became a student at TVSON, and I am now a cabinet member for three different organizations. I learned that it is not just the individual leadership that I value, but also the teamwork and the challenges that we’ve overcome. I want to once again work with a team to provide for nursing students and make an impact in the nursing field”.
Tai is so excited to be given the opportunity to work alongside an amazing team from the Alpha Gamma Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau International (STTI). His goals as a Chapter intern are to learn and apply knowledge and expertise from this team. “I believe that outreach is one of the most important aspects of how we can expand this organization; one of my goals is to connect and share with all semesters and inform them about our Alpha Gamma mission. I also want to play a bigger role in the growth of nursing profession and want everyone to appreciate the work that we as nurses do”.
Jannelle Berdal, Junior Intern
Ever since Jannelle Berdal was young, she remembered that she always wanted to help others. Whenever her grandparents became ill, she helped her mother care for them. She comes from a family of nurses. One of the first nurses in her family was one of her grandmothers. Then, her aunts became nurses, followed by her mother, and a few cousins. Her mother has been a Medical-Surgical nurse for about 30 years. She admires her nursing family for their knowledge, integrity, love, and care. At first, she was unsure if she would be able to pursue nursing, but was determined to succeed! She is currently completing her sixth semester at the Valley Foundation School of Nursing (TVFSON) at San Jose State University (SJSU).
Jannelle’s leadership includes her past role as Public Relations officer for California Nursing Students’ Association (CSNA) club on campus and her current role as Event Coordinator for her cohort. Through these experiences, she connected with community resources, enhanced team building, planned effectively, improved time management, and enhanced her communication. She values nursing leadership “because as nurses, we must advocate for our patients’ well-being. Nursing leadership goes hand-in-hand to quality patient care and maintaining the dignity of our patients. In the future, I would like to enhance my nursing leadership by becoming a representative for a hospital unit and joining a committee that improves infection control and hospital policies. These are a couple of the steps I would like to take in the future while furthering my leadership in nursing”.
Jannelle was a student research assistant at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) SON, where prepared tables and organized data based on health topics and conditions for adolescents with and without asthma. She observed how nursing and the research process work together. She values evidence-based research because it is a“critical indicator when providing safe care and is essential when performing procedures, skills, and providing accurate information when we are educating patients and families”.
Jannelle has volunteered at the Sacred Heart Community Service Center where she helped the families and individuals count and sort through the items that they chose from the clothes closet, organized food inventory, and created lunch bags for families. This humbling experience made her more determined to go above and beyond for patient centered care. She has also volunteered with the Simulation team for TVFSON at SJSU. This opportunity helped her learn about new technology, and provided her the opportunity to further develop skill competency, networking, and professionalism. Currently Jannelle works as a student nurse technician (SNT) in the Hospice unit at the Veterans Affairs in Palo Alto, CA.
As a 2020 intern for the Alpha Gamma Chapter, Sigma Theta Tau International (STTI), Jannelle’s goals include a wider social media presence for current and future members of the Alpha Gamma Chapter. “With a Facebook account, we can reach out to current and future nursing students. Alpha Gamma can collaborate with current nursing cohorts and clubs in order to communicate to students about the benefits, requirements, updates about the Chapter, and educational posts about healthcare. Another idea for social media is to have monthly posts that educate various healthcare topics. For example, we can contribute various posts during October that are dedicated to Breast Cancer Awareness. A few of the educational posts can include preventative measures one can do and resources regarding early detection. She hopes that we can work on these ideas in order to provide members and future members a way to connect to the Alpha Gamma Chapter”.