Frank Vitale, senior nursing student fall 2012, was named "Volunteer of the Month" for the University of Wyoming Community Health Advancement Program (CHAP). From the CHAP Web site:
Frank Vitale, 'TechHelp' for Seniors Student Leader
Frank, a UW Nursing student, helps residents at Senior Housing each week with their
computer and technological needs! Because of Frank, residents are able to connect
with family via internet and discover what all this Facebook business is about!
A quick message from Frank:
"The thing I would personally like to share is how glad I am I found a volunteer project
I really enjoy. The project began in Fall semester of ’09 and in all honestly I got
involved in volunteer work because I thought it would look good on a resume. But when
I saw the impact the other volunteers and I had on the people we were helping, it
became much more. Now it’s something I’m not wanting to give up. So I highly recommend
students get involved in something. It can be very rewarding. "
CHAP and the Laramie Community want to thank you for all you do, Frank!
More about Frank
Vitale has also taken advantage of opportunities to get involved in faculty research. He works with RN/BSN Completion Program faculty member Connie Diaz-Swearingen in a project called LEAP (Leadership Education to Advance Practice). During the spring semester of 2012 Vitale submitted his abstract, "In Search of Evidence to support the Effectiveness of Cultural Competency Content within Nursing Education", which was accepted by the Association of Community Health Nursing Educators (ACHNE). He presented his research in June at their national conference in Portland, Oregon.
More about CHAP
The CHAP web site states, "We believe in the interdisciplinary nature of health and encourage students, interested in health care professions, to get involved in community volunteer and activism projects." Part of their encouragement is to spotlight students who have distinguished themselves through volunteer projects.
Again, from the CHAP website, the program is noted to have begun at the University of Wyoming in the fall of 2001, was modeled after a similar program at the University of Washington, and is sponsored by the Division of Medical Education and Wyoming Area Health Education Center (AHEC).