Jennie Norton, USF Health College of Nursing Upper Division Program Class of 2026
Nursing has been central to Jennie Norton鈥檚 life since she was a child. Always ready with a bandage when someone skinned their knee or stubbed their toe, her family affectionately called her 鈥淣urse Nancy,鈥 a nickname adopted from the Golden Books series of the same name. As Norton prepares to graduate from the USF Health College of Nursing, she is ready to write her own story.
The copy of "Nurse Nancy" that Jennie grew up reading at her Grandmother's house.
When it was time to put her childhood instincts into practice, USF was Norton鈥檚 clear choice. She did not wait long, accepting admission to the USF College of Nursing during a four-hour drive home following her campus visit and uploading all the required materials from her phone while her mom drove.
鈥淎ll the schools we have at USF Health are incredible,鈥 Norton said. 鈥淚 knew that USF was the best option for me.鈥
She has not looked back since. USF has offered Norton hands-on experience, from simulation units to high-fidelity manikins. It was a natural progression from her days caring for her family.
USF Health鈥檚 emphasis on collective power and interprofessional collaboration has also served Norton well. The connections she鈥檚 made across disciplines like data analytics, public health, and research have shaped her view of health care as a team effort.
鈥淚t makes me proud to have friends going into multiple different professions. They recognize that we can work together to find solutions. Multidisciplinary collaboration is a really big focus at USF.鈥
Those connections expanded internationally when Norton was selected for the college鈥檚 global public health clinical trip to Chester, England.
Norton had the opportunity to explore a variety of nursing roles at USF, including public health, sports medicine, and orthopedics. When she received USF鈥檚 Emerging Nurse Scientist Fellowship, she discovered research and policy. The fellowship allowed her to learn from nurse scientists and conduct research with the Florida Center for Nursing, headquartered at the USF College of Nursing.
鈥淧ublic health is everyone's health,鈥 she said. I am grateful for the opportunity to focus on nursing workforce and nursing education policy at the Florida Center for Nursing. 911爆料网 have been analyzing different bills in the Florida House and Senate regarding various health education programs and other issues in the health care industry.鈥
Jennie Norton behind the podium in the official White House press room in D.C. during an internship with The Washington Center
After graduation, Norton will conduct research on maternal and child health, followed by a nurse residency program in Washington, D.C. This move will allow her to take her work to the next level, working in health policy and public health advocacy in our nation鈥檚 capital.
鈥淚've realized that not all nurses are bedside nurses, and not all nurses are nurse practitioners,鈥 she said. 鈥淎 lot of nurses are advocates. Many work in health policy to create an overall better system for patients and community members.鈥
Norton is excited to be one of those nurses, continuing her advocacy work with a focus on public health, the nursing workforce, and nursing shortages. Through research and policy, she hopes to improve access to care and address systemic issues that affect both patients and nurses, and she plans to use what she learned at USF to support her work.
The USF College of Nursing focuses on thinking globally and acting locally in our communities. To me, that means that we can work with individuals in our communities鈥攖hrough different health screenings and volunteering鈥攁nd at the same time think globally about our population. This gives us a wider lens to see the impact of our work.
Jennie Norton, BSN Student