Upstate Nursing Alumni Association

09/19/2026

Every year, our Nursing Alumni Association hands out thousands of dollars in scholarships and every dollar comes from YOU. 💙

No angel investors. No hidden budget. Just alumni who remember what it took to get through nursing school and want to make it a little easier for the next generation of nurses.

Want to make a gift or start a named scholarship in your honor (or someone else's)? We'd love to talk.
📩 Email us, visit our website, or just send us a message and we'll take it from there.

We already think Upstate College of Nursing produces some of the best nurses out there. We're hoping your experience here made you believe the next generation of nurses deserves that too. 🩺

09/16/2026

Healthcare workers give so much of themselves to care for others . This October, it's time to pause and be cared for in return. 💙

The Upstate Nursing Alumni Association is partnering with Don't Clock Out to bring the 2026 Whitney Lectureship Series to Syracuse, NY. It features 3 free days for nurses and healthcare workers to learn, reflect, and connect around moral distress, burnout, and what it takes to build a true culture of care.

🗓️ Wed, Oct 7 - Moral Distress Lecture (2 sessions – attend either, hybrid)
🕛 12–1pm, Community Hospital at Upstate | Room CC124
🕔 5–6pm, Upstate University Hospital Downtown | East Tower - Rm 12405 A/B
1.0 nursing CE credit | Open to all

🗓️ Thu, Oct 8 - Don't Clock Out: A Short Film (Keystone Event, hybrid)
🕟 4:30–5:30pm, Reception | Weiskotten Hall Lobby
🕠 5:30–8pm, Vigil, Film Screening + Panel Discussion | Weiskotten Hall Alumni Auditorium | Upstate Medical University
1.5 nursing CE credits | Open to all

🗓️ Fri, Oct 9 - Creating Communities of Care Workshop (in-person)
🕥 10:30am–2:30pm, New Academic Building | Rm 4414A
Upstate employees & students only
All sessions require pre-registration.

Panelist bios + registration on our website.

Special Thanks to our sponsors Upstate Nursing, Sigma Nursing and the Center for Bioethics and Humanities.



Don’t Clock Out The Upstate Foundation Upstate Medical University

09/15/2026

Dr. Ildaura Murillo-Rohde, PhD, RN, FAAN was a Panamanian-born nurse who became a trailblazer in Hispanic nursing.
After immigrating to the U.S. in 1945 and training as a nurse in San Antonio, she noticed how few nurses could culturally or linguistically connect with the Hispanic patients they served. This experience that shaped her life's work.
She went on to become the first Hispanic nurse to earn a PhD from NYU, specializing in psychiatric nursing. In 1975, driven by the belief that cultural understanding is essential to good care, she founded what became the National Association of Hispanic Nurses (NAHN), serving as its first president. Today NAHN represents over 300,000 Hispanic nurses nationwide. Her legacy is rooted in her lifelong commitment to lifting up her community both in and beyond the nursing profession.

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09/13/2026

September is World Sepsis Month, and if there's one thing nurses know, it's how fast sepsis can turn a shift upside down. 🚨 High or low temperature, confusion, a racing heart rate, and pain that is described as "extreme" are a few of the early warning signs of sepsis, and catching them early saves lives. Whether you're at the bedside or just want to protect the people you love, don't wait to speak up if something feels seriously wrong. Tag a nurse who's caught sepsis early and made the save. 💪

09/11/2026

09/10/2026

As nurses and healthcare professionals, we show up for others every day. Today, let's show up for each other too.
Every check-in, every honest conversation, every moment of support, no matter how small, helps build a workplace and community where people feel safe asking for help. Together, we can change the narrative on su***de, on and off the unit.

08/20/2026

There's a moment every nursing student remembers: the first time they put on their white coat.

It's more than a photo op. It marks the start of a career built on compassionate, patient-centered care.

At Upstate, we honor the RN to BS nursing students by giving a Lamp of Knowledge pin, a tradition that's connected generations of nurses through shared values of knowledge, service, and compassion.

As we prepare to welcome this year's incoming class at our White Coat Ceremony, we're thinking about everyone who's stood in that same spot before them.

If you're an Upstate nursing alum *or* had your own White Coat or Lamp of Knowledge moment somewhere else, we'd love to hear about it. Share your story in the comments.

It might be exactly what this year's students need to read.

08/17/2026

Nursing school survival pack (tips from an alum):

Comfy shoes? ✅
Oversized Water Bottle? ✅
Snacks? ✅
Compression Socks? ✅
Laptop with 143 tabs open? ✅
Caffeinated drinks? ✅
Pen that you don’t mind losing? ✅

You’ve got this students! You’re gonna be great!

Upstate Medical University College of Nursing

08/15/2026

🙃 No seriously, tell us how you like to relax when you actually do have the time.