Pennsylvania Nurse, Front Page 2017 Issue 2 | Page 14

From the Desk of the Editor-in-Chief
Carol Toussie Weingarten, PhD, RN, ANEF
Featuring Dr. Mark Crider
Thirty years after his election as president of
the Student Nurses Association of Pennsylvania
(SNAP), Mark Crider is president of PSNA. Carol
Toussie Weingarten, Pennsylvania Nurse editor-
in-chief, interviews PSNA’s new president, whose
leadership pathway in nursing began by chance
and coincidence.
What inspired you to become a nurse?
My mother was an OR nurse who loved her work. I considered nursing in high school but was steered toward
a business/pre-law major. From the start of my freshman semester, I was miserable. My classmate urged me to
pursue what I really wanted – nursing. That’s what I did. I transferred to Penn State, took intensive summer
classes, and graduated on time. I was a student at Penn State’s College of Health and Human Development
before their program became the College of Nursing. I became a member of the student council and won the
College’s service award at graduation. I’ve also had wonderful mentors who inspired me throughout my career.
How did you become president of the Student Nurses Association of Pennsylvania (SNAP)?
By chance. As a student in 1986, I was based at Hershey Medical Center during SNAP’s annual meeting. Al-
though I wasn’t part of a chapter, I saw a flyer and attended by myself. I had been involved with high school
student council and had been my school’s president. I understood the importance of student leadership and
wanted to see what was happening in nursing. That convention changed my life. I literally came off the street
without knowing anybody, found a welcome, and left with a future of involvement in nursing. That year, nobody
ran for the position of SNAP’s regional coordinator. I was appointed by the new president, Alecia Schneider
(Fox). When vice president Cindy Rich (Schmus) ran successfully for president of the National Student Nurses
Association (NSNA) the following April, I was her campaign manager. In Fall 1987, I succeeded Alecia as SNAP
president. Meanwhile, I founded the SNAP chapter at Penn State. Alecia, Cindy, state SNAP consultant David
Ranck, and SNAP’s executive director Cindy Shingler remain my friends to this day. In recent years I had the
chance to work with them in my role as faculty advisor to Dusquesne University’s SNAP chapter.
How did SNAP influence your becoming state president of PSNA?
I don’t think I would be a nurse today if not for involvement. SNAP led to seamless involvement after gradua-
tion. Involvement was a way to address frustrations in practice, to have a voice, and to engage in change. Net-
works, friendships, mentors, and advocacy resulted.
What have been highlights of your career in professional nursing?
I served part time as a PSNA lobbyist and had advocacy experience at the state level (1989-90). I wrote articles
in Pennsylvania Nurse and was a part of the advocacy that resulted in the passage of legislation empowering
RNs to determine death in Pennsylvania. Previously, only physicians and elected coroners could do this (and
anybody could be elected coroner). Families of people who had been ill in nursing homes had to wait for an
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