The following speech was delivered at the INS Annual Meeting and Industrial Exhibition in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on May 17, 2010.
Good morning, and welcome to the 2010 INS Annual Meeting and Industrial Exhibition. It is such a pleasure to see all of you here in sunny Fort Lauderdale. This year promises to be an unparalleled experience, both inside the Greater Fort Lauderdale/ Broward County Convention Center and outside on the gorgeous waterways and beaches. This year, special features have been added, including Focus Sessions on Research, Track Sessions on Home Infusion and Infection Prevention, Breakfast and Spotlight Symposia, and Exhibitor Theater sessions. For the first time, the Annual Meeting will feature hands-on clinical simulation labs. I am proud to be a member of INS and humbled to have had the opportunity to be your president this past year.
As president, I am pleased to report on the excellent state of our Society as we celebrate 37 years as a specialty nursing organization and 25 years of INCC certification. My theme, "Connections to Success: Building Alliances," provided a focus for the Society over the past year. CEO Mary Alexander, members of the Board of Directors, and I have had many opportunities to represent INS, build new alliances, and connect with members here in the United States and abroad. The idea behind this year's theme was to demonstrate the impact that the infusion specialty has on the entire health care system, and how many different people make up the infusion "team."
Last May, I identified 4 building blocks to connect with success this coming year. The first block was connecting to the membership. The membership has grown, making it the sixth year in a row of triple-digit growth. The INS Board of Directors Chapter Visit Program has grown this year, with Ann Briggs, Marvin Siegel, and I attending several chapter meetings and discussing the benefits of national INS membership. INS continues to develop strategies to connect with each member more effectively. This past December, INS launched the INS Facebook page to provide members an opportunity to post questions and create dialogue among infusion nurses. The Board of Directors continues to assign a member of the board as the direct liaison to each chapter for support and guidance. I hope our presence at your local meetings will increase this year and provide further opportunities for increased communication with members of this prestigious Society.
I have tried to use the Newsline President's Message to encourage and challenge readers to identify with the other 3 building blocks: developing solid generational connections in the workforce; creating team alliances with effective community partners; and encouraging our organization to become more aware of concerns about our environment. In the September/October Newsline, I focused on building connections through a mentoring culture. I challenged each nurse to help develop a mentoring program in her or his institution by identifying the needs of new infusion team members; actively participating in mentoring relationships; and engaging new, midcareer, and seasoned nurses in developing mutual mentoring initiatives. The next Newsline message demonstrated techniques to close the gap between multigenerational teams by focusing on the roles of coaching and motivating, and strengthening communication.
My first column for the new year discussed the essence of a successful relationship using a combination of collaboration and partnership. INS has many collaborative ventures and partnerships. The Society maintains a collaborative relationship with the American Nurses Association (ANA), as an Organizational Affiliate. INS also provides input on issues affecting the nursing profession with a seat in the Congress on Nursing Practice and Economics. The only specialty nursing organization on the panel, INS worked with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other medical groups to revise the Guidelines for the Prevention of Intravascular Catheter-Related Infections. Other groups, such as the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP), National Quality Forum (NQF), and the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP), seek our expert opinion on infusion-related issues. INS maintains partner relationships with the National Student Nurses Association (NSNA), the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA), The Joint Commission (TJC), the National Home Infusion Association (NHIA), and the Nursing Organizations Alliance (NOA), to name a few. INS is 1 of only 2 specialty nursing organizations to be a member of Health Care Without Harm's (HCWH's) 450 members and partners. INS' latest collaborative initiative has been contributing to the Consortium on Intraosseous (IO) Vascular Access in Nursing Practice.
One of my greatest concerns is the development of future leaders. My spring Newsline column focused on ways to build leadership opportunities. Transformational nursing leaders are among us, and they need mentoring and opportunities for small leadership roles. I believe each of you, as a nurse, possesses visionary characteristics, and I believe the movement toward shared leadership will help younger nurses become leaders while still maintaining a balanced self. Leadership opportunities enrich your personal growth and provide new ways to broaden your horizons professionally and personally.
My last column, out this month in Newsline, makes connections with health and the environment by encouraging nurses to become environmental champions. The HCWH Nurses Workgroup encourages nurses to become champions for environmentally responsible health care. The Nurses Workgroup is HCWH's only profession-based activity center in the campaign. The current work plan focuses on 4 major areas: translating environmental health principles into practice; building environmental health champions in the nursing community; greening activities; and national and international leadership and outreach. In keeping with becoming health champions, INS has incorporated a Health and Wellness component into this year's Annual Meeting.
Your elected INS Board of Directors continues to represent INS and to increase INS' visibility by attending meetings, presenting at conferences, and writing for publication. I am proud to share with you the work of our board over the last year. Director-at-Large Mary Zugcic and Past-President Lisa Gorski completed an article on the process of the first round of identifying INS research priorities, which was published this month in the Journal of Infusion Nursing. The research conducted by Wayne State University College of Nursing and INS is an excellent example of building an alliance through collaboration. Thank you, Mary, for maintaining the alliance between the university and INS. Director-at-Large Ann Briggs has worked tirelessly making chapter connections, speaking at chapter programs and building excellent communication networks with her chapters. Thank you, Ann, for your chapter connections. In October, Ann, along with Presidential Advisor Cora Vizcarra, presented to the board a detailed presentation on the use of social media for enhancing this specialty organization. The outgrowth of that presentation was the development of the INS Facebook page and the growing use of social media. Secretary-Treasurer Marvin Siegel has attended several chapter conferences, providing a valued link to membership. Marvin was asked to be part of task force to respond to a New York Board of Nursing practice alert on the administration of intravenous monoclonal antibodies. The alert was restrictive and not supported by any evidence-based practice. Marvin and the task force met with the board, and as a result of this intervention, the language was changed to support nursing practice. Thank you, Marvin, for your conscientious dedication to the success of local chapters and for taking on scope of practice issues. In her role as presidential advisor, Cora Vizcarra was my mentor this year while also serving as the board link to the Standards of Practice Committee, keeping us apprised of progress. In the first quarter of next year the new Infusion Nursing Standards of Practice will be released with evidence-based criteria to support the Standards. The committee has been conscientious, explicit, and judicious in its review of current best evidence in making decisions regarding the Standards set forth by INS. Thank you, Cora, for your diligence in reporting the outstanding work of this committee. President-Elect Nancy Mortlock has participated this past year as a representative to the INCC board and by attending several conferences on leadership development. She continues to be an advocate for the infusion therapy specialty around the globe. Nancy also encouraged 2 Northwest chapters to reengage in chapter activities. Thank you, Nancy, and I look forward to working with you during your presidential term. Chris Hughes, our public member, bids farewell this year after 6 years of dedication to the board. He has provided insight from a pharmacist's viewpoint on many discussion items and has helped the board gain consensus when discussing patient advocacy issues. Thank you, Chris, for your years of commitment to INS.
As president of the INS board, I have felt it essential to make connections not only with members but also through visibility at conferences and building alliances with other specialty organizations. In July, I represented INS at the Joint Commission Liaison Network Forum in Chicago. The 2-day forum promoted discussion on advancing patient-centered care, communicating to reduce medication errors, and inspiring specialty organizations to direct future assignments of the liaison network.
In October, I chaired the first Intraosseous Consortium Meeting at the INS national office. The goal of the first meeting of outstanding representatives from 10 health care organizations was to develop recommendations for the use of IO vascular access in emergent and nonemergent hospital situations. This is an example of building collaborative relationships. I am pleased to announce the consensus paper is in its last draft, due out this summer for publication.
Additionally in October, I represented INS at the National Student Nurses Association (NSNA) Mid-Year Conference in Phoenix; I was honored to participate on the Specialty Showcase panel. Spending time at the conference sessions enabled me to join in several discussions on peripheral IV access with bright young students. The students were engaging and interested in infusion nursing as a career option. Being an educator of nursing students for the past 30 years, I was excited to interact with these young professionals. This year INS provided NSNA with a scholarship for a senior nursing student who demonstrated leadership qualities. That award was presented in April at the NSNA Annual Meeting.
In November Nancy Mortlock, Ann Briggs, and I attended the INS One-Day program and Fall National Academy of Infusion Therapy in Jacksonville, Florida. The focus of the One-Day program, "Developing an Infusion Alliance: A Benchmark for Success," presented excellent speakers on development of collaborative alliances; collecting and benchmarking data; using evidence-based practice and research to support the infusion alliance; and implementing and maintaining the alliance in all health care settings. Also in November, Mary Alexander, Nancy Mortlock, and I were invited to attend the Nursing Organizations Alliance Fall Summit in Louisville, Kentucky. Attendees were nursing organization leaders. The first day of the conference was a meeting of the ANA Organizational Affiliates, of which INS is a member. The outgrowth of that meeting was a yearlong focus on "The Power of Nursing," and many nursing organizations are addressing the topic this month in their journals. In April I was invited to visit the Puget Sound INS chapter and was delighted to speak at their annual conference. If your chapter has not taken the opportunity to participate in the INS Chapter Visit Program, please do so this year. The program has created stronger connections between INS chapters and board members.
Board projects this year included reviewing the final draft of the Joint Position Statement between INS and INCC on the Value of Certification for Infusion Nursing. Cora and I were active participants in the review of the Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) guidelines and recommendations for the third edition of Nursing Practice and Education. The board was asked to review and provide input for the A.S.P.E.N. TPN Hospital Guidelines. Additionally, the board developed criteria for the first INS research scholarship for ANA, which will be awarded this year.
During our conference calls and at the March Board of Directors meeting in Boston, the board continued discussions that started at the fall board meeting on strengthening communication, connecting with individual chapters, and using social media to reach a larger audience. The board recognized the continued tough economic times and the changing environment, and the impact they might have on our Society, the infusion therapy specialty, and our members. As a result, for the 13th year in a row the board voted to maintain our membership fee at $90. The benefits of membership continue to grow with educational programs, publications, an enhanced Web site and Membership-Exclusive section, and live and archived webinars. The board was pleased this year when we reviewed applications for the various Gardner Foundation scholarships; this year brought the highest number of submissions ever received. The recipients of the awards and scholarships will be announced at the INCC/Gardner Foundation Reception this evening. All INS members are eligible to apply; I strongly encourage each of you to take advantage of the numerous scholarships available.
It is evident that the INS Board of Directors has been very involved in promoting INS and participating in every opportunity to make connections and build alliances. I would also like to address the work of INS committees: INS members are volunteering to work on task forces and committees in record numbers. Every request for participation in a project, whether on a committee or short-term task force, has been met with an enthusiastic response. The National Council on Education continues to do an outstanding job of developing the Annual Meetings and the National Academies. Committee members not only plan the meetings and obtain the speakers but also review your feedback on emerging clinical issues to develop relevant presentations covering the 9 core areas.
As my term as INS president ends this Thursday, I want to thank Mary Alexander for her exemplary leadership, support, and commitment to the continued advancement of INS, in our own nation and globally. I also want to thank the INS staff for the work that they do to support the task forces, committees, and the Board of Directors. I want to thank you, the members, for allowing me the privilege to serve as your president. I look forward to talking with you this week and hope each of you gleans something special from this meeting.