Spring has arrived! The 14th Annual Society of Trauma Nurses Conference was held in San Antonio, Texas, this past week, and we can safely say that this year's conference was one of the most successful to date. There were 400 registrants, more than 30 vendors, and 4 very successful and well-attended preconference sessions. The city of San Antonio provided a beautiful backdrop for our "Deep in the Heart of Trauma Care" theme this year.
The President's address given by Elizabeth Seislove, MSN, RN, CCRN, focused on collaboration. The STN is a strong network of collaboration with many exciting programs and projects.
* Eastern Association Surgery for Trauma: EAST is a scientific organization providing leadership and development for young surgeons active in the care of the injured patient through interdisciplinary collaboration, scholarship, and fellowship.
The STN is continuing to establish a strong, collaborative relationship with EAST, with a growing presence of STN members at the annual EAST conference this past January in Naples, Florida. The keynote speaker at the 14th Annual STN Conference was Donald Jenkins, MD, FACS, the immediate past president of EAST. Dr Jenkins provided the attendees with a moving presentation of the accomplishments in military trauma care.
* ATCN: Advanced trauma care for nurses (ATCN) is an advanced course that runs in concert with ATLS and is designed for the registered nurses interested in increasing their knowledge in management of the multiple trauma patients. This course has been steadily increasing over the past 3 years and is undergoing some exciting new options for the coming year. Plans for a TeleHealth version of ATCN and a 1-day refresher course agenda are in the works for a rollout later this year. New courses in both New Hampshire and Northern California are also expected this year. Internationally, there are courses being developed for Germany, Cypress, and Columbia in 2011 expected.
* Trauma Outcomes and Performance Improvement Course (TOPIC): This is a 1-day course that focuses on the performance improvement process through ongoing assessment and evaluation of trauma patient care. This course is held multiple times throughout the year throughout the United States, and this year, the first international course will be held in Doha, Qatar, in May. This course has steadily grown over the past 3 years and continues to grow. An instructor course to increase the instructor pool was held in San Antonio this past week. This course has also collaborated with the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma (ACSCOT) to align physician leadership within this course. An instructor course for a pool of trauma physicians was held in Washington, District of Columbia, in conjunction with the COT meeting.
* The Optimal Course: This course is an example of the wonderful collaboration the STN enjoys with the ACSCOT. The course is taught by physicians and nurses with the goal of enhancing a trauma center's system of care and improving patient care through implementation of the ACSCOT Trauma Center Standards. The course is a must for trauma program managers/coordinators, trauma program administrators, and trauma medical medicals, both new and mature in their roles. This course was held 4 times in 2010 and expects to hold at least 2 more times in 2011. This course was also held as a preconference on March 30 at the annual STN conference with more than 60 attendees.
* Special Interest Groups (SIGs): STN has several SIGs currently-pediatrics, rural, neurotrauma, advanced trauma practice, military, injury prevention and disaster-all undergoing exciting development and opportunities for members to join and collaborate as these SIGS grow and change with the needs of the organization and its members.
Remember to visit the STN Web site: http://www.traumanurses.org and mark your calendars for the 15th Annual STN conference in Savannah, Georgia, for 2012.