As I embark into my term as President of the Society of Trauma Nurses (STN), I am continually in awe at the growth and success of the organization. Already it has been an exciting year for STN. Membership growth and partnerships with our colleagues throughout the continuum of trauma care continue to lead to outstanding opportunities.
I am honored to work with an outstanding group of volunteers who, along with the collaboration and commitment of the Board of Directors, strive tirelessly to enhance all aspects of STN. This year the Board members, in conjunction with representatives of the management firm, Agentis, will steer their energies toward updating our organizational strategic plan. This endeavor will engage the group in reflection on current practice and compare with evidence-based practices of other organizations that have successfully achieved greatness including expanded membership services, program development, and technology enrichments.
Melinda Case's Secretary's "News & Notes" column provides some highlights of the 15th Annual Conference. What a great success! Congratulations to our conference planners! Another successful achievement at the conference was the approval by the membership to Bylaw revisions, which enables the restructure of the Committees and Special Interest Groups (SIGs). Bylaw revisions were initiated by the feedback of the membership, the SIGs, and committees. After responding to a call for volunteers, Susan Rzucidlo, Julia Senn-Reeves, Jana Perry and Melinda Case diligently addressed each aspect of the bylaws to encompass the future needs of STN.
In closing, resetting your compass was clearly the predominant theme at the STN conference this year. Messages conveyed stressed presence, interprofessional collaboration, leadership, empowerment, strategies for self-care, best practice models, and ultimately how to navigate through your own directional course.
Each one of us has the power within us to make a difference. Differences and leadership surface in many forms. I ask you to try to remember the first person in your professional career who took an extra moment to show you "the way," to nurture your fears and anxieties or to engage your learning experience. Now imagine that you are that person in someone else's memory. Forever you will be etched in the path of that individual. I invite you to take a moment and join STN in some form of leadership, whether that is mentoring a new trauma nurse, participating in an SIG, Committee, or call for volunteers. You, too, may leave a mark in a directional path. Perhaps, due North?