PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
It's the first message for the new president, and what does one say? How about "thank you!" Thank you for a great conference. Thank you for great presentations! Thank you for great posters, attendance, and participation. Most of all, thank you for you. Without your participation and continued support, National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists (NACNS) would not be here! As I mentioned in my presentation, evolution is our journey forward. Also thank you for having faith in me as your national leader. I will represent you well and make sure that everyone knows what a clinical nurse specialist (CNS) is and about NACNS.
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CLINICAL NURSE SPECIALIST NEWS
National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists Announces 2014 Board of Directors
The NACNS announced its 2014 Board of Directors. The NACNS represents thousands of CNSs nationwide who provide direct patient care and lead initiatives to improve care and clinical outcomes, and reduce costs. The announcement was made at NACNS' annual conference. The newly elected board members demonstrate leadership in nursing education, practice, research and administration. They are the following Officers:
President-Les Rodriguez, MSN, MPH, RN, ANCNS-BC, APRN, CNS, in the Division of Surgical & Oncology Services at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas, Texas.
President-elect-Margueritte Barksdale, MSN, RN, OCNS-C, CNS-BC, CNS, at the Community Health Network in Indianapolis, Indiana, and adjunct faculty at the Indiana School of Nursing in Indianapolis.
Secretary-Anne Hysong, MSN, APRN, CCNS, CNS, and team leader for the Therapeutic Hypothermia After Cardiac Arrest team at Gwinnet Medical Center in Duluth, Georgia.
Directors:
Gayle Timmerman, PhD, RN, CNS, FAAN, associate dean for Academic Affairs and an associate professor at the University of Texas at Austin School of Nursing.
Deborah Tuggle, MN, APRN, CCNS, FCCM, director, educator, and consultant of the Critical Care Curriculum and a critical care CNS at Central Baptist Hospital in Lexington, Kentucky.
Board members of the NACNS are elected by the membership. The Board of Directors is responsible for establishing the organization's mission, purpose, values, and direction. The Board also oversees the association's strategic planning, evaluation, programs, services, and utilization of resources. Each Board member serves a 2-year term.
The NACNS also announced 2 newly elected Nominating Committee members. The Nominating Committee is responsible for reviewing nominations for the Board of Directors and presenting the final slate of candidates for Board approval before elections are held. The 2 new members of the Nominating Committee are:
Jean Christopher, MSN, CNS, WCC, CNS, in the pediatric intensive care unit at Akron Children's Hospital in Akron, Ohio.
Theresa Murray, RN, MSN, CCRN, CNS, at Community Hospitals Indianapolis, president and owner of Critical Concepts, and adjunct faculty at Indiana University.
NEWS FROM OUR AFFILIATES
California Association of Clinical Nurse Specialist
The California Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists (CACNS) highlights their members' numerous achievements.
The CACNS received the 2014 Affiliate of the Year Award.
The CACNS quarterly education meeting, "Transforming the CNS Through Education", was held January 25 at Azusa Pacific University, Azusa, California.
Diane Barkas, MSN, RN, ACNS-BC, CCRN, had a podium presentation and poster at the NACNS Annual Conference on "Pre-hospital to Discharge: A CNS Led Multidisciplinary Team for Improving Clinical Outcomes for Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest Patients." She had a second poster on "Compassion Doesn't End When the Heart Stops: Nurse's Perceptions of Honoring Ceremony at End-of-Life."
Audrey Cochran, MSN, GCNS-BC, has been nominated by the Department of Nursing at California State University, Bakersfield (CSUB), for induction into the CSUB Alumni Hall of Fame.
Betty Halvorson, TCU CNS, and Julie Semper, diabetes CNS, at Torrance Memorial Medical Center in Torrance, California, presented their poster on "Launching a New Perspective on Peer Review for Staff Nurses" at the NACNS Conference in Orlando, Florida, in March 2014.
Vicki Lekas, MSN, RN, CNS, presented a poster at the NACNS Annual Conference on "Hugs Not Drugs: Use of the Infant Immobilizer to Reduce the Use of Anesthesia for Magnetic Resonance Imaging."
Patti Radovich, PhD, RN, CNS, FCCM, with Ellen D'Errico, PhD, RN, presented a poster at the 2014 American Nurses Association quality conference in Phoenix, Arizona, on "Small Troubles Adaptive Responses 2: Network Study Participation One Site's Results."
Norma McNair, PhD, RN, received the 2014 Excellence in Advanced Practice Award from the American Association of Neuroscience Nurses.
Kathy McNeese, RN, MN, CNS, recently passed her Oncology Nurse Certification examination.
Elizabeth Scruth, PhD, RN, MPH, FCCM, CCNS, CCRN, completed her PhD. She presented at the High Sierra Critical Care Conference in Nevada in March on "Performance Improvement in 21 Hospitals: 'Rethinking Critical Care'" and "Women and Heart Disease: What Are the Risks After a S-T Elevation Myocardial Infarction?" She has an abstract accepted for the World Congress of Cardiology-Melbourne, Australia, scheduled for May 2014 and became section editor of "Legal and Ethical Issues" for the CNS Journal last October 2013.
Submitted by: Diane Barkas, MSN, RN, ACNS-BC, CCRN
Texas Clinical Nurse Specialist
The Texas Clinical Nurses Specialist affiliate highlight the numerous activities experienced at their their annual conference.
Poster winners:
First place-Shirley Harvey, RN, MSN, APRN, BS-CNS-OCN: "Sleep Disturbances in Medical-Surgical Patients"
Second place-Brittany Williams, MSN, RN, CCNS, and Samantha Malveaux, MS, RN, ACNS-BC: "Clinical Nurse Specialist Collaboration to Enhance Education and Mobilization Through the Continuum of Care for a High Volume Ventricular Assistance Device Program"
Third place-Odette Comeau, MS, RN, CNS, CCRN: "Utilizing an Evidence-Based Approach to Develop a Policy and Algorithm for Enteral Nutrition"
Sharon Horner, PhD, RN, FAAN, describes her research study "Incorporating Biological Measures Into Nursing's Traditional Social Behavioral Research."
Outgoing president Susan Smith MS, APRN, ACNS-BC, passes along the "gavel" to incoming president Alyce Ashcraft, PhD, RN, CNS, CCRN, CNE.
Secretary Alicia Ramirez, RN, MS, APRN, ACNS-BC, passes the "pen" to incoming secretary Jeri Tidwell, CNS PNP.
Submitted by: Jan Foster, PhD, APRN, CNS, CCRN
Veterans Affair Virtual Affiliate
Kelly Goudreau, nurse executive at the White City (Oregon) Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC), has published a new book: Goudreau KA, Smolenski MC. Health Policy and Advanced Practice Nursing: Impact and implications. New York, NY: Springer Publications; 2014.
Reggie Horwitz, critical care CNS at the Durham (North Carolina) VAMC, completed his Postmasters Adult Gerontology Clinical Nurse Specialist Certificate Program at the University of Detroit Mercy in December 2013.
Reggie Horwitz, critical care CNS at the Durham (North Carolina) VAMC, was a copresenter with Mary Holtschneider and Laura Sescilla, Durham VAMC Simulation Healthcare Educators, at the January 2014 International Meeting for Simulation in Healthcare in San Francisco, California, with 2 podium presentations: "Broadly Focused Interprofessional Simulation: Chaplains, Ward Clerks, and Others" and "Integrating Organizational Change Management and Return on Investment Into Simulations: Let's Prove Our Worth!"
Jennifer L. Zaremba, clinical nurse coordinator at the Spokane (Washington) VAMC, Karen Carroll, critical care CNS at the San Diego (California) VAMC, and Kathleen Manley, CNS at the Tampa (Florida) VAMC, report that they have published an article in Dimensions of Critical Care: Zaremba J, Carroll K, Manley K. Electrocardiographic practices: the current report of monitoring and education in veterans affairs facilities. Dimens Crit Care Nurs. 2014;33(2):82-87.
Submitted by: Kathleen L. Dunn, MS, RN, CRRN, CNS-BC
Call for News Items
If you have information you want to share about yourself, your NACNS peers, or your affiliate/affiliate peers, please send the news item to Anne Hysong at [email protected].