Happy New Year! It is, as it is every year, hard to imagine that we have already entered a new year! The New Year is always a time of reflection-reflection on our 2014 accomplishments. Reflection on those goals we were unable to meet. Reflection on what we want 2015 to look like. Society of Trauma Nurses (STN) is undergoing much of the same reflection-what we have accomplished in 2014 and what we need to accomplish in 2015 to best serve you, our members, and trauma team members.
The biggest (and, I think, most welcome) news is our partnership with the Board of Certification for Emergency Nursing, and the long awaited development of a trauma nurse certification. This certification will recognize to all medical disciplines that we are, as indeed we already know, a group of professional nurses who have a very specialized knowledge and skill set and that we truly do make a difference every day in the life of those who walk, fly, or are delivered through our doors. The certification will serve as a testament to the fact that each patient matters and we are often what stands between them and mortality and morbidity as a result of their unexpected tragedy. This certification examination and credential has been the passion of so many of you-CELEBRATE this accomplishment and mark your calendar for the beta test, which will be in the fall of this year. The first examination is expected out in the first quarter of 2016. We sincerely hope that trauma nurse certification has made it high on your list of 2015 to 2016 accomplishment goals.
Society of Trauma Nurses is also very excited about the injury prevention collaboration that has developed an injury prevention class. The American Association for the Surgery of Trauma hosted the inaugural injury prevention symposium that was a collaborative effort of most of the trauma professional organizations including STN. The American Trauma Society has taken the lead on the injury prevention course, which is a 2-day course developed by injury professionals across the country to standardize the foundation for injury prevention professionals, and will lead the way to the continued recognition that our injury prevention professionals are an integral part of our trauma team. The inaugural course will be offered the weekend after the annual STN conference in Jacksonville in March 2015. Visit the STN Web site for more information and a link for registration and more information. We hope that you and your injury prevention specialist will join us for this exciting opportunity.
The STN annual conference registration is open, and we sincerely hope that you will join us in sunny and beautiful Jacksonville, Florida. The conference is an excellent opportunity to catch up with old friends, network with trauma professionals from across the country, and to find out what is new in trauma care across the continuum of care.
And, do not forget to vote for your new leadership team and board of directors. There are excellent candidates capable to continuing our mission and making an impact in trauma care. Your vote matters and we hope you will take the time to cast your vote.
Despite all these new and exciting opportunities, STN continues with classes such as Advanced Trauma Care of Nurses, OPTIMAL, and TOPIC, which provide education to trauma professionals from the bedside to the board room. The new STN Leadership Institute offers specialized training and education to assist trauma nurses to hone and develop their leadership skills for even more success. The STN Electronic Library is available to provide education to your bedside providers, and SLIP is available to provide fall prevention education to your community.
Society of Trauma Nurses continues to be a dynamic and vibrant organization whose mission is to serve you and to ensure exceptional trauma care to all who enter our doors (and, yes, to those who do not enter our doors because of all of our injury prevention work). We hope that an increased engagement and participation with this amazing professional organization has made your 2015 to do list. Join us at the annual conference and become involved with one of the Special Interest Groups or just meet other trauma professionals. Please know that we have tremendous respect for what you do each and every day, and we are here to support you, lift you up, remind you why you do what you do, and make a difference. May 2015 bring each of you all for which you hope and dream.