Most of you are probably familiar on some level with the five stages of grief outlined by Kubler-Ross (1969) in her book On Death and Dying: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Most likely, you have theoretically learned about these stages at some point in your nursing education. For most humans, these stages are emotional tools that help us to learn to live with loss or change that happens in our lives. Well, dear readers, I recently have had the opportunity first hand to experience them. For those of you who are regular readers, you may remember in the last issue I shared my personal story of a new 1-mm mole on my leg. Much to my surprise, and anger, this turned out to be more than I bargained for when removed. Those of you who regularly deal with pigmented lesions can imagine my surprise when I was told the local dermatopathologist was seeking a second dermatopathology opinion. Furthermore, there was more surprise when this 1-mm lesion turned out to be a severely atypical nevus with features "as may be seen in melanoma in situ." I think I went through all five stages of grief simultaneously and immediately! Obviously, I went ahead with the reexcision, but what was amusing to me was that I truly found myself fluctuating between disbelief or denial and anger and acceptance, sometimes all in the same day.
Most of my reactions to this news, and the associated grief stages, perhaps had more to do with the loss of my sense of control than with any actual real concern regarding my health. It is possible that I have been under some very misguided thoughts that I should somehow be exempt from situations like this because I am a dermatology nurse, because I regularly check my skin and wear sunscreen and sun protective clothing, because I represent the Dermatology Nurses' Association (DNA) on the National Council for Skin Cancer Prevention, and because[horizontal ellipsis]well, you see, the list goes on. I mean, I even am the woman who, when she bought a new car, ever so politely declined the sun roof option! I so very much wanted to be, magically, protected from the very diagnosis most of us deal with regularly in our offices. I felt like I wanted someone to say I had a free pass from getting bad moles in compensation for the work I've done and the precautions I've taken. Unfortunately, life isn't quite like that.
So, I had the surgery on a Friday afternoon, and life goes on. I did develop a superbly impressive contact dermatitis in response to one of the bandages that I used to keep the area covered and dry. I think that has been the longest lingering problem from the surgery. I joked with my sister that we'll have to come up with a top 10 list of awesome ways that I got my scar; on the other hand, maybe the true story is fantastic enough!
Speaking of things that are awesome and fantastic, I know it's that time of year when, in addition to holidays and presents, many of us are anticipating and very much looking forward to the upcoming annual DNA Convention that is held each spring. As I am sure you know, the DNA's 34th Annual Convention will be on March 31 through April 3, 2016, in Indianapolis, IN. This year's theme, in keeping with our location, is appropriately titled: DNA2016-The Driving Force in Dermatology. This event will bring together hundreds of dermatology professionals, all of whom are dedicated to learning more about dermatology nursing in an effort to bring the most up-to-date and current dermatology information back to their patients. In an effort to allow as many people to come as possible, the DNA has generously extended the same pricing from the 2015 event, with no rate increase in registration fees. If you'd like to register for this event, I encourage you to go to 2016.dnanurse.org/. This Web site is the official Web site of the Convention and will be kept updated with the most recent changes to the official schedule of events.
If you'd also like to plan out the time you'll have away from the conference, I'd encourage you to look at http://www.visitindy.com. This is an amazing Web site to help tourists who visit Indianapolis; it showcases Events, Museums & Attractions, Shopping, Arts & Culture, Sports & Recreation, Music & Nightlife, and Family & Youth. In addition, the Web site offers a great resource for finding restaurants in the city, and if you decide to extend your conference time in the city, they have links at http://www.visitindy.com/indianapolis-collections that outline city experiences by areas of interest. I strongly encourage everyone to take a look at the Web site before you arrive at DNA2016!
I also strongly encourage everyone to engage in some serious and honest self-reflection as well as self-checking to see if each of you is doing what you tell patients to do. Are you routinely checking your own skin? Are you having your skin regularly checked by a dermatology professional, or are you, too, just assuming?
Finally, I'd like to remind you that Wolters Kluwer-Lippincott Williams & Wilkins is again sponsoring the 2015 JDNA Writing Awards. As I have communicated throughout the year, there will be three awards: one for The Best Clinical Article, one for The Best Research Article, and the People's Choice award. JDNA readers will soon be helping to vote on the People's Choice Award, and I am hoping you will take time to submit your vote for the article in the past year that you think is deserving of this new award. I am looking forward to presenting all of the Writing Awards at the annual DNA Convention in Indianapolis, IN, in early April 2016, and I hope you can be there with us for both the annual convention and the Awards Ceremony.
Looking forward to hearing from you.
Angela L. Borger
Editor in Chief
E-mail: [email protected]
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