Welcome to Cleveland, the city known for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the Cleveland Clinic, hosting the 2016 Republican National Convention, and this week, hosting INS 2018. As we look back at INS' 45 years, we should be proud of our tremendous accomplishments. INS has established a global presence and has set the standard for infusion care.
I have had the most amazing year as your INS president. I have learned, shared, and had the opportunity to participate in so many different ways. I have met the most amazing infusion nurses in our country and around the globe. I have much to be thankful for today and have many thanks to offer those who have walked before me and beside me. INS past presidents, board members, volunteer leaders, members, and industry partners have given me many reasons to appreciate our great organization. If I mentioned everyone by name, this speech would be much too long. But I want to thank Mary Alexander especially, for her leadership, guidance, and friendship. Thank you, Mary.
I began my journey last year by describing my theme, "Believe in the Possible-A Vision for Tomorrow's Health Care." Over the past year, INS has changed in many ways:
* Our Annual Meeting and Industrial Exhibition was shortened from 6 days to 4 days. The 2-day reduction helped lessen the challenge many attendees face attending a live program.
* We expanded our Virtual Infusion Education program, giving CRNI(R)s the ability to recertify without attending a face-to-face meeting.
* We were 1 of 20 nursing specialty organizations that partnered with the American Nurses Association and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to develop the Nursing Infection Control Education Network.
* Our position paper, "The Role of the Registered Nurse in the Insertion of Nontunneled Central Vascular Access Devices," was published in the Journal of Infusion Nursing.
* The 2016 Infusion Therapy Standards of Practice (the Standards) was translated into Chinese, Portuguese, and Spanish, expanding our reach and the application of the Standards to a global audience.
* We welcomed international affiliates from Argentina and Mexico.
* We redesigned our flagship publications, the Journal of Infusion Nursing and INSider, formerly Newsline, while continuing to provide relevant, quality content.
* Participation in the LEARNING CENTER increased, as more clinicians took advantage of this online learning option.
* Our research with Purdue University continued, as we seek to understand how nurses' experiences affect the patients we serve.
One of INS' goals has been to provide education in infusion therapy regardless of the practice setting. We have witnessed an increased need for education in hospitals, as more nurses outside traditional infusion teams are participating in vascular access and infusion therapy-in ambulatory settings where chemotherapies and immunotherapies are being given, in patients' homes, and in long-term care facilities. Meeting the educational demands of these groups is a challenge but one INS is well-equipped to handle. It also reflects the changing landscape to which we must adapt.
So, while I mention the things we have accomplished over the past year, we are cognizant of our need to move forward in ways that will shape the future of INS and the infusion specialty:
* As the traditional membership model that associations have relied on for years continues to evolve, we will continue to embrace a model that emphasizes engagement and the delivery of information as core competencies.
* As traditional face-to-face meetings continue to experience challenges, we will continue to develop online education and specialized, shorter programming.
* As our specialty continues to grow in areas outside the United States, we will continue to expand our reach by translating our educational resources and aligning ourselves with key international opinion leaders.
* As the changing workforce continues to place less emphasis on traditional certification, INCC will continue to evaluate the growing trend toward microcertifications, stacked certifications, and certificate programming.
* As many associations cling to models that no longer produce lasting and impactful results, INS will continue to explore new ways to grow and continue to define and influence our specialty.
My passion for infusion nursing never waivers. Every patient deserves the skill, knowledge, and expertise infusion nurses can provide. We know central line-associated bloodstream infections affect an organization's bottom line and patients' lives. We know that a peripheral catheter could be the source of a serious infection, and we know the symptoms of sepsis. Infusion nurses make daily decisions and evaluations about the type of access catheters to place, how the characteristics of the infusate will affect the vasculature, the best ways to prevent infection, which antibiotics are appropriate, what the side effects of chemotherapy may be, and the risks of immunotherapy drug administration. We are product savvy and particular about what our organizations provide us to use in the care of our patients. Now, more than ever, we have a voice.
My wish for you, my fellow infusion nurses, is that you continue every day loving what you do and learning how to do it better. And to those who will follow in my footsteps on the board of directors or other membership-related endeavors, I thank you in advance for your commitment to INS and the infusion nursing specialty.