As I begin my journey in my new role as your Society of Gastroenterology Nursing and Associates (SGNA) President, I reflect on where we are in both our Society and our smaller gastroenterology (GI) practice world. If you think back to March of 2020, would you have thought this is where we would be? Could you have imagined having the strength to survive 2 years of a pandemic and societal turmoil? It has been quite a rough ride. Even as we believe we are on the upswing and ready to put this pandemic behind us, we still are facing a lingering environment in many settings where staff are deployed to other units and procedures are reduced because of staffing shortages, bed availability, or staff/physician illness. It's safe to say, that during these past 2 years, things have continued to change in healthcare. As nurses and associates, we are facing staffing shortages, new technologies, and a faster paced environment where revenue drives results.
I can't say the pandemic is over, but I can say that as an organization, SGNA is committed to moving forward together into the future, thinking about new ways in which we must practice healthcare and provide the best patient care. One way for us to move forward is to focus on sharing our passion for gastroenterology and growing our specialty. Endoscopy units and ambulatory surgery centers used to be the place nurses wanted to come to and they stayed once they got there. Now, many of us are facing large numbers of retirees and general staff turnover that is nearly impossible to keep up with. It is up to all of us to start looking for and grooming the next generation of GI nurses and associates.
As one strategy to recruit new nursing graduates, SGNA now offers a student membership and career path to the GI specialty. SGNA also offers a transition to practice course that will help quickly onboard experienced nurses to the GI setting. I encourage you to use these resources as a means to recruit staff to your units. Let's move forward together by sharing our excitement and passion for GI nursing with the next generation of nurses and associates.
Throughout these past 2 years, I've been continually impressed with the adaptability and overall ability of our membership to embrace the constant change that is happening within our field. Infection prevention is still at the forefront of our practice as new documents that affect our practice are released. And technology keeps changing, with more advanced procedures that involve complex interventions. SGNA embraces these advancements and will continue to bring you information that will guide you through these changes so that you can use them in your practice.
I know it's hard to keep up with this fast-paced healthcare environment, and I know these last few years have drained us. As your new President, I'm asking all of us to move forward together. Only together will we be re-energized and rekindle our passion for providing patient care. Only together will we be able to move past these last few years and find a better future for our organization, specialty, and patients.
I am very excited to be your 2023-2024 SGNA President. Thank you for the tremendous honor to serve the nurses and associates of SGNA. I have been mentored and inspired by many great nurses and associates in this organization. Don't hesitate to reach out to any of us. We are here for you to provide resources and support as we move forward together, away from a tough couple of years.
I definitely enjoyed seeing everyone this year in Salt Lake City. It has been far too long since we have been together as an association. If you attended in person or online, I hope you found being together at the SGNA annual course assisted us to "Reunite, Recharge, and Reflect." Begin making plans to attend the 50th annual course in Phoenix, AZ, with a focus on the theme, "Power From Within." Moving forward together as a bold, capable, strong, and resilient association of nurses and associates, my vision is that we will draw "power from within" to direct our SGNA future.