At the opening ceremonies of our 2006 convention in San Francisco, our American Society of Plastic Surgical Nurses (ASPSN) president, Marcy Dienno, introduced members of the Board of Directors, the Plastic Surgical Nursing Certification Board (PSNCB) Board, Committee Chairs, Convention Planning Chairpersons, and many volunteers, and asked them to stand. When she called for the founding members of ASPSN, we all looked around, but no one stood.
What a sadness it was to realize that this was the first year that none of our founding members were able to be present. You may have seen the founding members at other conventions: dignified, professional older women with good minds under their white hair. Their commonality is that they knew most of us, and if they did not they were not shy about approaching with a handshake, a hug, and a welcome. They loved to meet new members and first-time attendees. They had a lot to say about the future of our organization, due to their care and concern for our profession, society, and its members.
Who are the founding members? According to ASPSN Historian Barbara Dugas, RN, BS, CPSN,
In southern California in the spring of 1975, there was a group of nurses who worked for plastic surgeons and who needed continuing education for renewing their licenses. They often attended educational meetings with their plastic surgeon employers. And at one of these conferences, they decided to communicate with other plastic surgical nurses in their area and held an organizational meeting. Officers were elected and the first national convention was planned. (For the complete document of ASPSN history, see pp. 197-200 of this issue.)
Some of the nurses who were at these original meetings have attended almost all of the conventions over the last 31 years. These founding members, who you may have seen at recent conventions, are Dottie Henderson (who died in 2004), Alice Davis of San Mateo, CA, and Betty Williams of Seattle, WA. Luckily, honorary member Helen Riehl, 86-years-young, who joined ASPSN in 1981, was my hotel roommate at this past convention in San Francisco. Helen has been friends with Dottie, Alice, and Betty for 30 years, and you can imagine her sadness that they were not at the convention. One thing we know, we make great friends through this association, and friendships pick up where they left off, from autumn to autumn to autumn.
The big question is: What can we do to honor these women who founded our organization? I think they would say, "Keep it vital, keep it strong, for each generation of nurses that follows." Every nurse deserves to retire eventually. Helen Riehl just retired from the practice of Dr. William Vasileff (of Birmingham, MI) in the spring of 2006!! Our board members, after years of high-intensity duty to our organization, get to "retire" from the board after their terms, but look how many of them are still very active!! For example, Past President Pat Terrell was Convention Chair this year. Past President Jeanne Prin volunteered on the Editorial Board for years after her term was completed.
It is important that new members and those members who have been around a while feel comfortable to become active. Maybe they are reluctant because they have seen so many capable people volunteering for ASPSN they think "but she does that so well[horizontal ellipsis]I don't [think] I could do that." Maybe some members think that ASPSN is such a well-oiled machine that it should just keep going as it is going. Maybe some of us think, "gee, I don't have a whole lot of time to volunteer, what I could do would be such a small contribution." Within ASPSN, there is plenty of work to do. There are a lot of small jobs that would take minimal commitment (introducing a speaker at the convention, or making up a gift basket for the silent auction are examples). There are some contributions that are short term that could really boost your career, like writing a "department" or article for Plastic Surgical Nursing. Join a committee for a year. Ease yourself into it. Maybe at some point you would like to run for office. As Helen Riehl told me, "So many nurses are active for several years and then they don't come (to conventions) anymore." Perhaps we tire them out. Just like in our clinical practices, the more nurses available, the easier the load is for everyone.
I had the pleasure of meeting Helen Riehl for tea a month after the convention. We looked at photos from this year, and the photos she had from years past. What a delight it was to hear stories about the nurses in the photos, their lives, and the early conventions.
I had to tease Helen, because not only did she recall who was present at which convention, in which city, in which year, she could tell me what the hot topics were in the sessions and at the board meetings as well. In addition, she could tell me about special meals and special shopping excursions in each city. She paraded out a sweater that she had bought in Montreal (1995), and which first-time attendee she went shopping with!!
Our founding and honorary members were practicing plastic surgery before many of us were born!! The knowledge they have to share is immeasurable. Helen had an issue of Plastic Surgical Nursing from 1982 (Spring 1982). Flipping through the issue, I was amazed at how pertinent the information was today:
* Maxillofacial Injuries
* Evaluation of the Injured Hand
* Replantation of a Hand: The Use of Microsurgery Today
* Diets for Patients With Wired Jaws
Just think, if our members were learning about all of these topics through the journal and at conventions 25 years ago, what they could tell us about all that has changed (and all that has stayed the same) over the years!! I am the first to say that I hope all of our members and readers learn a lot through the journal. My wish is that we all seek out senior members in our specialty to learn from them. They are a wealth of knowledge, and we are lucky to know them.
I asked Helen Riehl what she thought was the one most important thing that she would like to tell all of the nurses coming up in the generations behind her. She said, "Get back to basics. There is a lot of emphasis on skin care, and skin care is fine, but remember its all hands on patient care."
Thank you Helen, Alice, Dottie, Betty, R. Marie, Margo, Dolors, and all of the senior nurses who have taught us so much. There are a lot of you out there. You know who you are.