Summer is here, and most of us are planning time at the beach or other fun, relaxing places to decompress and reconnect with our families and friends. Regardless of the season, the Society of Trauma Nurses (STN) continues to move forward with many exciting programs and projects.
NEW WEB SITE
I am extremely happy to announce that the STN now has a new Web site. Many of the changes may not be evident to you, but this is a huge step forward for the organization. This is the first time that we have a user-friendly platform that can be easily revised by STN. Obviously, this gives us huge potential to serve you as our members and to improve communication. At the moment, the basic site is online and functional, and a members-only section is close to being unveiled. I hope that you enjoy the site and visit often as we continue to build on it over next year.
ANNUAL CONFERENCE
Save the date! Our 2008 Annual Conference will take place on April 9 to 11, 2008, at the Sheraton in New Orleans. Join us for another stimulating conference with unsurpassed networking opportunities for all trauma nurses.
TRAUMA LEADERSHIP AWARD
As most of you are aware, we presented the STN Trauma Leadership Award to Ellen Mackenzie, PhD, at the Annual Conference. Dr Mackenzie is truly deserving of this award for all of the work that she has done to advance trauma systems and trauma care. I would also like to recognize all of the other great candidates who were nominated by STN members. The nominees were the following:
Congratulations to all!
COLLABORATIONS
As STN continues to grow in membership and influence, we are being asked to collaborate on many exciting projects. The following are some of these important collaborations.
* Military TOPICWith the continued ongoing conflict in Iraq, the US military recognizes the need for a strong trauma performance improvement program in the war zone theater. In preparing their leadership for war deployments, the medical military branches need to ensure that their physicians and nurses, many of whom do not routinely work at trauma centers, know key quality care systems and tools to monitor and enhance emergency care management. To accomplish this, STN, in collaboration with the joint military services, has signed an agreement to customize the TOPIC curriculum to meet the needs of the military. This is an exciting collaborative endeavor that STN is proud to participate in. The goal is for the TOPIC-M curriculum to be rolled out in August 2007.
* American College of Surgeons Performance Improvement and Patient Safety ManualWhen the American College of Surgeons needed to revise the Performance Improvement and Patient Safety Manual, they recognized the expertise of the STN and approached us to collaborate on this endeavor. The committee is cochaired by Glen Tinkoff, MD, from the Committee on Trauma, and Connie Mattice, RN, chair of TOPIC for STN. TOPIC faculty are participating in all phases of the manual revisions. The goal is to provide a Web-based manual by March 2008.
* STN/Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma Conference CollaborationThe STN planning committee, cochaired by Katie Fitzpatrick and Judi Muir, has already begun planning for the 2008 Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma (EAST) annual conference in Amelia Island, Fla, on January 15 to 19, 2008. STN will have a significant role in the conference as we have over the last 2 years.
* EAST Injury Prevention GuidelinesAs was announced at the 2007 EAST conference, EAST is beginning to develop injury prevention guidelines. To continue our close collaboration with this group, STN will be represented on all of the injury prevention guideline groups for 2008.
DISASTER COMMITTEE
In culmination of much planning, STN has formed a disaster committee. The committee will be run by Diane Dubinski and Sharon Lown. The inaugural meeting was held at STN's 10th annual conference. There were 13 members who attended the meeting and an additional 10 members very interested in participating but who were not in attendance. The group is currently defining its goals. In addition, the group is very interested in ensuring that trauma nurses both nationally and internationally have access to disaster-related education that is both current and relevant. Look for further information in the upcoming issues of JTN and on the STN Web site.
LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE
The Legislative Committee under the leadership of the new chairperson, Juliet Geiger, RN, MSN, from Pennsylvania is once again active. The purposes of the committee are as follows:
* keep members informed about legislative issues that affect trauma nurses,
* develop STN position statements on issues impacting trauma nurses, and
* educate STN nurses on how to become politically active in voicing concerns to legislators on issues affecting trauma nurses and trauma systems.
Committee goals for 2007 include the following:
* Keep the STN members informed through the STN Web site and through use of the American College of Surgeons Web site Advocacy Center. The American College of Surgeons Advocacy Center can be accessed at http://www.capitolconnect.com/acspa/. It allows the user to easily identify and contact their legislators.
* Create a position paper for board approval on continuing education for trauma nurses.
* Give input to the conference planning committee on a legislative topic for the 2008 annual conference.
MILITARY SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP (SIG)
This new SIG was formed at the annual conference in March. SIG chairs are being selected, and goals for the group are being confirmed. For more information, contact Susan Cox at [email protected].