sepanotes fall 2012 revised 9-26-12 - amazon web...

1062 Lancaster Ave. Suite 18 Rosemont, PA 19010

In this Edition: President Message

(P 1-2)

Call for Abstracts (P 2)

Rosemont Office Closing (P 3)

SePA Chapter committee information (P 4)

Spring SePA Events (P 5)

TRENDS in Critical Care (P 6)

About Pat Flynn (P 7)

Calendar of Events/meetings

Southeastern Pennsylvania Chapter of AACN/ 610-526-9140 or 610-383-4406 E mail: [email protected] / Website: www.aacn.org/sepa

2012 Fall SePANotes

President’s Message By: Pat Flynn, SePA Chapter President, 2012-2013

Greetings SEPA members:

As we begin our 40th year as a chapter, many new and exciting things are in the works.

The fall Trends in Critical-Care Nursing Conference scheduled for October 2nd through the 5th is now open for registration. This great conference takes place in Valley Forge, PA, and provides opportunities for learning across the critical care continuum. It’s also a wonderful way to network with peers from other institutions. You can register online at www.aacn.org/sepa by clinking on the TRENDS logo.

We have wonderful committees to join including: Audit, Awards, Education, Financial Oversight, Informatics and Publication, Research, and Membership. The Audit Committee meets once a year so it’s a great way to begin your SePA involvement. The Awards Committee reviews applications for all awards and funding requests for educational and professional conferences. See our website for these opportunities.

The Finance Committee has fiduciary responsibilities for the chapter and the Informatics and Publication Committee reports the latest chapter news to members. The Research Committee holds regularly scheduled research roundtables, plans the annual research dinner, and reviews applications for research funding. The Membership Committee promotes the importance of belonging to both the national organization and the chapter. Join us at monthly board meetings (except December) to hear about chapter and committee updates.

The Education Committee will be very active this year planning and offering programs at area hospitals for the September 2012 to June 2013 year. As a member of the Education Committee, you’ll learn how to plan a program, complete an application for continuing education credit, and develop public speaking skills. Consider hosting an educational program at your facility where your help can be invaluable to our success.

The spring conference, which will be held at the Crowne Plaza in Cherry Hill, NJ on April 16-19 2013, is shaping up. Volunteers are needed now to work on all aspects of conference planning. It’s a unique opportunity to grow in a variety of ways.

Pat Flynn, SePA Chapter President (2012-2013)

Continued on next page (page 2)

2012 Fall SePANotes of 7

PresiPresident’s Message (continued from Page 1)

We have been taking our CCRN/PCCN certification review course

on the road to local hospitals. You can be a part of this program by becoming a presenter! Our president-elect, Barbara Pope, who has been teaching this course for years, will mentor you through this process.

Beginning in 2013, we will use multiple sites for our meetings because the chapter is terminating the lease on the Rosemont office at the end of November. The funds used for overhead expenses will be now be applied to conference or educational funding and research grant awards.

The calendar on the website (www.aacn.org/sepa) will iist the dates, times and places for all meetings. We are also experimenting with on-line venues for meetings because we recognize that our membership covers a wide geographic area.

We need your input and support to make these changes happen. Join us on the website, www.aacm.org/sepa, at meetings, educational programs, TRENDS, the research dinner meeting, and the June celebration and let us hear from you.

For more information or to volunteer, contact the SePA Chapter at [email protected]. You have the power, and with SePA, the resources to make a difference in your profession. AACN’s President, Kathryn Roberts, theme for this year is Dare To. Come and dare to grow and contribute to your profession through SePA Chapter-AACN.

Call for Research Abstracts and Clinical Project Grants

SePA Chapter has funding for Critical Care Research Grants and Critical Care Evidence-Based Research Grants. In addition, the chapter has funding for small projects that directly benefit Critical Care patients and/or families (Clinical Project Grant). GRANT APPLICATIONS are due by NOVEMBER 1st, 2012 Please see the SePA Chapter Website for Details (www.aacn.org/sepa). Look for information under the section titled Documents/Resources located on the left hand side of the webpage.

SePA Chapter Celebrates 40 years!


The summer quickly has come to an end and autumn is here. This is time of the year when friends gather to celebrate various holidays. Critical care nurses also gather in the fall at the Trends in Critical Care Nursing Conference, which has been held in Valley Forge for many years. This year’s gathering is special because SePA is celebrating its 40th birthday. Come join the party and see how our chapter had grown and changed – just as healthcare and healthcare delivery have done! Learn how our members have been leaders and change agents in their institutions.

The SePA Chapter ‘s Rosemont Office will be closing at the end of November 2012. We will still conduct business as usual. You will NOT be affected in any way. We will continue to have Lorri Halpin working for us as our administrative Assistant/chapter coordinator, as she has done for the last few years. Checks can still be sent to the old address after the office closes – they will be forwarded to a new address to be determined. We have a new phone number (610-383-4406) but if you call the old number, you will be directed to the new number. The only change you will notice is that meetings/programs will now be held at various venues around the area. Check the SePA Chapter website for information and updates (www.aacn.org/sepa).

Important Information

"Aspire to inspire before you expire." An Unknown Author

Your action for today is to think of someone who has inspired you. What was it about them that inspired you?

Get Involved: SePA Chapter Committee Descriptions By: Laurie Dougherty, MSN, CRNP, SePA Chapter Immediate Past President


If you would like to get involved in the SePA Chapter, we have several committees, one of which may interest you. Please just let us know which committee you're interested in by contacting the chapter office ([email protected]). Our membership application is on our website http://www.aacn.org/sepa. It is a PDF file so you can download it, print it out and send it in. You must be a member of National AACN before you can join the chapter. The chapter offers vouchers for national membership that offer a cost savings on your national membership. Education—This committee is responsible for planning our evening and half-day programs as well as assisting at our TRENDS conferences. Membership--This committee is responsible for finding ways to bring in new members as well as keep our current members engaged and active in the chapter. Awards—The members of the awards committee are responsible for deciding how to distribute our conference funding to members as well as our "excellence awards". The committee is currently working on revamping our "point" system for awards. Publications—This committee is responsible for putting together our email newsletter, SePANotes. If you are able to write and/or have skills in newsletter layout, this may be the committee for you. Research—The Research Committee is responsible for awarding grants to nurses who apply for various grants that involve research studies, evidence based projects and/or clinical projects. The committee also seeks to educate nurses about the various aspects of research, e.g. how to analyze a research study. The core members and the committee members also plan fun things like day trips to New York to see plays! You are welcome to join any of the above committees - more than one if you like - based on your interests. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact our president, Pat Flynn (Pat Flynn [email protected]) or Lorri Halpin, our chapter coordinator ([email protected]).


SePA members celebrated the end of the year with our 2012 June Celebration. It was held at Café La Fontana in Hatboro, PA. We had the privilege of having Kathryn Roberts, the current AACN president, and a member of SePA, as our speaker! She spoke about nurses being Together Stronger Bolder and how we could translate that to our work lives. Participants enjoyed a delicious dinner. Outgoing President, Laurie Dougherty recognized board members and committee chairs who had contributed to SePA's success during the year. Many thanks to Barb Pope for organizing this event!

SePA Chapter June Celebration

Research Dinner Meeting: April 2012

The research dinner meeting was held at the Airport Hilton again this year. There was a great poster session preceding the dinner and speaker. Marge Funk, PhD was our speaker. She spoke about her research on the “The Wise Use of Technology in Critically Ill Cardiac Patients.” She shared her years of research using technology in critical care. It was an enlightening and funny presentation. Think about joining us next year for the research dinner meeting at the Airport Hilton.

Pictured Above: Marge Funk, PhD Research Dinner Meeting Speaker

Some of the Attendees at the June Celebration, including the speaker, Kathryn Roberts, the 2012-2013 AACN President (4th from the left)


Member News The Widener University Board of Trustees recently elected Barbara Chamberlain, PhD, APRN, MBA, CCRN of Williamstown, N.J., the past president of the New Jersey State Nurses’ Association and SePA member, to the Board. Until recently, Barbara served as the program manager for Transforming Care at the Bedside, a project managed by the New Jersey Hospital Association’s Institute for Quality and Patient Safety and funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. In this position, she assisted staff nurses at the bedside to make small changes to improve patient outcomes and patient and nurse satisfaction.

Barbara has held positions as a staff nurse, clinical nurse specialist, and as an academic and clinical faculty member at the associate’s, bachelor’s and master’s levels of nursing education. She has served as the Director of Research and as the Corporate Director of Clinical Education in a multi-system acute care health system. She also served as an officer in the United States Air Force. She earned her doctorate in nursing from Widener University, and serves on the School of Nursing Advisory Board and the Widener Leadership Council. She is also a very active participant in the Widener University Nurses Alumni Association.

Oct. 2-5 TRENDS VFCC & Casino

Oct. 9 Education Committee Rosemont, PA

Oct. 18 General Membership/Board Meeting

TBA

Nov. 8 Research Roundtable TBA Nov. 13 Education COMMITTEE TBA Nov. 15 General Membership/Board

Meeting TBA

Nov.29 ARIA Half-Day Program Aria DEC. 11 Education Committee TBA

Southeastern Pennsylvania

Chapter of AACN

About Pat Flynn, SePA Chapter President, 2012-2013

Rosemont Plaza 1062 Lancaster Avenue Suite 18 Rosemont, PA 19010 Phone: 610-526-9140 or 610-383-4406 (new number) Fax: 610-526-9142 E-Mail: [email protected]

We’re on the Web!

See us at: www.aacn.org/sePA

Hi, I’m Pat Flynn, the SePA Chapter President for 2012 -2013. I have been a nurse for over 30 years, primarily in critical care. I graduated in 1979 from Holy Family University (it was only a college then) with my BSN and went to work at the Philadelphia State Hospital formerly known as Byberry in the medical/surgical unit, ICU, and the typhoid isolation unit as a charge nurse. Realizing that I needed to have more critical care nursing experience, I worked at St. Mary’s in Langhorne and then at Episcopal Hospital in Philadelphia. It was there at Episcopal that I became a real critical care nurse. I was there for only13 years but it has always been my home. The people, both the staff and the patients, have been the biggest influence on my nursing philosophy. I left Episcopal and went back to St. Mary’s for a short period, and now work at Lower Bucks Hospital. I returned to school and received my MSN in nursing education in 2007 and currently am enrolled in the doctoral program at Widener University. I attended Trends when it was at the Adams Mark Hotel, joined SePA, and attended their education programs. I often wondered what it took to be like the speakers I saw and heard - how to be part of this organization. I found a mentor who encouraged me to join the Education Committee and she was there at every meeting, encouraging me to become a Trends volunteer. Every step of the way, mentors and members guided me through my committee involvement, board experiences, and now the presidency. Join SePA and share your story.

Calendar of Events