From the Desk of
the President...
Spring is upon
us with warm weather and sunshine.
A group of
emergency nurses from across the state of Maryland enjoyed sunshine
early while basking in the warmth of the Hawaiian sun at the ENA
Leadership Conference. They also enjoyed the “warmth” of seeing old
friends while making new ones. I know of at least 15 nurses from
Maryland who attended the conference. Some of us faced many
challenges as we made our way west including one group facing flight
delays of 6-8 hours. Even with this delay, emergency nurses from
across the country met and provided support. As my flight was
delayed, two nurses from Oklahoma offered to share their rental car
so that I could arrive at my hotel at 0330 instead of the expected
1700
At the State
Leaders Conference, Anne May and I explored best practices in
membership recruitment and retention, chapter management and
mentoring of new leaders. This was an excellent learning
opportunity and I hope that I can share some of these ideas as we
work this for the rest of the year. Despite the distance, many
states recognized the importance of the meeting, attending with
state and chapter officers. There were only two states were not
represented.
I was
especially honored to represent Maryland as we won a State
Achievement Award. We were also one of only 3 states that submitted
a special project. Unfortunately for Maryland, we were in the same
category of membership outreach as California and they won. We do
however wish a generous congratulations to all the states who won
State Achievement Awards.
While many
presentations were good, the one with the most significant impact on
my personal and professional career was the presentation:
“Leadership in Times of Chaos: The Rise, Fall and Rise Again of
Nursing at the American University of Beirut Medical Center.”
Gladys Mouro, RN, MSN shared with the group her personal and
professional challenges as she faced over 30 years of providing
quality patient care in the face of War and Peace. It humbled me as
I heard her speak of the days of sacrifice, death and destruction
that she and her colleagues faced. It makes my worst day seem like
a walk in the park and my working conditions like the Ritz. After
the presentation, our own Jose Fina “Pen” Jarina had an opportunity
to speak with Ms. Mouro. If you want to read about her experiences,
please consider her book, An American Nurse Amidst Chaos. I cannot
wait to have the time to read it. Her passion for nursing and her
compassion for her patients and staff serve as a model for all
nurses.
I encourage
everyone in emergency nursing to attend an ENA educational program
i.e., ENA by the BAY (sponsored by MD ENA), The Scientific Assembly
or The Leadership Conference (both sponsored by National ENA), etc.
These are great opportunities to learn more about your profession
while providing each person with the ability to develop new
professional contacts. Networking and interaction with other nurses
from across the country serve to provide support and energy to
promote the best quality care in a professional and compassionate
manner – the foundation of nursing. Plan now…. join me at one of
these upcoming events. Let me introduce you to my friends and
colleagues. Remember it is also time to plan for The ENA National
General and Scientific Assemblies that will be held in Baltimore in
the fall of 2009.
Mary Alice
Vanhoy, RN,MSN, CEN, NREMT-P
Maryland ENA State Council President
Click here to see pictures from the
experience.
Past Messages:
March
2002
July
2002
September
2002
November
2002
December
2002
February
2003
September
2003
January
2004
April
2004
June
2004
November
2004
January
2005
March
2005
April
2005
May
2005
July
2005
March
2006
September/October
2006
February 2007
April / May 2007
May 2007
September 2007
December 2007
February 2008
March
2008