Veterans Affairs SIG Meeting Summary

The Veterans Affairs Special Interest Group (VA SIG) held a dynamic meeting during AAACN's 30th Annual Conference in San Diego, CA. Janie McKenzie, MSN, RN, chaired the meeting. The first order of new business was to select the chair and co-chair for 2005-2006. Julia Younce, MSN, RN, from the Tampa VA was selected as chair and Esther Brooks, MN, RN, also from Tampa, was selected as co-chair elect. The keynote speaker was Ms. Diane Winfrey, MSN, RN, from the Cleveland VA, who gave a wonderful presentation on "Innovations in Ambulatory Nursing," as evidenced in the Ambulatory Care Clinics at the Cleveland VA. Ms. McKenzie distributed a booklet of the different innovative projects held this year at the New Orleans VA. Kari Hite, MSN, RN, co-chair for the past year, presented Ms. McKenzie with a beautiful rose bouquet in appreciation for her contributions as chair of the VA SIG for 2003-2004.

During the meeting, the following 2005-2006 goals were agreed upon:

* Obtain clarification of the actual number of AAACN nurses enrolled in the VA SIG.

* Encourage the use of the VA listserv to facilitate national networking and collaboration on issues of concern.

* Invite a chair of a Nurse Professional Standards Board to speak in 2006, for the purpose of clarifying Nurse 111 promotion criteria as they pertain to the ambulatory care setting (since this seems to be a re-occurring topic of concern).

The VA SIG core/committee members are Julia Younce, Esther Brooks, Janie McKenzie, Kari Hite, and Diane Winfrey. We welcome suggestions, ideas, and questions regarding the VA SIG's membership expectations for the coming year. We hope to increase AAACN and the VA SIG's visibility at our workplaces and in the community. Please promote AAACN and the VA SIG by sharing information about the organization with your co-workers and other health care professional colleagues. We would also like to encourage every VA nurse to join the VA SIG list serve. Please go to AAACN's Web site for the listserv enrollment information. One great benefit of the listserv could be the monthly or quarterly discussions by the membership on a VA topic of interest or concern of all VA nurses. An example of a topic is Advanced Access in our ambulatory clinics. This new health care delivery method has been mandated by the Central Office for all VAs nationwide. Nurses at VAs where Advanced Access has been implemented could share valuable information with nurses working at VAs that are preparing to implement Advanced Access.

Another networking tool available to the SIG will be monthly telephone conferences, if needed, to facilitate VA SIG projects. We would like to request volunteers to assist with organizing next year's VA SIG annual membership meeting to be held in Atlanta, GA. It would be great if VA nurses from Atlanta and surrounding VAs participate in this endeavor. This would give them the opportunity to showcase their VAs.

Esther Brooks and I are pleased with the opportunity to serve the VA SIG this year, and we look forward, with great enthusiasm, toward a dynamic upcoming year.

Julia Younce, Chair

Esther Brooks, Co-Chair, Elect

Copyright American Academy of Ambulatory Care Nursing May/Jun 2005
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