President's Message

Alabama Nurse,  Jun-Aug 2004  by Flowers, Juanzetta

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FACES

Greetings to everyone on this beautiful May day. First of all, I want to thank all of you who attended FACES and made it such a success this year. It is always wonderful to see so many students and to observe the future of our profession, as well as renew acquaintances of long standing.

In the session on the future of nursing, the message was loud and clear that collaboration is the picture of the future. Given the acuity of most patients and the critical need of most health professions for more practitioners, nursing must learn to collaborate more effectively with other groups. EuIa Das discussed how the AIaONL recently reiterated that nursing must retain the caring piece along with the knowledge piece. But that caring piece does not necessarily translate into the mandate that a professional nurse must do all the hands-on part. However, it does mean that a professional nurse must be the decision-maker and the director of care. EuIa sees a future of many varied types of practitioners all taking care of patients under the supervision and guidance of the professional nurse.

It makes sense to me, but I would like to hear from you. What do you think the future of nursing will be? If you have an opinion, write us at the office:

360 North Hull Street

Montgomery, Alabama 36104-3658

or email us at ed.asna(5)mindspring.com and we will print your ideas in the next newsletter.

RN License

In the past several months, I have heard much discussion on the notion of letting one's license lapse after one stops working full time. I want to urge every one of you to NEVER do this. In Alabama, we only need 12 continuing education hours per year to maintain a general RN license and the cost is minimal. Please think long and hard before you give up this treasured identification.

It is a long, arduous, nerve wracking and costly endeavor to reinstate a license. You will never have to experience that frustration if you just maintain it in the first place. After all, life is quite uncertain and, while you may think you will not wish to work again as a nurse, you never know what might happen in the future. You could find that you have to work to support yourself. Nurses can always find work and are always needed in some capacity if their license is up to date.

It is very easy to get the necessary CEs these days. They are available online, through journals, hospital programs, and, of course, through the many programs that are sponsored by ASNA each year. We are even equipped to offer our programs online if you cannot attend a program in person. Remember, you are a professional and will be a professional as long as you are on earth. So promise yourself to keep your license current just as long.

WOMEN AND HEART PROBLEMS

It seems to me that wherever I look these days, I see an article or hear a talk about women and heart problems. I recently heard a very well done talk about this subject and wanted to share the thoughts with you since our profession is still 90% female. We know that men present with chest pain, radiating down the left arm when they are experiencing a heart attack. But, do you know the most common symptom for women? It is a slight continuous nausea with maybe some feeling of fullness in the throat. It is usually not severe enough to suggest "ER" to the woman, and consequently, she is not seen early enough to prevent heart damage.

Of course, in the lifestyle risk areas, we look very much like men. Smoking, obesity, hypertension, little exercise and poor diet are just as dangerous for us as they are for men. It is hard for me to understand how any health care professional can continue to smoke in light of all the evidence against it, but we all know that it is still a very real problem for some people.

Another very important factor is the triglyceride level. We hear about cholesterol levels, HDLs and LDLs all the time, but the most important thing for us to know is the triglyceride level. So ask your Nurse Practitioner or physician to order the test for you each year. And change whatever you need to do in your lifestyle. But, most importantly, remember that a vague sense of nausea with an .uncomfortable fullness in your neck and throat may be your only warning of an impending heart attack. Tell this to all your women friends and relatives. Let's get this word out to all' women.

ANNUAL CONVENTION

I hope that all of you have marked your calendars and are planning to attend the 2004 ASNA Convention in Auburn at the Conference Center September 15-17. It will be the first time in over 30 years that we have held our annual elections at the House of Delegates. That means that if you are not present, you will not have a chance to vote on the nominees for officers.

We will also be addressing and voting on some very major Bylaws changes that have been discussed in earlier newsletters. These include District restructuring and the new types of membership available in ASNA. We hope to have your input. Please come and help us make these momentous decisions.