In this Issue:

• Message from the President

• IENA Election Results 2008

• WSNA Board Nominations

• Nurses Are Special

• Getting Involved

• Noteworthy Dates

• Check the newsletter for your name and Win a Gift Card!

Message from the President

Fellow IENA Members:

The academic school year is starting again. As I'm preparing for the classes I'll be teaching, I am also reflecting on our upcoming year at IENA. We've been very busy over the summer working on plans to offer Continuing Nursing Education for our members and organizing our annual Legislative Evening in October. In addition we are planning our Centennial celebration in May so all in all it promises to be a very active and exciting year.

The focus last year was on our members and we will continue that emphasis again this year. Our duty of providing professional development and influencing the legislative process will be fulfilled in October. As we did last year, we are reaching out to other nursing organizations to join us for the Legislative evening in October. By inviting other nurses we develop a stronger, louder, and unified voice regarding nursing and health care. I encourage you to attend the night's event and bring another nurse from a different care setting than your own.

WSNA and IENA were founded by nurses who got together and wanted to create a sense of camaraderie. Their goal was to support one another professionally and personally through education, mentorship, and friendship. Since that time our professional area of expertise and place of practice has widened and we've become more fragmented and disassociated from the common element that holds us together, that of being Registered Nurses. If, as you review your own goals for the coming year you find that you would like to re-kindle that spark of connectivity we invite you to attend one of our regularly scheduled meetings. Or, if you'd like a short, one time commitment to volunteer for a committee or activity, we welcome you.

We have a number of new board members who will be assuming their new role in November. Despite their elected position I invite all of you as well to become more involved in our organization. Believe me, as President I know the sacrifice involved in making a time commitment for another activity/organization in an already busy schedule. I also know the reluctance many have because they do not see themselves as leaders or have experience as formal leaders thus self-negating the effective and vital contribution their involvement will bring. So, I encourage and challenge each of you to become involved in whatever manner you can. Our professional organization needs your presence and input. Whether it's voting and returning a ballot, attending a continuing education session, going to a monthly meeting, participating in the Legislative evening or the Spring Centennial Celebration, or active involvement in a committee/activity. Call our office, become involved, we need you.

I'm looking forward to working and representing all of you,

Terry Buxton, RN, Ph.D.

IENA President, 2008-09

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IENA ELECTION RESULTS 2008:

Congratulations and welcome...

The IENA election results are as follows:

• Vice-President: Michele Slider

• Secretary: Carlene Haynes

• Directors-at-Large: Anne Bailey, Louanne Hausmann, Peggy Slider

• Occupational Group Directors: Lynn Stapleton (Nursing Education); Judy Edmonds (General Duty Nursing); Laurie Vessey (Community & Public Health)

• Nominations Committee: Kelly Knight, Michele Wolf, Christine Slider

The new members will join the existing board in November 2008.

We still have a couple vacant positions. If you are interested or want additional details on these positions, please call the office at 509-328-8288.

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NURSES ARE SPECIAL!

A difficult job is made tougher by unrealistic expectations.

By Regina Brett

Nurses put up with a lot...

 

They're greeted with: "Hey you... Yo... Lady... Nurse Ratched"... and choice words you can't print here.

 

They are also called IV leaguers and the heartbeat of health care. Angels in comfortable shoes ? that's the title I'd pick to describe them.

 

The few times in my life when I've had the misfortune to be a patient, nurses came through for me. John in radiology called me honey and promised I would get through six weeks of radiation in no time, and I did. Pam in chemotherapy spoke up for me when the anti-nausea drugs weren't working, and she kept pestering the doctor for better medicine when I lacked the energy.

 

Countless others, whose names I never knew, watched over me. Anonymous blurs in scrubs, they left behind an imprint of compassion in the squeeze of a hand, the caress of a cheek, the fluff of a pillow.

 

Nurses are up there with grandparents and guardian angels. They don't care if you throw up on them, miss the bedpan or hit the call light for water in the middle of the night when you're scared and don't want to be alone. They will go to bat for you against disease, track down doctors on golf courses, and skip meals and clocking out on time just to check on you one last time.

 

They are dedicated to the weak, the confused, the broken of body, mind and spirit. But too often, they get a bad rap from patients.

 

A national Medicare survey of patient satisfaction shows 73-percent of patients said their nurses always communicated well. It could be that nurses don't always listen, or maybe medical care trumps communication.

 

Patients ranked their communication with doctors better, but I'd wager that is because expectations are lower. A nurse can spend all day checking your stats, fixing your IV, adjusting your sheets, but if a doctor speaks to you for 15 seconds, you feel honored for the visit.

 

I wonder how satisfied nurses are with patients. I'd like to see a survey where nurses rank how well patients treat them. Better yet, the patients' families. Some of them are straight out of Jerry Springer.

 

Nurses have told me about family members who start fights in the ER Untie a restrained patient Poke around a gunshot patient for an exit wound. Bring babies and let them crawl on the floor. Smuggle in beer. Ignore isolation signs. Order in pizzas and leave grease behind: Feed diabetics doughnuts, then demand more insulin and threaten to sue if they don't get it They mistake a hospital for a hotel and bark, "We're paying for this."

 

Look, no one wants to be a patient The flimsy gown leaves you exposed to strangers. The bed isn't as comfortable as the one at home. Interruptions all night would make anyone cranky.

 

Nursing is tougher than ever with hospitals wanting customer service, not just patient care.

 

People don't go into nursing because they love paperwork, working holidays, or being on their feet for 12 hours. They go into nursing because they want to help people.

 

My guess is nurses would love to communicate better. If they had the time, they would. Perhaps they could use a bit more patience from their patients.

Regina Brett is a columnist for the Plain Dealer of Cleveland. Her e-mail address is rbrett@planind.com.

Reprinted from an article in the Spokesman Review April 14, 2008. Alan Anderson.

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The Inland Empire Nurses Association is District 4 of the Washington State Nurses Association. For information on membership Registered Nurses should call WSNA at 1-800-231-8482 or the IENA office at (509) 328-8288 or e-mail iena@aimcomm.net.

The Inland Empire Nurses Association Office is located at 222 W. Mission Ste. 231 in the Garden Court Building. Please call 328-8288 before visiting to ensure a staff member is on hand to greet you.

Tax free contribution or memorial remembrances in the name of a loved one may be mailed to: Inland Empire Nurses Association, 222 W. Mission, STE 231, Spokane, WA 99201. Richard  Polillo

The Association News is published quarterly by the Inland Empire Nurses Association, 222 W. Mission, Box 231, Spokane, WA 99201, a non-profit organization. Information on advertising rates may be obtained by calling 509-328-8288.

If you are interested in serving on a Association committee please call the office at 509-328-8288.

Committees : Scholarship, Awards, Legislative Reception, Yearly Nurse Celebration Event, Education, Finance, and Nominations. Most of the committees have a limited involvement of time.

Editors:

Stasia Warren

Janet Toone

2007-2008 Board of Directors

Inland Empire Nurses Association

President:

Theresa Buxton

Treasurer:

Martha Goodall

Secretary:

Linda Williamson

Directors-at-Large:

Janet Toone

Michelle Slider

Occupational Group Directors:

General Duty:

Sara Panter

Community/Public Health:

Donna Pierce

Independent Practice:

Angela Starkweather

Nursing Management:

Vacant

Education:

Brenda Wigen

Nominations Committee:

Anne Bailey, Michelle Wolfe, Sheri Roff

Past President:

Sharon Bradley

Administrative Secretary:

Colleen Gardner

WSNA BOARD NOMINATIONS:

If you are interested in joining the board of WSNA, nominations are currently taking place. Information is available on the Washington State Nurses Association (WSNA) web site.

Nominations must be submitted to WSNA by October 31, 2008 for the 2009 terms.

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GETTING INVOLVED:

We are looking for IENA members who would like to be involved in the planning for the Centennial in Spring 2009.

If interested, please e-mail iena@aimcomm.net or call us at 509-328-8288.

If you have artifacts, newspaper articles, or pictures you would like to share please contact us.

This will be an exciting event for IENA and we would like to get as many individuals involved as we can. This is YOUR association and we encourage your involvement in this activity.

You can be a part in many ways so give us call. Planning will begin at the September Board meeting and we look forward to others joining the committee.

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NOTEWORTHY DATES:

September 24-25, 2008:

The 57th Annual Governor's Industrial Safety & Health Conference will take place at the Spokane Convention Center. For details go to the Governor's Industrial Safety & Health Advisory Board.

September 28-30, 2008:

The WSNA Leadership Conference will take place in Chelan, Washington. Call the IENA office at 509-328-8288 for additional details.

October 10, 2008:

Continuing Education Sessions. This event has been cancelled but will be rescheduled in Spring 2009.

October 10-11, 2008:

WSHA Annual Convention, Davenport Hotel, Spokane, WA. Contact Nancy Madison for information at: madison2macs@aol.com.

October 14, 2008:

IENA Legislative Reception 2008. This year's Legislative Reception will take place at the Red Lion River Inn Spokane from 5:30-8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, October 14, 2008. Come meet your Federal, state, & local representatives and participate in the Q & A at this event. Click here for more information or to register for the event.

Spring 2009:

The IENA centennial celebration. IENA is looking for your help. We are in the early stages of planning for the IENA centennial in 2009. If you have any artifacts, newspaper clippings pictures that you would like to share that can be included in our celebration in the Spring of 2009 please contact the office at 328-8288. Deborah Essing

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READ THE IENA NEWSLETTER - MORE CHANCES TO WIN!

REMEMBER to check out the newsletter for your name. Three names have been posted in the text of the September 2008 Newsletter. If you see your name and call the office at 328-8288 within two weeks of the web site posting (09/22/08), you could win a gift card! Check it out!

Note: Deanna Bragg missed her name in the June 2008 IENA Newsletter.

You can also win by filling out the Membership Survey and returning it to the IENA office via e-mail or snail mail.

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