emergency nursing: promises to keep!

4
December 2000 531 I t is indeed with great honor, privilege, and much gratitude that I write this final President’s Mes- sage of 2000. Thanks to thousands of ENA members, my time as president of ENA has been a wonderful ex- perience. I would like to share some of my experiences with you in a year-end progress report of how we are doing in terms of moving ENA and emergency nursing forward and having fun along the way. I am pleased to tell you that our association is doing quite well! The past year has been very productive. I believe we have made a major impact, our name has been spread far and wide, and our reputation has grown to greater heights. The actions of ENA, one of the largest specialty organizations, have shown us to be a leader. A friend of mine once described the various nursing specialties as needing to be able to build col- lapsible bridges that we could use to stand together on many issues but retract when we had to stand on our own. I believe in this year ENA has used many bridges to move us even further in the nursing spe- cialty world. Many people turn to us for ideas and leadership and see us championing the cause of qual- ity patient care. ENA has stood strong and been sup- portive of emergency nurses across this land and be- yond, helping us to stand for what we believe and giving us the necessary hand to move forward. As I reflect on a wonderful year, I think back to the 1999 General Assembly, which created and charged the Year 2000 Committee (the 1999 House of Delegates). Our charges were simple: 1. Support and promote the mission of ENA 2. Increase membership 3. Have fun! I am pleased to report that our committee has al- most completed our charges. At present, ENA mem- bership is remaining steady at about 23,000. It would be nice to grow to 30,000 members; however, al- though a president can grant honorary memberships, granting 7000 of them might be a bit much. In addi- tion, because no dues are associated with these hon- orary memberships, I doubt if our Finance Committee would be supportive of such a plan. Yet, I believe more hospitals should follow the lead of Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas, Tex. For a second year in a row, the hospital is paying for membership in ENA for all its ED nurses. They are to be commended! My travels this year have taken me to many won- derful parts of the United States and abroad, and I have visited members from at least 20 states. I have learned to eat whole lobster, and even to breathe nor- mally in small planes. It was a real joy to be able to be a part of the first South Eastern Seaboard Sympo- sium, where I saw my home state of South Carolina combine forces with North Carolina, Virginia, and Georgia for a very successful Annual Meeting. As al- ways, the New England Symposium was better than Benjamin E. Marett, Clinical Nurse Specialist, Emergency Care Consultants of the Carolinas, Rock Hill, SC, is president of the Emergency Nurses Association and a member of the Catawba chapter; E-mail: [email protected] J Emerg Nurs 2000;26:531-4. Copyright © 2000 by the Emergency Nurses Association. 0099-1767/2000 $12.00 + 0 18/61/111507 doi:10.1067/men.2000.111507 President’s Message Emergency nursing: Promises to keep! Benjamin E. Marett, RN, MSN, CEN, COHN-S, CNA, Rock Hill, SC We have tackled many interesting issues this year, from the magic staffing formula to standing firm on our commitment regarding family presence. We have spoken at the Leadership Forum regarding ED over- crowding and workplace safety issues and have championed our cause of a safe workplace for ED nurses.

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Page 1: Emergency nursing: Promises to keep!

December 2000 531

It is indeed with great honor, privilege, and muchgratitude that I write this final President’s Mes-

sage of 2000. Thanks to thousands of ENA members,my time as president of ENA has been a wonderful ex-perience. I would like to share some of my experienceswith you in a year-end progress report of how we aredoing in terms of moving ENA and emergency nursingforward and having fun along the way. I am pleased totell you that our association is doing quite well!

The past year has been very productive. I believewe have made a major impact, our name has beenspread far and wide, and our reputation has grown togreater heights. The actions of ENA, one of thelargest specialty organizations, have shown us to bea leader. A friend of mine once described the variousnursing specialties as needing to be able to build col-lapsible bridges that we could use to stand togetheron many issues but retract when we had to stand onour own. I believe in this year ENA has used manybridges to move us even further in the nursing spe-cialty world. Many people turn to us for ideas andleadership and see us championing the cause of qual-ity patient care. ENA has stood strong and been sup-portive of emergency nurses across this land and be-yond, helping us to stand for what we believe andgiving us the necessary hand to move forward.

As I reflect on a wonderful year, I think back tothe 1999 General Assembly, which created andcharged the Year 2000 Committee (the 1999 House ofDelegates). Our charges were simple:1. Support and promote the mission of ENA2. Increase membership3. Have fun!

I am pleased to report that our committee has al-most completed our charges. At present, ENA mem-

bership is remaining steady at about 23,000. It wouldbe nice to grow to 30,000 members; however, al-though a president can grant honorary memberships,granting 7000 of them might be a bit much. In addi-tion, because no dues are associated with these hon-orary memberships, I doubt if our Finance Committeewould be supportive of such a plan. Yet, I believemore hospitals should follow the lead of PresbyterianHospital in Dallas, Tex. For a second year in a row, thehospital is paying for membership in ENA for all itsED nurses. They are to be commended!

My travels this year have taken me to many won-derful parts of the United States and abroad, and Ihave visited members from at least 20 states. I havelearned to eat whole lobster, and even to breathe nor-mally in small planes. It was a real joy to be able to bea part of the first South Eastern Seaboard Sympo-sium, where I saw my home state of South Carolinacombine forces with North Carolina, Virginia, andGeorgia for a very successful Annual Meeting. As al-ways, the New England Symposium was better than

Benjamin E. Marett, Clinical Nurse Specialist, Emergency CareConsultants of the Carolinas, Rock Hill, SC, is president of theEmergency Nurses Association and a member of the Catawbachapter; E-mail: [email protected] Emerg Nurs 2000;26:531-4.Copyright © 2000 by the Emergency Nurses Association.0099-1767/2000 $12.00 + 0 18/61/111507doi:10.1067/men.2000.111507

President’s MessageEmergency nursing: Promises to keep!Benjamin E. Marett, RN, MSN, CEN, COHN-S, CNA, Rock Hill, SC

We have tackled manyinteresting issues this year,from the magic staffingformula to standing firm onour commitment regardingfamily presence. We havespoken at the LeadershipForum regarding ED over-crowding and workplacesafety issues and havechampioned our cause of asafe workplace for ED nurses.

Page 2: Emergency nursing: Promises to keep!

532 Volume 26, Number 6

ever. I joined a few Board colleagues and manyfriends in Niagara Falls for the New York ENA meet-ing, and I tried my luck again…and again…and yetagain in Las Vegas at a wonderful combined Nevadaand California meeting. In addition to meeting won-derful people and attending a great meeting, I thor-oughly enjoyed the ice cream in Ohio, and I found theLake of the Ozarks in Missouri to be a perfect settingfor a fantastic ENA conference. While visiting theHouston Chapter of Texas ENA, I learned that theheat only made the group more enthusiastic. Themeetings and ED nurses in Louisiana, Connecticut,and North Dakota were also fantastic. Meeting withmany international colleagues in Edinburgh, Scot-land, only emphasized that our chosen field is, in-deed, universal. What an awesome experience toconverse with nurses from around the world, all ofwhom do the same thing!

By now you are probably wondering if I was everhome! Even though I have been on the road a greatdeal, so have my other Board colleagues. Visits havebeen or will be made to approximately 20 other statesthis year. Our goal was to visit members in as manystates as possible in the year 2000.

I would like to focus on several other excitingventures. The first was the meeting of the NationalStudent Nurses Association in Salt Lake City, Utah.What energy the members of this association have!ENA has had a great relationship with this associa-tion for many years, and our sessions are always filled.I feel very good about our future. The nurses of to-morrow are excited, ready to face many challenges,and willing to tackle difficult issues at any given mo-ment. It sounds like they are ready for the emergencydepartment. I urge you to get involved with the Na-tional Student Nurses Association on a state level.Mentoring, developing, and reaching out that helpinghand has far-reaching potential.

Another exciting venture was the meeting withthe American Nurses Association in Indianapolis. We

JOURNAL OF EMERGENCY NURSING/Marett

have had many opportunities to work with PresidentMary Foley this year and found her to be a genuineleader for the American Nurses Association. She re-lated a story recently about the nation’s 2.8 millionnurses in terms of the national elections. It occurredto me that, because a majority of nurses are involvedin emergency nursing, we should then be workingwith a population of more than 1.4 million as our re-source and aim to have at least half of those as ENAmembers.

Finally, I want to mention that we have beenworking with our colleagues from the American Col-lege of Emergency Physicians. Dr Mike Rapp and theAmerican College of Emergency Physicians adminis-trative team have met with us on several occasions,and we have communicated frequently, sharingnewsletters. We are looking at several co-venturingprojects during the next few years. We have also hadcommunication with the American Academy ofEmergency Medicine. ENA continues to collaboratewith our specialty nursing colleagues, both throughorganized forums and informal networking betweenchief executive officers and presidents.

By now you know we have had a good time, but Ialso want to highlight some exciting accomplish-ments this year. The ENA Leadership Symposium2000 was a major success, with 1136 people in atten-dance. Most of us had our semi-annual dose of ENAfever and returned to our working world re-energized,re-charged, and ready to tackle another busy shift inthe emergency department! We also had an excellentState Leaders’ meeting, to the theme of “Sounds ofSuccess.” Of course, the year 2000 Annual Meetingwas the best ever, with more than 3700 in atten-dance. In July of this year, our first ever EN CARE In-stitute Chairperson’s conference was held. Represen-tatives from 47 states attended this outstandingevent and have returned to their states to oversee anddisseminate much-needed information. The tradi-tional alcohol-related programs added 5 new brothersand sisters in 2000. Our goal of being a leader in in-jury prevention just became a goal of being the leaderin injury prevention. With this team, there is no doubtthat will happen!

We have been active on the legislative front,from monitoring progress of various bills affectingour everyday practice to letting our collective voicesbe heard. We have sent letters, responded to calls,visited the Hill, and definitely have made a differ-ence. Our work is not finished, however. Now is thetime to move the United States forward and get ac-tive in the political arena. With the 2000 electionsover, it is time to prepare for 2001 and beyond. Wemust protect our profession and our patients! We

More hospitals should followthe lead of PresbyterianHospital in Dallas, Tex. For asecond year in a row, thehospital is paying formembership in ENA for allits ED nurses.

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December 2000 533

Marett/JOURNAL OF EMERGENCY NURSING

must ask the questions, be heard, and have morenurses running for office.

Our education programs have been very popularthis year, with approximately 25,000 people sched-uled to complete the Trauma Nursing Core Course(TNCC), 9000 scheduled to complete the EmergencyNursing Pediatric Course, and 1500 scheduled tocomplete the Course in Advanced Trauma Nursing.TNCC has been revised, and the new product is won-derful. Many of us will enjoy teaching the new mater-ial for years to come. TNCC has again moved beyondthe walls of the United States, this time to Italy andPortugal, and we continue to receive much interest inthis course from around the world. We have simplifiedand redefined the process for international dissemi-nation of our courses, and the Emergency Nurse Pe-diatric Course is traveling to Sweden.

In this, our 30th anniversary year, and the year ofthe member, ENA has worked very hard to strength-en our membership focus and broaden our memberbenefits. Etcetera retired in May 2000 and ENA Con-nection made its debut, with a new look, new de-sign, and added information. On our Web site,www.ena.org, the new Emergency Care Connectionis ready for all members to enjoy; currently, the Website has approximately 250,000 hits per month. Every-thing from ordering products, exploring continuingeducation credit hour activities, registering for pro-grams, to locating a new friend can be accomplishedin one cyber visit.

Journal of Emergency Nursing continues to beone of our most popular benefits, and I definitely seewhy! Thanks to each of you for your articles and yourexpertise in making this journal one of the best in thenursing profession. The International Journal of Trau-ma Nursing is also doing very well. What a fine ex-ample of an excellent collaborative product! We hopeto see many more people take advantage of thiswealth of information.

To continue the “year of the member” charge,Chief Executive Officer Pat Blake and I have spokenwith randomly selected member groups each monththis year and have learned a great deal about our As-sociation. Several ideas have been implemented as aresult of these conversations with members, such ashaving Chapter development sessions at the AnnualMeeting, revising our policies concerning TNCC pro-cessing, and updating our EN CARE brochures. Myvoice mail in the office has been active, with callsranging from the need to talk to an invitation to achapter meeting 1500 miles away—taking place thenext night. I have helped members locate their statepresident, locate the Certified Emergency Nurse ex-amination, and decide which Emergency Nurses Day

products to buy, and I have even shared a synopsis ofour new rapid sequence intubation and childhoodrash slide scripts.

All in all, members have been active this year,with more than 285 members, including 17 past pres-idents, involved in 45 National committees and work-groups and 3 vision councils. They have worked hard,completed charges, and made a major difference forour Association and emergency nursing. The Year2000 Committee remains our largest committee ever,with more than 800 members. With this committee, Iofficially declared the year 2000 as the “year of themember,” and charged the 1999 House of Delegates(Year 2000 Committee) with the responsibility of com-pleting membership-focused charges.

We have tackled many interesting issues thisyear, from the magic staffing formula to standing firmon our commitment regarding family presence. Wehave spoken at the Leadership Forum regarding EDovercrowding and workplace safety issues and havechampioned our cause of a safe workplace for EDnurses. To many persons, ENA has been popular; tosome entities, we have actually been a pain (some-times a good sign!). Above all, we have endured thepressure and remained the leader that we are! ENAhas also set an example with our research initiativesand our focus on evidence-based practice. Manypeople are creating and validating cutting-edgepractice while ultimately improving care delivery byall nurses.

Our revised and expandedgun safety program will becompleted by December, andwe have developed a 2-daychild passenger safetytraining program. Ourawards workgroup hasrecommended and our Boardhas approved several newawards for presentation nextyear, including the RisingStar Award, the President’sAward, and the ENA StaffAward.

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534 Volume 26, Number 6

As we move forward from this place in time, sev-eral new concepts have emerged. The Academy ofEmergency Nursing will take shape during the nextfew months, with members being inducted in Sep-tember 2001. A new CEN review manual is on thehorizon, and the orientation manual made its debut atthe 2000 Annual Meeting. Our revised and expandedgun safety program will be completed by December,and we have developed a 2-day child passenger safe-ty training program. Our awards workgroup has rec-ommended and our Board has approved several newawards for presentation next year, including the Ris-ing Star Award, the President’s Award, and the ENAStaff Award.

In his popular book, Who moved my cheese?1

Spencer Johnson takes us on a simple but truthfuljourney concerning change. The parable is an amus-ing and enlightening story of 4 characters who live ina maze and look for cheese to nourish them and makethem happy. Cheese is a metaphor for what you wantto have, the maze is where you look for what youwant, and the characters are us. We can definitelyidentify with each! Of 2 characters who decide toventure out and find their lost cheese, one is on thefence, not sure about change, but is finally persuad-ed, and one stands firm, waiting for the cheese tocome to him. The year 2000 has definitely been a yearof change for ENA, with many of us following thesecharacters’ paths. Let us live on the wild side, take

JOURNAL OF EMERGENCY NURSING/Marett

the shape of the ones willing to move forward, andfind the new locations of our cheese!

Lastly, let me remind you that emergency nursingis not a stagnant field but one of constant change,where the cheese keeps relocating. We must be will-ing to move beyond the walls, mentor our young, letgo of the always traditional, and accept new and ex-citing endeavors. We must project what we believe,stand firm in our commitments, and have vision forthe future. ENA’s vision of defining the future of emer-gency nursing through advocacy, expertise, innova-tion, and leadership has remained in constant sightthis year.

In closing, I issue to you 3 simple thoughts forconsideration:1. ENA must continue to be a member-driven orga-

nization, one in which we take an active part inplanning our profession’s future. I mean in thedriver’s seat, not the passenger’s seat. Our orga-nization will only be as good as we, the members,make it.

2. Do not settle for anything less than excellence inour care delivery model, organizational focus, andhow we represent emergency nursing.

3. Reach for the stars. The popular radio disk jockeyCasey Kasem has inspired many people for yearswith his top 40 review and closing line, “Plantyour feet firmly and keep reaching for the stars!”With the energy and enthusiasm of emergencynurses, I believe we can move the mountain ofemergency care, even to the level of the stars.The time has come: we have promises to keep,

our world is waiting, our patients have expectations,our colleagues are needing our assistance, and ourAssociation is ready for us to maintain the momen-tum. Thanks to our wonderful ENA staff, thanks to theexcellent Board of Directors, and, above all, thanks toyou, my friends, for giving me the opportunity to playa small part in the leadership of our Association. Wedo indeed have promises to keep! Thank you!

Reference

1. Johnson S. Who moved my cheese? New York: PenguinPutnam, Inc; 1998.

Plant your feet firmly andkeep reaching for the stars!With the energy andenthusiasm of emergencynurses, I believe we canmove the mountain ofemergency care, even tothe level of the stars.