INSGNA NEWSLETTER AUGUST 2009
IN The Scope of Things Volume 2 Issue 1
President’s Message: Dianna Burns RN BS CGRN
Summer has flown by again. I hope everyone had an opportunity to take a few days off to enjoy the summer. We have another busy fall season approaching. Mark your calendars for:
· Saturday, September 19, 2009 - Ann Kikkert and her co-workers at ENDOLABS in Valparaiso, IN are hosting an outstanding course for our fall INSGNA program.
· Sunday, October 18, 2009 - the certification exam for gastroenterology nurses will be offered in pencil/paper form in multiple locations. Check out the ABCGN website, www.abcgn.org for a full list of locations. ABCGN has begun offering computer-based testing in 2008. Please do not confuse computer-based testing and internet testing. This has become a very popular way to take the exam. Again refer to the ABCGN website for more details.
· Friday-Sunday October 23-25, 2009 - the 17th Multi-Regional SGNA course will be offered in Lewis Center, OH-just outside of Columbus, OH at the Conference Center at NorthPoint. As details become available they will be posted on the SGNA website, www.sgna.org Education/Regional Events.
· December 31, 2009 – Is it time for you to recertify? ABCGN has now made recertification simple. Recertification can be accomplished online. Do not wait until the last minute – check out their website for more information.
Our committee chairs are still looking for members. We would like to orient committee members to the chair position and the chair to an elected position on the Executive Committee. This is an election year and we have re-cycled some of our volunteers so many times they are becoming burnt out. New ideas, enthusiasm, and new blood are needed to keep INSGNA growing.
We would like to thank Suzanne Buchanan and Lea Anne Myers for participating in the Quiz Bowl at the SGNA Annual Course held in St. Louis, MO this past May. Thank you so much for representing INSGNA!
The INSGNA Board appreciates your continued support by attending the bi-annual courses. Spring 2010 will be our 25th anniversary for our chartering into the SGNA. We hope everyone will plan to attend and celebrate with us! Indiana will be hosting the SGNA annual course in Indianapolis, May 5-11, 2011. Mark your calendars and plan your budgets!
Treasurer Report: Lea Anne Myers RN BS CGRN
I can hardly believe how fast the year is going! I wanted to provide you with a financial recap of the spring 2009 conference in Indianapolis, as well as inform you of our current financial balances. Let me begin with the spring 2009 Conference. We had 27 vendors and 92 attendees. See the tables below for details of the income/expenses for the conference. Our income exceeded our expenses by $664.78. These additional funds help offset other expenses of the organization.
Expenses
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Speaker Fees
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Postage
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Printing
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Supplies
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Food
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Facility Fee
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Door Prizes
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Total Expenses
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$1200.00
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$189.00
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$41.73
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$137.81
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$3,576.96
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$3,954.30
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$90.42
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$9,190.22
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Income
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Registration Fees
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Vendor/Table Fees
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Sponsorship
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Fundraisers 50/50 Raffle
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Total Income
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$4,340.00
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$5400.00
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$0.00
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$115.00
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$9,855.00
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Our current financial balances are as follows:
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Checking (General Fund)
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$15,091.44
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Savings (Educational Fund)
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$ 4,035.64
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CD (Emergency Fund) matures 8-30-09
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$11,609.46
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Total Assets
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$30,736.54
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Any members wanting additional information may contact me and I will be happy to answer their questions.
Immediate Past President/Historian/Nominations and Elections Committee: Suzanne Buchanan BSN RN CGRN
You will receive, or may already have, a ballot to vote for the INSGNA officers for the term of 2010 and 2011. I realize that there is only one person running for each office, but the way our by-laws are written, a ballot must be sent out. The board will be addressing the by-laws to possibly change the process for an uncontested ballot. If you have any input to this process, please notify one of the Board of Directors. Also, if you would like to run for an office in the future, please contact one of us.
Program Committee: Ann Minnicus RN
The fall conference in Valparaiso is fast approaching. Please mark your calendars for Saturday, September 19th. The conference will be held at the Strongbow Inn and is being hosted by Ann Kikkert and the staff at ENDOLABS.
2010 is a momentous occasion for the INSGNA. We will be celebrating our 25th anniversary. We are still in need of hosts for both the spring and fall conferences in 2010; please consider hosting one of the conferences during our silver anniversary!
Loretta Hall has joined the Program Committee. If anyone has experience or would like experience in applying for and managing CEU’s for future conferences please consider joining the Program Committee.
Anyone interested in hosting a future conference or joining the Program Committee please contact: Ann Minnicus RN
INSGNA Program Committee
4774 N. State Road 25
Delphi, IN 46923
765-714-8524
Scholarship Committee: Donita Scott BSN RN CGRN
The Scholarship Committee continues to serve you with available funding. One scholarship will be awarded annually to cover the course registration to the spring, fall, and multi-regional courses in the amount equal to that of an SGNA member. One scholarship will cover the early bird registration fee to the SGNA Annual Conference, and one scholarship will cover certification and re-certification exam costs annually.
Criteria for eligibility shall be limited to INSGNA/SGNA members in good standing for a minimum of one year.
Scholarship applications will be completed and forwarded to the Scholarship Committee Chair prior to the deadline. The scholarship forms are available on the SGNA website.
Scholarship Deadlines:
August 15th- Fall INSGNA and Multi-Regional Course
February 1st – SGNA Annual Course
February 15th – Spring INSGNA Course
December 1st – Certification and re-certification reimbursement
Education Committee: LeaRae Herron-Rice MSM RN CGRN
The education committee is requesting ideas from membership on how to meet the educational needs of the membership beyond the two conferences that are held each year by INSGNA. Please e-mail your requests to LeaRae Herron-Rice at lherron2@clarian.org. The committee is also looking for new members. If you are interested please contact LeaRae at the above e-mail or contact any board member.
Membership Committee: Betty Wright ADN RN CGRN
We currently have 126 members. We have increased membership by 11 from Spring 2009.
Annual Course Scholarship Winner Article: Loretta Hall BSN RN CGRN
I was offered the opportunity to attend the 2009 SGNA National Conference held in St. Louis, Missouri through a scholarship awarded by INSGNA. I found this an exciting time for me to network with other GI nurses, and attending the vendor exhibits gave me the chance to see all the new and innovative equipment and supplies available. This sent my mind spinning about all the great ideas I could bring back to my own department.
One course I especially found interesting was “How Portland VAMC (Veterans Administration Medical Center) Reduced Its Screening Colonoscopy Backlog.” The speakers, Danielle Kowalski BSN RN, and Renee Martin BSN RN emphasized the importance of screening colonoscopies in patients between the ages of 50-74. Statistics show that the baby boomers will increase the need for convenient times, due to people working later in life, unable to get off work for tests, or needing transportation to have tests done. They demonstrated how opening their department on Saturdays for these types of situations has become a high patient satisfier. They also spoke of the importance of day before procedure call reminders. I can see this as a way to ensure that the patient is following the colon prep instructions correctly, as well as allowing the nurse to answer any questions the patient may have. They found this resulted in fewer cancellations.
I can see this idea as a way to increase patient satisfaction, but the key would be if you have the staff or budget to allow employees to work Saturdays. By giving a full time employee a day off during the week or giving a part time person an extra day might work. The staff would have to be dedicated to this idea and willing to help make it work as stated by Kowalski and Martin. Kowalski and Martin gave a five year projection of demand and costs incurred to offer Saturday colonoscopy scheduling. They believe that within that time the demand will decrease and costs will be managed. Patient satisfaction is always the number one concern on their agenda. Right now their patients are happy with Saturday scheduling and staff like having that day off during the week or that extra day they might need for their own lifestyle.
I enjoyed those four days at the SGNA Conference, and found many courses that opened up my mind to see how others have resolved problems in their own departments.
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