Society of Trauma Nurses (STN) has a wide range of opportunities within the organization and I would like to highlight some exciting programs which are expanding their horizons currently. Below are some of the programs I would like to highlight for you in this quarter's journal.
MEMBERSHIP
Pat Manion, RN, MSN, has rejuvenated the membership committee with a call to action for volunteers to assist in growing the STN membership. This group held their first meeting in June 2011. Many exciting activities are planned to help in soliciting new members and retain current members. Current membership is 1398 as of May 2011. A membership survey is in the works and a plan to review various membership roles within the organization is underway as well. Please contact STN for more information if you are interested in participating in this evolving committee.
INJURY PREVENTION
Karen Macauley, RN, MSN, Director at Large: Special Interest Group (SIG) Committee Chair is also very busy with all of the SIGs, which include pediatric, neurotrauma, advanced practice, legislative, military, rural, geriatrics, and injury prevention. The STN SIGs have evolved and are still evolving to meet the needs of the membership with specialized interests within trauma care; with targeted information and education. All STN members are welcome and encouraged to join with those who have similar interests. Recently, the injury prevention SIG voted in a new cochair to assist many of the activities that this SIG is involved in. Kimberly Everett, injury prevention coordinator at St. Mary Medical Center in Langhome, Pennsylvania, is the current chair and has aptly overseen this dynamic group. There are so many great opportunities in injury prevention, which is the cornerstone for preventing traumatic injury; some additional help via a cochair was in order.
Welcome to Jennifer Davis, RN
Jennifer hails from Akron, Ohio, she is the trauma program manager for Akron City Hospital and has her Masters in Nursing and Healthcare Management and has a strong background in injury prevention like her cochair.
The STN has begun a new collaboration with Surgical and Trauma Organizations for Prevention coalition. The Surgical and Trauma Organizations for Prevention coalition injury initiative is a collaboration of the major trauma professional organizations (American Association for Surgical Trauma, American College of Surgeon's-Committee on Trauma, Eastern Association for Surgical Trauma, Western Association for Surgical Trauma, American Trauma Society, and STN) that have come together to work on injury prevention initiatives. The organization's mission is to promote collaborative efforts and develop effective strategies in injury/violence prevention while minimizing redundant and duplicative activities. In addition, the organization would look at collaborative ways to address injury prevention research. More information on this collaboration will follow in the fall.
TOPIC
On May 16 to 18, 2011, the STN held the first Middle-East International Trauma Outcomes Performance Improvement Course (TOPIC) course at Hamad Medical Center in Doha, Qatar, with presenters Kathleen Martin and Connie Mattice. A total of 3 courses were held with more than 70 multidisciplinary trauma-affiliated staff attending including trauma surgeons, emergency medicine physicians, orthopedic surgeons, nurses from emergency department, intensive care unit, operating room, medical/surgical, trauma program team, and all levels of administration. The desire of the medical team was to enhance their trauma performance improvement program and strengthen their common goal of providing quality care. The objective of Hamad Medical Center is to be the first Middle-East international hospital to achieve ACS-COT trauma center verification in the near future. Rifat Latifi, MD, is the trauma medical director and Ahmed Abu Jaber is the trauma program manager. As a result of the TOPIC and STN interface, the Hamad trauma program manager and trauma registry coordinator traveled to the United States and observed the concurrent performance improvement process first hand at the University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri. The STN and the TOPIC committee appreciate the Hamad Medical Center's collaboration and hospitality in enabling these courses to be presented. And yes, both Kathie and Connie rode camels in the desert.
ADVANCED TRAUMA CARE FOR NURSES
The Advanced Trauma Care for Nurses (ATCN) program continues to grow. The ATCN is well established now in 26 US states and in 15 countries around the globe, including North and South Americas, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Several states are in various stages of bringing ATCN to their state in 2011/2012. Internationally, Germany conducted its inaugural course in March 2011. A team from both the United States and Switzerland went to Flensburg to hold a 2-day faculty course for the nurses in Germany. A total of 8 nurses attended this faculty course; this was followed up with a student course in Hamburg. During this course, Margot Dietz-Wittstock was checked off as the ATCN course director; Margot will serve as Germany country chair. In addition, 5 other nurses were checked off as instructors in this course. Germany has since held their second successful program in June 2011. With the support of Dr Thorsten Lange, Advance Trauma Life Support (ATLS) Medical Director, Germany already has plans to start this program in other cities around Flensburg. Interest internationally continues to grow with program inquires from Southeast Asia, South America, and the Middle East. Inaugural courses are scheduled for Columbia, South America, and Cyprus after this year. On the basis of the tremendous interest in ATCN, a 1-day refresher course is being developed. The course is currently under development with an expectation of having this available in early 2012. An exciting new opportunity is developing for ATCN, which takes advantage of the growing use of tele-medicine. The ATCN-Teleconference Option presents an opportunity to conduct an ATCN provider course, via an interactive teleconference link, in remote areas where ATLS is not offered, or where geographic distance makes it a hardship to send nurses to an established ATCN program. The ATCN-Teleconference Option is in the final stages of approval and will be an option for use by the fall of 2011. Visit the STN Web site at http://www.traumanurses.org/education/atcn-courses.html for more information about the ATCN program. Many thanks to both Mike Glenn and Rich Henn for their exceptional oversight of the US and international ACTN program and growth, and the ATCN executive committee.
Education
The education committee under the leadership of Chair Cindy Blank-Reid has been working earnestly on a collaborative guideline with the Hartford Institute of Geriatric Nursing titled "Guideline for the Care of the Geriatric Patient Taking Anti-Coagulants Who Sustain a Traumatic Brain Injury." This guideline should be available to members later this fall. More information will be available on the Web site as that collaboration grows.
These are just a few of the recent activities of our committees and SIGs. I will be bringing more updates on these groups and the other SIGs and committees throughout the coming issues. There are so many wonderful, intriguing initiatives in the STN world. Hope everyone has a safe and fun-filled, injury-free summer!
Remember to visit the STN Web site http://www.traumanurses.org and mark your calendars for the 15th Annual STN Conference in Savannah, Georgia, with preconference sessions on April 11, 2012, and the annual conference starting April 12 to 13, 2012. Savannah is the fourth largest city in Georgia and is an important Atlantic seaport. It was also the host for the sailing competitions during the 1996 Summer Olympics. We look forward to seeing you all there!