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Welcome to the International Year of the Nurse as we celebrate the centennial year of Florence Nightingale (1820-1910) as the founder of modern nursing. Our organization joins Sigma Theta Tau International, the Nightingale Initiative for Global Health, the Florence Nightingale Museum (London, England) and other organizations in co-sponsoring this yearlong event recognizing contributions from nurses throughout the world and uniting us to promote world health. Vignettes promoting best practices and integrating evidence-based practice into all aspects of health are invited and featured at www.2010iynurse.net .
ASPMN also marks an important milestone this year as we celebrate the twentieth year since our founders assembled to organize a national coalition to advance and promote optimal nursing care for people affected by pain. Our organization continues to follow this vision through our Strategic Plan that reinforces both our mission to promote optimal nursing care for people affected by pain by promoting best nursing practice and our overarching goal to be the leader whose pre-eminent voice and unparalleled resources catalyze the integration of pain management into all aspects of health care.
This year begins with: the new edition to The Core Curriculum for Pain Management Nursing; expansion of our original Master Faculty to include a Geriatrics Master Faculty and a Master Faculty for Safety Monitoring of Prescription Opioids (Leading to Better Clinical Outcomes); and a new Position Statement “Optimizing the Treatment of Pain in Patients with Acute Presentations” in collaboration with the Emergency Nurses Association, the American College of Emergency Physicians and APS.
Our Education Committee is reviewing our current Position Statements for incorporation of new evidence as well as providing continuing education for those interested and Task Forces are developing Position Statements for procedural pain and for monitoring of sedation. I am delighted to announce that the New York State Nurses’ Association approves us as a Provider of Continuing Education. Your Board of Directors will be providing the procedure for planning programs for CEU with you very soon. Analysis of our Strategic Plan will be the charge of our newly approved Strategic Planning Advisory Committee. The committee will assure that objectives and ideas developed by the membership and Board are attended to in a timely and consistent fashion.
Ellyn Schreiner, our Treasurer and Historian Extraordinaire, has dedicated the last two years towards collecting and scanning twenty years of documents for ASPMN’s historical preservation. You will have the opportunity to celebrate Ellyn’s work at our University of Virginia Preservation Ceremony and at our 20th Anniversary ASPMN Annual Conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota!
Your Board continues to liaison with other organizations and advocacy groups to promote effective pain management. Our Immediate Past President, Nancy Eksterowicz, represented ASPMN on the Mayday Fund Committee who published the report “ A Call to Revolutionize Chronic Pain Care in America: An Opportunity in Health Care Reform (http://www.maydaypainreport.org/report.php) and continues to work with the “Let's Talk Pain” coalition for improved access and care of people with pain. In the past few months, I have been fortunate to represent our organization on an advisory committee to assist the C-Change Cancer Core Competency Initiative Pain and Palliative Care Grant Program in selecting and coaching funded research projects and to discuss educational gaps and possible educational resources related to pain management nursing for oncology nurses with the Oncology Nursing Society.
On the International Front, I am pleased to announce our first International Affiliate is Dr. Laserina O’Connor who presented ‘Pain Cues in the Non-verbal Patient in the Immediate Phase Post Cardiac Surgery a Case Study’ at our National Conference in September 2009. Dr. O’Connor will display our International Affiliate logo on her “Clinical Judgment and Pain Management," Level 9 (Masters 7.5 Credit) course. Please read her commentary on being an International Affiliate as well as Dr. Jo Eland’s thoughts on International membership in this issue. We are indeed excited to establish Affiliates throughout the world in this International Year of the Nurse!
Our Government Affairs Director, Wade Delk, continues to represent ASPMN on the hill. Wade’s efforts have included: promoting the Pain Care Policy Act (at the House and Senate); following the FDA and the Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies (REMS) with the Pain Care Forum and the Industry Working Group (IWG) to alert us to opportunity to provide oral and/or written testimony for safety and balance in the availability and prescription of opioids and acetaminophen for pain control; advocating for nursing education with the Americans for Nursing Shortage Relief (ANSR) Alliance to obtain a 42% increase in funding for nursing programs ($70 million) over fiscal year 2009; and monitoring issues that impact our organization’s mission, alerting us to be an active voice in governmental affairs. Wade provides information about our Governmental Affairs and his contact information on our Advocacy page at www.aspmn.org . Interested members can participate through our Communications Committee by contacting Chair Connie Leudtke. I cannot mention our Advocacy page without mentioning ASPMN’s support of the Haitian Relief Operation. Please visit our website for information if you have not had the opportunity to do so.
Another milestone and cause for celebration is our fifth year collaborating with the American Nurses Association on the release of Pain Management Nursing: Scope and Standards for Practice and with the American Nurses Credentialing Center to create a certification exam for pain management. An updated exam will be offered in October 2010. Celebrate your own and your colleague’s Pain Management Certification on Nurses Certification Day, March 19th. Toolkits for celebration are found at http://www.certifiednursesday.org/items.htm .
In September, I asked each of you to “stay connected”. ASPMN, through our combined efforts, grew by 411 new members in 2009. However, we want to be sure to interest our more seasoned members in both sustained membership and active participation. We have openings on the Board and on the Nominating Committee so I encourage you to either self nominate or encourage members you recommend to submit their name for nomination. Nominations are due in by March 1, 2010. I can attest to the mentorship of our Board and leadership since 1997, but especially over my last 5 years on your Board of Directors.
Many of you are actively promoting ASPMN and efforts to expand our mission in your daily practice, in volunteering your time and talent and through publications and presentations. I am eager to hear from more of you about your ideas to expand evidence-based pain management education and best practices. Tom Clancy, American Novelist summed up what I think Florence Nightingale may have said today, “We can not fail to win unless we fail to try”…
Carpe diem,
Terry
Theresa A. Grimes, RN-BC, MN, FNP, BC, CCRN
– ASPMN President
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