Connecticut SGNA - Connecticut Society of Gastroenterology Nurses and Associates.

"Promoting excellence though education and the exchange of ideas"

CTSGNA President's Letter

President's Letter - February 2008

I would like to begin by saying thank you and congratulations to everyone who made our Beyond the Scope 2007 such a success. Many people made tremendous contributions, including the CTSGNA Board and the Beyond the Scope Committee. We had 35 attendees for the ERCP course and over 200 for Saturday's conference. Our raffle made over $1,000 which will go a long way toward our educational efforts. The experience of networking and sharing was incredibly valuable for those who attended.

I know the board and our membership all join me in congratulating Nancy Covini who was recognized at the conference as GI Proctor and Gamble Nurse of the Year. Nancy continues to exemplify everything that we as a profession are all about.

A big thank you goes out to all the vendors who participated in Beyond the Scope. They gave so much of their time and other resources. I would also like to thank those who contributed gifts to the raffle and others who gave of their time and effort.

As we start a new year, our goals include bringing exciting new topics to our conferences and involving members across the entire state of Connecticut. We also hope to encourage more members to become certified and hope that members will bring new friends and colleagues to our monthly meetings.

Remember to check our website (http://www.sgna.org) for upcoming events. (Check under Regions.)

I hope you are all enjoying your fall and want to wish everyone a happy and safe Thanksgiving. Most of all, please take care of yourselves and those you love during the upcoming cold months ahead, which can be very stressful. Take time out to enjoy those things that bring you and your family great joy.

Angel Morales, CGRN
President, CTSGNA

"Hope is the companion of power, and mother of success; for who so hopes strongly has within him the gift of miracles." - Samuel Smiles

President's Letter - September 2007

Happy Summer, CTSGNA members!!

I hope you have all had a productive and memorable summer.

The coming fall brings many opportunities for us as a professional organization, especially our 15th annual Beyond the Scope conference which will be held at the Foxwoods Casino on October 12 and 13. I encourage all of you to attend and ask that you invite some of your co-workers to attend as well. Every year the conference proves to be more and more professionally gratifying – and lots of fun – something we can never have enough of!!

On another note, our 2006 – 2007 year afforded many great opportunities for education and professional networking during our monthly meetings and we are now in the process of coordinating our 2007 – 2008 meeting schedule. We would encourage any of you who would like to host a monthly meeting at your institution to contact Kathy Vinci or me if you have topics of interest or suggested speakers.

We are particularly interested in expanding the location of our meetings across the entire state.

I continue to be incredibly impressed and most appreciative of all of the hard work and commitment of the CTSGNA board members, the Beyond the Scope committee, all of the other committees and Gail Steele for all of her hard work on our newsletter and website.

Let's all work together to make 2007 – 2008 our best season ever by encouraging all current and new members to participate in the SGNA – whether that's through mentoring others, preparing for certification or participating in local colon cancer awareness initiatives. We have a very important job to do and great opportunities as endoscopy professionals.

Wishing you a wonderful fall and looking forward to seeing you all at our September meeting at Mid State Medical Center on Thursday, September 20, 2007 at 6:00 and at Foxwoods in October.

Best regards, Angel

President's Letter - June 2007

Greetings, CTSGNA members!!

I hope this letter finds you all well and gearing up for a nice, New England summer.

As you all know, each May brings the opportunity for some of us to enjoy some very productive and energizing time to network with many of our colleagues at our National convention and this most recent convention was no exception. This year's conference was held in the beautiful location of Baltimore, Maryland right on the inner harbor.

Personally speaking one of the most valuable and gratifying experiences for me during the conference, which I would like to share with all of you was being able to define what the conference message, "Charting A Course" means to me. This can mean charting a particular new path in life, opening your eyes and mind to areas for new professional growth or always learning more about the impact we as GI nurses can have on our patients. The conference is always so much about spending time with mentors and seeing how we all have the chance to mentor others and in so doing, we can not only chart our own course, but help to shape that of others.

The conference was also particularly special because our very own Carol Stevens concluded her tenure as National President. Many congratulations are in order for Carol as she did an amazing job in her capacity. We are all incredibly proud for how she has put our chapter on the national map! This time in Baltimore was even more special for Carol because her husband, Pete was able to join Carol from Iraq along with her two sons, Chris and Brian. Carol, your dedication and contributions have been inspiring to us all and we would all like to wish you and your family good health and all the best in everything you all do in the future.

CTSGNA would like to thank all of the members who attended Carol's reception party to let her know how much we appreciate everything she's done and give her our best as she moves toward a new chapter in her professional life. I would personally like to also thank Michael Arnold, US Endoscopy and Jeff Clay from Boston Scientific for their support during the conference.

Another note of deep appreciation goes to Kathy Vinci for all of her work and receiving the Regional re-chartering certificate for CTSGNA during the conference.

Turning back to our state-wide activities, I want to encourage all of you and your co-workers to attend the monthly meetings and most especially to plan to attend Beyond the Scope 2007 this October. But most of all, I want to thank everyone for supporting the mission of our organization, providing continuing education GI professionals and educating the public about the importance of our field.

Again, wishing you all a wonderful summer and look forward to seeing you all at our upcoming dinner meeting on June 14 at 6 pm at Angelico's Restaurant in New Britain!

-Angel Morales, RN, CGRN

President's Letter - February 2007

Greetings everyone! I hope everyone had a safe, healthy and enjoyable holiday season and that this finds all of you well. I'd like to begin by thanking a number of people for their outstanding commitment and hard work to the SGNA during recent months.

Kathy Vinci has done excellent work in scheduling our upcoming regional meetings and I'd like to thank representatives from participating hospitals for providing meeting locations and CEUs.

I'd also like to thank Chris Sarisley for her hard work in getting Doris Barnes to return to Connecticut, June 16th and 17th to provide her certification review course which will be held at St. Francis Hospital. The October certification exam which will be given near Boston.

The course Doris offers has been very helpful in developing the confidence people have needed in taking the certification exam.

I would like to remind and encourage everyone to attend the national SGNA annual meeting and course which will be held in Baltimore in May. This represents an outstanding and unique opportunity for us here in the Northeast since many meetings are not usually held so close to us. Attendees always love the chance to network and learn from our peers in other states, as well as nationally renowned experts.

Finally, everyone on the Beyond the Scope 2007 committee has already begun doing an outstanding job preparing for what we are sure will be another superb and successful conference in October. Many thanks to everyone for all your energy and diligence achieving the organization's mission and look forward to a great kick off starting in February at our meeting at Manchester Memorial Hospital.

Please don't hesitate to contact me or any of the board members if you have suggestions or ideas for how we can continue to meet the needs of our members.

Best wishes,
Angel Morales, RN, CGRN
President, CT SGNA

President's Letter - September 2006

Hello CTSGNA Members,

September arrived at our doorstep swiftly. It is time to revert to the school routine for many, leaving behind the memories of the long, warm days of summer.

For CTSGNA, it is time to get back into our monthly meeting routine. It is also time to be eager about the upcoming "Beyond the Scope" conference.

CTSGNA "Beyond the Scope" 2006 planning committee has continued to meet during the summer. There are many details to consider when planning an event of this scale.

There is an enlightening educational line up for the full day conference on October 21.

The practical ERCP course on Friday October 20th is prepared and ready to welcome up to 60 nurses and associates.

All of the individuals involved with the planning and implementation of this annual event are volunteers. The many hours and many meetings that are required to fine tune the details of this annual event are all "behind the scene" mechanisms that contribute to the success of "Beyond the Scope."

Before I became involved with this annual event, I just paid my registration fee, showed up, enjoyed the conference and walked away with new information and a CEU certificate. My appreciation for the time involved sure has grown!

I ask that when you are at our conference this year that you take a moment to look around, enjoy the conference and be grateful for the time and talent required to have a successful conference.

I would like to dedicate this issue of the newsletter to those who work tirelessly as a great team to make "Beyond the Scope" an extraordinary educational event.

Maybe you will take the step to become involved in planning the 2007 conference.

I look forward to seeing you there!

Be well,
Lori

President's Letter - June 2006

Greetings to all!

This is the last newsletter before the summer "break".

I use the term "break" loosely. CTSGNA is always active. There are committees meeting year round to plan the "Beyond the Scope" annual conference. The board is preparing for our annual business meeting.

CTSGNA nurses enjoying the Gala Awards Banquet Many of us have just returned from the National SGNA conference in San Antonio. We may be away from our work places, but we continue to "work", even during the conference. We have a number of CTSGNA nurses involved in committees and boards on the national level. This means participating in teleconferences or communicating by e-mail throughout the year. These members then meet in person at the national conference and share ideas and plan their duties for the coming year.

The other type of work that takes place during the National Conference is networking.

I have met many new people, exchanged business cards and ideas. I hope to continue communicating with these individuals to share challenges and good practices that we face as nurses in our regions.

CTSGNA nurses enjoying the Gala Awards Banquet If you have not had the opportunity to attend, I hope that you will consider attending in the future.

CTSGNA provides scholarships to eligible members to attend the conference. What better way to learn and share ideas with other nurses of our specialty?

Angel and I participated in the House of Delegates on Friday. We had the opportunity to learn about the legislative process and participate in lively discussions pertaining to the resolutions that we as a region discussed during our March and April state meetings.

Saturday brought all certified individuals together in their finest to celebrate. It is wonderful to see so many people taking the extra step to show their commitment to the field of GI nursing. I hope to see more CTSGNA nurses attending this recognition event in the future.

The official start of the conference was Sunday with the president's address and an incredible and thought provoking keynote speaker.

Members proudly wearing CTSGNA Logo shirts We had an engaging display of our region's activities and offerings for regional night. This was a combined effort on behalf of many people. I am very proud of the collaborative effort put forth to bring this display together.

We participated in the "Walk for Research" bright and early on Monday morning. CTSGNA donated a total of $500. Thank you to St. Francis GI department, the staff and physicians of CTGI Endoscopy Center and the staff of Hartford Hospital GI unit.

Walk for research- Angel Morales, Lori Lofstrom, Kathy Vinci We had a wonderful time during Tuesday night's Awards Gala. There were 16 nurses from our region in attendance. We felt great pride as Carol Stevens gave her acceptance speech and officially began her term as the National SGNA president. She will lead us in this role until the close of the ceremonies at our next national conference in Baltimore, Maryland in May 2007. I hope to see many of our members in attendance to show support for Carol's achievement and show pride as a region.

Carol Stevens as National President of SGNA The days were filled with educational sessions and great opportunities to learn about the newest and improved products pertaining to GI procedures and patient care. We are very proud of Michelle Day, immediate past president who presented "Nursing Considerations for Bariatric Surgery".

I always return from the national conference with a renewed vigor and passion for what I do.

I hope that each of you can participate in coming years and have the opportunity to share in this exciting and energizing experience.

Be Well,
Lori

President's Letter - April 2006

Welcome to April. I hope that everyone had the opportunity to celebrate GI Nurses and Associates Day. We welcome any photos and descriptions of your celebrations to post on the web site.

The National Conference is just around the corner and I encourage you to attend. There are numerous educational and networking opportunities. There is always a strong Connecticut presence and we are happy to have "first time attendees." It is a large conference and it is nice to have someone to help you through the process. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you would like some guidance as a "first timer."

Angel Morales and I will be representing the voice of Connecticut at the House of Delegates on Friday, May 19. We will discuss the following resolutions during our regional meetings.

These resolutions will be discussed and voted on in San Antonio.

Resolved that:

SGNA recommends that two nurses are to attend to the patient during radio frequency ablation procedures.
SGNA develop methods to explore an evidence based study establishing guidelines for staffing ratios in the endoscopy recovery setting.
SGNA be an active investigator in providing standardized protocol in post-procedure care of the liver biopsy patient.
SGNA define the classification level of recognized anesthesia scoring systems that nurses may safely administer moderately sedating drugs.
A second level or advanced associates program will be written and implemented by 2008.
SGNA support a research initiative to study the effect of call on safe, effective and competent nursing care. Also develop guidelines to establish minimum number of hours to work in a 24 hour period.
SGNA offers an optional course at nationals in May called, "Leadership at the Local Level." This would include a condensed version of the Chicago leadership course, which summarizes expectations, responsibilities, and resources available to local leaders.
SGNA will support the presence of a responsible caregiver to accompany patient upon discharge and to remain with them until safety is assured.
SGNA Research Committee conduct research and develop guidelines on usage of suction tubing and canisters.
SGNA will explore the development of standards and guidelines in regards to patient safety in the use of electrocautery use in the GI setting.
That headquarters will run surveys to SGNA members to determine who is doing both GI and bronchoscopy procedures.

I hope that you will participate in our regional discussion of these resolutions.

I encourage you to share this newsletter with your colleagues. If you change your e-mail address, make sure to notify Gail Steele and to also change your contact information by logging on to www.sgna.org. The website will allow you to update all of your contact information. If you have trouble, do not hesitate to contact HQ by calling 1-800-245-SGNA. They are always happy to help.

As always, if you have concerns, questions or ideas, at the regional level, please contact any of the board members, we welcome your inquiries.

Be well, Lori

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2006-2008 CTSGNA Officers President Angel Morales, RN, CGRN Hartford Hospital AngelMoralesRNGI@aol.com (860) 545-2205 President-Elect Katherine Vinci RN, CGRN Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center Kvinci@comcast.net (860)714-7200 Secretary Nancy Covini, LPN, CGN Connecticut GI Institute and Research Center nancov1@aol.com (860) 585-3838 Treasurer Patti Pontolillo, RN calldshots@aol.com (203) 235-0350 Past President Michelle Day, RN, BSN, CGRN Hartford Hospital (860) 545-2205 Newsletter Editor Gail Steele, LPN, CGN Connecticut GI Offices gsteele170@comcast.net (860) 246-2277	"Promoting excellence though education and the exchange of ideas" CTSGNA President's Letter President's Letter - February 2008 I would like to begin by saying thank you and congratulations to everyone who made our Beyond the Scope 2007 such a success. Many people made tremendous contributions, including the CTSGNA Board and the Beyond the Scope Committee. We had 35 attendees for the ERCP course and over 200 for Saturday's conference. Our raffle made over $1,000 which will go a long way toward our educational efforts. The experience of networking and sharing was incredibly valuable for those who attended. I know the board and our membership all join me in congratulating Nancy Covini who was recognized at the conference as GI Proctor and Gamble Nurse of the Year. Nancy continues to exemplify everything that we as a profession are all about. A big thank you goes out to all the vendors who participated in Beyond the Scope. They gave so much of their time and other resources. I would also like to thank those who contributed gifts to the raffle and others who gave of their time and effort. As we start a new year, our goals include bringing exciting new topics to our conferences and involving members across the entire state of Connecticut. We also hope to encourage more members to become certified and hope that members will bring new friends and colleagues to our monthly meetings. Remember to check our website (http://www.sgna.org) for upcoming events. (Check under Regions.) I hope you are all enjoying your fall and want to wish everyone a happy and safe Thanksgiving. Most of all, please take care of yourselves and those you love during the upcoming cold months ahead, which can be very stressful. Take time out to enjoy those things that bring you and your family great joy. Angel Morales, CGRN President, CTSGNA "Hope is the companion of power, and mother of success; for who so hopes strongly has within him the gift of miracles." - Samuel Smiles President's Letter - September 2007 Happy Summer, CTSGNA members!! I hope you have all had a productive and memorable summer. The coming fall brings many opportunities for us as a professional organization, especially our 15th annual Beyond the Scope conference which will be held at the Foxwoods Casino on October 12 and 13. I encourage all of you to attend and ask that you invite some of your co-workers to attend as well. Every year the conference proves to be more and more professionally gratifying – and lots of fun – something we can never have enough of!! On another note, our 2006 – 2007 year afforded many great opportunities for education and professional networking during our monthly meetings and we are now in the process of coordinating our 2007 – 2008 meeting schedule. We would encourage any of you who would like to host a monthly meeting at your institution to contact Kathy Vinci or me if you have topics of interest or suggested speakers. We are particularly interested in expanding the location of our meetings across the entire state. I continue to be incredibly impressed and most appreciative of all of the hard work and commitment of the CTSGNA board members, the Beyond the Scope committee, all of the other committees and Gail Steele for all of her hard work on our newsletter and website. Let's all work together to make 2007 – 2008 our best season ever by encouraging all current and new members to participate in the SGNA – whether that's through mentoring others, preparing for certification or participating in local colon cancer awareness initiatives. We have a very important job to do and great opportunities as endoscopy professionals. Wishing you a wonderful fall and looking forward to seeing you all at our September meeting at Mid State Medical Center on Thursday, September 20, 2007 at 6:00 and at Foxwoods in October. Best regards, Angel President's Letter - June 2007 Greetings, CTSGNA members!! I hope this letter finds you all well and gearing up for a nice, New England summer. As you all know, each May brings the opportunity for some of us to enjoy some very productive and energizing time to network with many of our colleagues at our National convention and this most recent convention was no exception. This year's conference was held in the beautiful location of Baltimore, Maryland right on the inner harbor. Personally speaking one of the most valuable and gratifying experiences for me during the conference, which I would like to share with all of you was being able to define what the conference message, "Charting A Course" means to me. This can mean charting a particular new path in life, opening your eyes and mind to areas for new professional growth or always learning more about the impact we as GI nurses can have on our patients. The conference is always so much about spending time with mentors and seeing how we all have the chance to mentor others and in so doing, we can not only chart our own course, but help to shape that of others. The conference was also particularly special because our very own Carol Stevens concluded her tenure as National President. Many congratulations are in order for Carol as she did an amazing job in her capacity. We are all incredibly proud for how she has put our chapter on the national map! This time in Baltimore was even more special for Carol because her husband, Pete was able to join Carol from Iraq along with her two sons, Chris and Brian. Carol, your dedication and contributions have been inspiring to us all and we would all like to wish you and your family good health and all the best in everything you all do in the future. CTSGNA would like to thank all of the members who attended Carol's reception party to let her know how much we appreciate everything she's done and give her our best as she moves toward a new chapter in her professional life. I would personally like to also thank Michael Arnold, US Endoscopy and Jeff Clay from Boston Scientific for their support during the conference. Another note of deep appreciation goes to Kathy Vinci for all of her work and receiving the Regional re-chartering certificate for CTSGNA during the conference. Turning back to our state-wide activities, I want to encourage all of you and your co-workers to attend the monthly meetings and most especially to plan to attend Beyond the Scope 2007 this October. But most of all, I want to thank everyone for supporting the mission of our organization, providing continuing education GI professionals and educating the public about the importance of our field. Again, wishing you all a wonderful summer and look forward to seeing you all at our upcoming dinner meeting on June 14 at 6 pm at Angelico's Restaurant in New Britain! -Angel Morales, RN, CGRN President's Letter - February 2007 Greetings everyone! I hope everyone had a safe, healthy and enjoyable holiday season and that this finds all of you well. I'd like to begin by thanking a number of people for their outstanding commitment and hard work to the SGNA during recent months. Kathy Vinci has done excellent work in scheduling our upcoming regional meetings and I'd like to thank representatives from participating hospitals for providing meeting locations and CEUs. I'd also like to thank Chris Sarisley for her hard work in getting Doris Barnes to return to Connecticut, June 16th and 17th to provide her certification review course which will be held at St. Francis Hospital. The October certification exam which will be given near Boston. The course Doris offers has been very helpful in developing the confidence people have needed in taking the certification exam. I would like to remind and encourage everyone to attend the national SGNA annual meeting and course which will be held in Baltimore in May. This represents an outstanding and unique opportunity for us here in the Northeast since many meetings are not usually held so close to us. Attendees always love the chance to network and learn from our peers in other states, as well as nationally renowned experts. Finally, everyone on the Beyond the Scope 2007 committee has already begun doing an outstanding job preparing for what we are sure will be another superb and successful conference in October. Many thanks to everyone for all your energy and diligence achieving the organization's mission and look forward to a great kick off starting in February at our meeting at Manchester Memorial Hospital. Please don't hesitate to contact me or any of the board members if you have suggestions or ideas for how we can continue to meet the needs of our members. Best wishes, Angel Morales, RN, CGRN President, CT SGNA President's Letter - September 2006 Hello CTSGNA Members, September arrived at our doorstep swiftly. It is time to revert to the school routine for many, leaving behind the memories of the long, warm days of summer. For CTSGNA, it is time to get back into our monthly meeting routine. It is also time to be eager about the upcoming "Beyond the Scope" conference. CTSGNA "Beyond the Scope" 2006 planning committee has continued to meet during the summer. There are many details to consider when planning an event of this scale. There is an enlightening educational line up for the full day conference on October 21. The practical ERCP course on Friday October 20th is prepared and ready to welcome up to 60 nurses and associates. All of the individuals involved with the planning and implementation of this annual event are volunteers. The many hours and many meetings that are required to fine tune the details of this annual event are all "behind the scene" mechanisms that contribute to the success of "Beyond the Scope." Before I became involved with this annual event, I just paid my registration fee, showed up, enjoyed the conference and walked away with new information and a CEU certificate. My appreciation for the time involved sure has grown! I ask that when you are at our conference this year that you take a moment to look around, enjoy the conference and be grateful for the time and talent required to have a successful conference. I would like to dedicate this issue of the newsletter to those who work tirelessly as a great team to make "Beyond the Scope" an extraordinary educational event. Maybe you will take the step to become involved in planning the 2007 conference. I look forward to seeing you there! Be well, Lori President's Letter - June 2006 Greetings to all! This is the last newsletter before the summer "break". I use the term "break" loosely. CTSGNA is always active. There are committees meeting year round to plan the "Beyond the Scope" annual conference. The board is preparing for our annual business meeting. Many of us have just returned from the National SGNA conference in San Antonio. We may be away from our work places, but we continue to "work", even during the conference. We have a number of CTSGNA nurses involved in committees and boards on the national level. This means participating in teleconferences or communicating by e-mail throughout the year. These members then meet in person at the national conference and share ideas and plan their duties for the coming year. The other type of work that takes place during the National Conference is networking. I have met many new people, exchanged business cards and ideas. I hope to continue communicating with these individuals to share challenges and good practices that we face as nurses in our regions. If you have not had the opportunity to attend, I hope that you will consider attending in the future. CTSGNA provides scholarships to eligible members to attend the conference. What better way to learn and share ideas with other nurses of our specialty? Angel and I participated in the House of Delegates on Friday. We had the opportunity to learn about the legislative process and participate in lively discussions pertaining to the resolutions that we as a region discussed during our March and April state meetings. Saturday brought all certified individuals together in their finest to celebrate. It is wonderful to see so many people taking the extra step to show their commitment to the field of GI nursing. I hope to see more CTSGNA nurses attending this recognition event in the future. The official start of the conference was Sunday with the president's address and an incredible and thought provoking keynote speaker. We had an engaging display of our region's activities and offerings for regional night. This was a combined effort on behalf of many people. I am very proud of the collaborative effort put forth to bring this display together. We participated in the "Walk for Research" bright and early on Monday morning. CTSGNA donated a total of $500. Thank you to St. Francis GI department, the staff and physicians of CTGI Endoscopy Center and the staff of Hartford Hospital GI unit. We had a wonderful time during Tuesday night's Awards Gala. There were 16 nurses from our region in attendance. We felt great pride as Carol Stevens gave her acceptance speech and officially began her term as the National SGNA president. She will lead us in this role until the close of the ceremonies at our next national conference in Baltimore, Maryland in May 2007. I hope to see many of our members in attendance to show support for Carol's achievement and show pride as a region. The days were filled with educational sessions and great opportunities to learn about the newest and improved products pertaining to GI procedures and patient care. We are very proud of Michelle Day, immediate past president who presented "Nursing Considerations for Bariatric Surgery". I always return from the national conference with a renewed vigor and passion for what I do. I hope that each of you can participate in coming years and have the opportunity to share in this exciting and energizing experience. Be Well, Lori President's Letter - April 2006 Welcome to April. I hope that everyone had the opportunity to celebrate GI Nurses and Associates Day. We welcome any photos and descriptions of your celebrations to post on the web site. The National Conference is just around the corner and I encourage you to attend. There are numerous educational and networking opportunities. There is always a strong Connecticut presence and we are happy to have "first time attendees." It is a large conference and it is nice to have someone to help you through the process. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you would like some guidance as a "first timer." Angel Morales and I will be representing the voice of Connecticut at the House of Delegates on Friday, May 19. We will discuss the following resolutions during our regional meetings. These resolutions will be discussed and voted on in San Antonio. Resolved that: SGNA recommends that two nurses are to attend to the patient during radio frequency ablation procedures. SGNA develop methods to explore an evidence based study establishing guidelines for staffing ratios in the endoscopy recovery setting. SGNA be an active investigator in providing standardized protocol in post-procedure care of the liver biopsy patient. SGNA define the classification level of recognized anesthesia scoring systems that nurses may safely administer moderately sedating drugs. A second level or advanced associates program will be written and implemented by 2008. SGNA support a research initiative to study the effect of call on safe, effective and competent nursing care. Also develop guidelines to establish minimum number of hours to work in a 24 hour period. SGNA offers an optional course at nationals in May called, "Leadership at the Local Level." This would include a condensed version of the Chicago leadership course, which summarizes expectations, responsibilities, and resources available to local leaders. SGNA will support the presence of a responsible caregiver to accompany patient upon discharge and to remain with them until safety is assured. SGNA Research Committee conduct research and develop guidelines on usage of suction tubing and canisters. SGNA will explore the development of standards and guidelines in regards to patient safety in the use of electrocautery use in the GI setting. That headquarters will run surveys to SGNA members to determine who is doing both GI and bronchoscopy procedures. I hope that you will participate in our regional discussion of these resolutions. I encourage you to share this newsletter with your colleagues. If you change your e-mail address, make sure to notify Gail Steele and to also change your contact information by logging on to www.sgna.org. The website will allow you to update all of your contact information. If you have trouble, do not hesitate to contact HQ by calling 1-800-245-SGNA. They are always happy to help. As always, if you have concerns, questions or ideas, at the regional level, please contact any of the board members, we welcome your inquiries. Be well, Lori Website Provided By: IMS - Integrated Medical Systems International, Inc. www.imsready.com

2006-2008CTSGNA Officers