RE:Connect

Tuesday Deadline - Submit a Topic For IOL

How often do you attend a conference and ask yourself, "Why don't they ever offer anything on .......?"

Well, you have an opportunity to contribute to the conference session development.  Topic submission for the 2009 Institutes of Learning is open, but the deadline is approaching quickly.  Please consider submitting your topic online as ONS has made it an extremely user-friendly process.

For those who have submitted topics in the past, please give us your feedback.

Topics are due Tuesday, March 10!!!

 

Reimbursement for Conference Attendance

Hi - hope everyone is well-rested and relaxed after the holidays!

Has the current economic situation resulted in a decrease in educational resources?   

Let's answer the following questions to get a snapshot of what's going on around the country....

In what state do you practice?

Are you allowed time off from work to attend one or more conferences?  Are you paid for that time?

Do you cover all expenses related to conference attendance?

Do you recieve partial reimbursement to attend one or more conferences?

Do you receive full reimbursement for one or more conferences?

Have you been notified that reimbursement will be decreased this year?  If so, is conference reimbursement decreased (from 2/year to 1/year) or cancelled altogether?

Thanks for taking time to answer these questions.  With enough response, this may provide benchmarking data as well!

Chemo Glove Follow-up

Hi again everyone!!

I posted a question in an earlier blog about how chemo gloves are selected at your facilities.  Thanks for the comments!  I mentioned this topic because my organization received notice from the manufacturer of our gloves that the production process was changing and that the gloves would no longer be safe for use with many of the chemo agents we administer.  FYI:  Gloves can receive a chemo rating by completing testing on select chemo agents; however, many chemo agents are not tested at all.  I am continuing to research our options and our nurses are comparing products now - I've given them a form to document their subjective opinions about each glove, i.e. strength; puncture resistance; fit; comfort; elasticity, etc.

Stay tuned - more to come.......

   

IOL Follow-up

Hello again to all!  I apologize for my absence the last few days as I have returned to work and the many emails that go along with being "out of the office" for any length of time.  I should be speaking with several of you over the next few weeks regarding the 2009 IOL Planning Team - very exciting!!

It is pretty late here and I have an "out-of-town" family member funeral to attend, so I won't type too much, but I would like to get some feedback from readers: Does your facility use exam or chemo gloves and how are those gloves chosen?

Blog soon!  :)

K

Video of the Hands-On Portion of the APN Diagnostic Sessions

Sights from the 2008 APN and IOL Conferences

The following photos are from the photo shoot we had at the wonderful Seattle Cancer Care Alliance. The shoot went very well, and we would like to thank the staff and patients for being so supportive. 

Here are some photos of the APN Diagnostic Sessions.

APN Opening:

Chemo Bio Course:

Poster Sessions:

All of these photos were taken Thursday, and we will have video of the APN Diagnostic Sessions soon. 

Kimberly George LIVE from IOL

Hello to everyone and welcome to day 1 of Re:Connect! I am "reporting to you LIVE" from IOL - Seattle. It is amazing to watch so many people at work to organize a conference like IOL.

I am one of the planning team members this year. Our team met earlier today and took a tour of the convention center. It is beautiful - lots of windows/natural sunlight. Our team is made up of members from around the country. Karyl, our team leader, is from Billings, Montana; Martha, our home city leader, lives about 20 minutes from the convention center; Ellen and Donna live in Hershey and Pittsburgh Pennsylvania; Katen hails from North Plainfield, New Jersey; and me, from Wichita Falls, Texas. 

The wonderful ladies from ONS get to organize our activities and get us back on track! They are fantastic!

So, after our morning planning meeting and tour, several of us went to Virginia Mason where Martha will be starting in a new position bright and early Monday morning. We are extremely impressed with their processes and outcomes management endeavors. I will sign-off for now and hopefully, I can post a few pics later on......