Presidential Farewell Letter

As we step into summer, 2013, CTSGNA marches on with continued commitment to the core mission of education. We have planned for State Meetings for the upcoming year which are being hosted throughout the region. Thank you in advance to those hospitals and free standing units who are sponsoring continuing education to CTSGNA members.

This year's Beyond the Scope Program will be held the weekend of October 18 and 19 in Rocky Hill, at the Sheraton. We welcome Chair-person, Carolyn Checovetes- DiVenere, as she has already begun to lay down the foundation for the 21st Regional Program. We are fortunate to have her lead us into the planning of this major event, and would like to ask anyone who might be interested in joining this committee to contact her at: danand carolyn@comcast.net

The 5th Edition of the Core Curriculum is now available. Contact National SGNA for further information.

Connecticut is under review for bringing in the GI Nursing Review Course into Hartford. This would be a 12 hour live GI Specific Course for anyone interested in obtaining the contact hours, or desiring a jump start on preparing for the Certification Exam. We have 2 local National Speakers, Michelle Day and I. I am fortunate in being able to go forward with the next review course to be held in Baltimore, Maryland, at Johns Hopkins University Hospital on September 14 and 15.

For anyone interested, please remember that a quarterly scholarship, up to $250, is available throughout the year. Applications are on this web site.

Respectfully,

Christine Sarisley, MS APRN, CGRN
President CTSGNA 

 We are looking forward to the National SGNA Conference in Arizona on May 18 (optional programs) through May 23, 2012. We will be supporting 5 scholarships to National this year. Last fall's educational program at the Hilton was an "Extreme Success", and at last month's meeting at the Hospital of Central CT, New Britain Campus, we voted to award this additional scholarship funding. Deadline for the early bird registration is April 11, 2012.

Connecticut was chartered into SGNA in 1978, and we will be celebrating a 34th birthday in May. In addition to increasing the number of National Scholarships this year, we have also voted to award a total of 2 scholarships per quarter for this year of achievement. We are committed to reaching out and supporting the mission of education and hope members will continue to support the weekend Friday Hands-on ERCP Course on October 19 and the daylong Beyond the Scope Program on Saturday, October 20, so we can remain active in this mission. A destination location at the Mystic Marriott in Groton, CT has been selected. The location is near the casino area.

As a reminder, the application for scholarship application is on this website. All are submitted to Kathy Vinci. If you are applying for the national scholarship, it must be received by March 22. The scholarship amount is $750. If you will be applying for up to a $250 scholarship, submit the application to Kathy Vinci in that same quarter, or as soon as you know you will be attending. You will be required to submit receipts for gas, hotel, tuition, food before receiving your award.

We will also be supporting the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation's Community Walk. Our members walk not only for CTSGNA, but also with their own physician organized teams, and representing facilities. To tie us together as nurses in CT supporting this fundraiser, we have decided to purchase CTSGNA baseball caps so that regardless of whose "TEAM" our members walk with, our presence as CTSGNA nurses will be known. The date for this walk is May 12, 2012, and it will be held in Great River Park, East Hartford, CT. Please register on line or contact either of our Captains, Barbara Sullivan or Kathy Vinci.

Keep in mind that the SGNA National Website is full of valuable information, including many opportunities for GI contact hours.

Hope to see you at the March meeting at Middlesex Hospital on Thursday, March 22. The topic will be dysphagia. The April 19 Program, also a Thursday, will be at St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center. The topic will be capnography.

Christine Sarisley, MS, APRN, CGRN
President, CTSGNA
 

This is a photo of all the GI Nurses that attended the St. Francis Certified Nurse Reception in March.

This picture was taken at the Connecticut Governor's Mansion Reception. The reception was a tribute to certified nurses at St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center in Hartford, CT. Certified GI Nurses in this photograph are: Patricia Bucknor-Ferron, RN, CGRN, Diane Caron, RN, CGRN, Christine Sarisley, MS, APRN, CGRN and Katherine Vinci, RN, CGRN. 

As a New Year is welcomed, let me begin by saying how enthusiastic and grateful I am to serve as President for CTSGNA for the next two year term. Going forward, we have envisioned a platform to continue to serve our members with a commitment to education as well as identifying best practices for patients.

Please know that our first State Meeting will be hosted by the Hospital of Central Connecticut, New Britain Campus on Wednesday, February 22, 2012. We will be looking for your ideas during the business meeting at 6:30 pm for suggestions as we celebrate 20 years. The educational program will begin at 7:00 pm. The sessions will be held in the Lecture Room #2 on the main hospital level.

We are currently looking for a Newsletter Editor, which involves communication with IMS who provides sponsorship. Most of the work will involve word documents, and/or sending a photograph if so desired, i.e. Attendance at Beyond the Scope or otherwise. If you are interested, please contact Kathy Vinci who has served as our expert for several years, who can provide you with more details on what is involved. She can be reached at: kvinci@comcast.net

The deadline for no late fee registration for the National SGNA Course in Arizona is: April 11, 2012. Dates for the Course are: May 17, 2012 through May 23. Please keep in mind that we will be discussing scholarships for partial coverage to support members in attending this program.

I would also like to announce the other Board Members this year who will be working to further enhance CTSGNA over the coming months. They are: President Elect, Kathy Vinci, Secretary, Gail Steele, and Treasurer, Rita Botelho. In addition we have added three directors to offer their input as we guide through decision making, and planning for 2012. They are: Nancy Covini, Patti Pontillilo, and Barbara Sullivan.

Here is to a healthy year,

Christine Sarisley, MS, RN, CGRN