August BLOG

We should have a BLOG. As requested by some members, here it is.

We had a great membership meeting this last Tuesday, 18 AUG. Sixteen people signed up and eleven attended. Not great for attendance but not bad. We know there are more members and interested persons out there somewhere. Sure would like to see them at meetings.

The program regarding pancreatitis and pancreatic exocrine dysfunction was presented by Mr. Michael Silberman, a pharmacist. It was a most interesting presentation and appeared to be completely free of bias towards any particular products. The meal was sponsored by AbbVie corporation. Thank you.

During the business meeting which preceded, I went on a little bit more than usual. The first subject is the perennial issue of membership and attendance. The Executive Committee has made it a point to have monthly meetings, except for July, with a speaker and some kind of meal. The Vice President (Teddi McLeskey) is in charge of programs with frequent help from Secretary (Monica Edenfield) and Treasurer (Cassie Alexander).This translates to some work. A big thank you to all of them.

Although it is nice to have a speaker and a meal, the main purpose of the meetings and the organization is to have a network in place of APRNs to promote our practice in GA. This year the chapter gave $500 to Coalition of Advanced Practice Registered Nurses, our lobbying watchdog group in GA. This group from multiple APRN organizations keeps an eye on the state legislature, particularly during the winter session. It is a lobbying group for our benefit. From time to time, and often on short notice, a message goes out to call your state representative or senator to ask for support for a particular bill. Believe it or not, sometimes things happen fast in the state legislature.

You do know who your state representative and senator is, don't you? If you don't know, go to votesmart.org to get a full list. Type in your ZIP code plus four. This used to be my favorite site for finding this kind of information until they added a video to the opening page that runs every time I go there and can't figure how to turn it off. You may do as well by searching for your states reps in your favorite search engine. In any event you will need your plus four ZIP because the state representative lines do not follow county lines, ZIP codes, or anything else geographic.

If you live in District 122 it is of interest that Representative Ben Harbin has resigned effective 7 JUL. During the battle to gain prescriptive authority for APRNs in GA, I drove a van load of FNP students to the capital to meet with Rep Harbin. He seemed interested and we had a cordial visit. I don't recall how he voted. At least four persons have announced interest in running for this open seat, so watch closely if you live in 122. The special election to fill this seat is set for 3 NOV. Are you interested in running?

The next subject on my list at the meeting was when to meet. This year we have been meeting on the third Tuesday at 6:30 pm. We moved it from the second Tuesday to avoid conflicting with 10th District GNA, at the suggestion of some of our members. Unfortunately we have not seen an increase in attendance. We also have not seen the main proponent of the change. Likely we will keep third Tuesday as it seems to work out pretty well. The question is whether to meet monthly or not. I have been a proponent of monthly meetings so that members do not forget about us. It is a lot of work for the officers who organize the meetings, and a little disheartening when there is low attendance. We canceled April as only four people had signed up. The comments feature will be open so enter your opinion on this subject. Meet monthly, or bi-monthly?

Other things from the meeting:
The next meeting is set for 15 SEP, again at GRU Cancer Center where we are grateful to get a free room. An active duty USAF nurse/ DNP student will present "Psychosocial functioning in the pediatric population in response to parental military deployment." The chapter is paying for the food so there is no corporate sponsor. We look forward to seeing some members, or non-members, from the VA and Ft Gordon.

CAPRN hosts Georgia Nursing Leadership Conference on 21 SEP at Emory. It will be posted on our web site, but go to the CAPRN web site to get on their emailing list.

The 20 OCT meeting will be regarding Linzess, a medication for IBS and constipation. It is corporate sponsored so expect a restaurant meal. The venue has not yet been determined.

The NOV meeting slated for 17th is pending. That means we do not have a program yet. There is another event earlier that month by another organization, so... we'll see. Watch the web site for announcements. As always, if you have contacts who would like to do a program contact Teddi.

The DEC meeting is moving to the first Tuesday, which is 1 DEC. This move to avoid conflict with holiday activities. We will again solicit donations of items, or money, for a family we will sponsor through the Grandparent Program at GRU.

EMPLOYMENT. There are part time and full time positions needed by Healthstat at Millikin in Thompson, Ga and United Health Care. Contact Teddi for details.

PRECEPTORs are needed in spring for pediatric and women's health. Contact Teddi if you can serve or know someone who can. There is also a place on our web site to post if you can be a preceptor.

WANTED. Two volunteers for our internal Audit Committee. This mainly consists of meeting once a year or as needed, and reviewing the financial records. Oh, a brief report would be nice. Contact Teddi as this new committee falls under the office of the Vice President.

That's a BLOG. Hope you liked it and are working out those calendars.

Bill Jackson, APRN, MSN, NP-C
President, Augusta Chapter