Asthma Prevention and Management Initiative
– Karrah Clark
The Student Nurse Association (SNA) is excited to partner with Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority (AKA), Inc. to assist with the Asthma Prevention and Management Initiative (APMI). APMI is the signature health program of AKA for 2012-2014.
SAU SNA members Karrah Clark and Michelle Taylor were featured in this month’s “Arkansas Nursing News.” This picture was taken at the 2012 ARNA Convention, “Uniforms of the Past and Present: Celebrating ARNA’s 100th Birthday.”
Asthma is a disorder that causes the airways of the lungs to swell and narrow, leading to wheezing, shortness of breath, chest tightness, and coughing. With patient education and the right asthma management plan, families can learn to control symptoms and asthma flare-ups more independently, allowing kids to do just about anything they want.
There are three prepared curriculums which will be present-ed at five Head Start centers in Louisiana. Members of SAU SNA are collaborating with AKA Sorority Health Committee to present the lessons to the parents and children in the five centers. This will give the students an opportunity to perform professional service to the community, an opportunity to interact with diverse populations, observe growth & development and become more familiar with asthma and its treatment.
The dates for the presentations are February 15th, 21st, 28th, and March 1st. All presentations are at 10:00am and should last about 30 minutes.
The sign-up sheet will be placed on Mrs. Armwood’s door and she will need to meet and orient students who would like to take advantage of this opportunity.
Putting Parliamentary Procedure into Practice
– Stephanie Seymour, MNSc, RN
On January 13, 2013, your SNA officers gathered for the chapter’s first annual Strategic Planning meeting. On the agenda was a colossal task – the amending of the SAU SNA Chapter By-laws. Utilizing shared documents from other SNA chapters in our district and building the foundation as instructed by the National Student Nurses’ Association (NSNA), the officers completed the final document. A document that resembled a masterpiece to all involved in the hours upon hours of investigation and inquiry into each section that serves to uphold shared governance in you SNA chapter.
On February 18 and 19, acceptance or rejection of the amended chapter bylaws will be a topic in question during the SNA monthly chapter meeting. The following steps will help introduce members to a few basics of Robert’s Rules of Order, using the topic of the amended chapter by-laws as an example.
1. Obtaining the floor is when a chapter member stand to be recognized before speaking. This is accomplished by standing and ad-dressing “Mr. President.” Rise and address the chapter president as Mr. President for a male and Madam Chairwoman for a female.
2. Making a motion is a proposal that the chapter take action. Always begin the statement for making a motion with “I move that: and then stating the action you propose.
3. Every motion should be seconded. A chapter member other than the member making the motion states “I second the motion.”
4. Once a motion has been properly made and seconded, the President must state the question that is before the chapter.
5. After the chapter President states the question, the topic is open for members to discuss. Obtaining the floor and being recognized before speaking is required to discuss a motion. This allows the chapter to hear the member’s discussion and prevent chaos from impeding successful communication.
6. Putting the question to a vote occurs when the discussion has appeared to end. The motion is repeated and a voted is taken. “All those in favor of accepting the SAU SNA Chapter Bylaws as amended January 2013 please say aye; those opposed say no.”
First published in 1896, author Henry M. Robert created the expert source on parliamentary procedure, Robert’s Rules of Order.
Nursing Spotlight: Chief Nursing Officer
– Joycelyn Watkins, BSN, RN, CCRN
Joycelyn Watkins, BSN, RN, CCRN
I was born in Dallas, Texas. I am a 1975 graduate of Magnolia High School. I received an Associate’s Degree in Nursing from Southern Arkansas University in May 1980 and a Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing in May 2011.
Currently, I serve as Chief Nursing Officer (CNO) at Magnolia Regional Medical Center (MRMC); however, I started my journey at MRMC (formerly Magnolia Hospital) working in the laundry with some of the most dedicated personnel around. I worked as a nurses’ aide during a time that if you were asked to work on your one day off, you felt duty-bound to oblige (and that was the norm.)
Later, I sterilized instruments in central-sterile and worked as a unit clerk in the emergency department. Then as a staff nurse, I worked all over the hospital learning many valuable skills and working side by side with nurses who were willing to teach me.
I worked as ICU/CCU Manager for 24 years. My experience in teaching the Coronary Care Course and Arrhythmia Courses expands over 16 years. This is required training for newly hired nurses anticipating working in ER, CCU, Surgery, Labor and Delivery, and Outpatient Services.
As the Education and Staffing Coordinator, I conducted nursing orientation, annual competency reviews, coordinated all nursing schedules, and all other educational programs for the hospital staff.
As CNO, I am responsible for the over-all direction and professional development of nursing services. I always want to enable the nursing staff to know the steps to take to voice their concerns when it comes to quality of care or other issues of concern. Providing the staff with clear direction helps reduce potential confusion that can occur in situations of questionable patient care.
I also conduct presentations and work-shops on health care issues in various arenas. I am board certified by the American Association of Critical Care Nurses as a Critical Care Registered Nurse (CCRN) and have been for over 26 years. I am a member of the American Organization of Nurse Executives, the Arkansas Organization of Nurse Executives, an Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) Instructor, and a board member of the United Magnolia Alumni Association. I am married to Tyree and we have one daughter Shannin Rae. I would like to be thought of as being community minded.
I wish each of you the best of luck and re-member that the true soul of an organization is the “invisible architecture” and the “invisible architecture” is YOU. My love for nursing is what drives my sense of commitment to our profession.
I enjoy seeing nurses develop a level of confidence in their chosen area of practice. That really makes me smile.
Life in the Sim Lab
In the photo on the left, senior ADN students Karen Worth, Stephanie Holyfield, Kristi Joyce, and Chastity Kendrix participate in a med-surg class simulation lab.
Celebrating Milestones
– Megan Black
New inventions and breakthroughs in technology are made the health care arena everyday. Many have been around for so long now that we even take them for granted. In honor of Black History Month, let us take a look back at some of the milestones in our field that help to save lives.
Dr. Charles Drew cre-ated the idea of a blood bank and also a system of long-term preservation of blood plasma. In the 1930s, Dr. Drew developed the method of storing blood as plasma to in-crease storage life.
Vivien Theodore Thomas was a surgical technician at Johns Hopkins who helped develop the procedure to treat Tetralogy of Fallot. This surgical solution would become known as the BlalockTausig shunt after the physicians on the case, but Thomas would continue to develop other techniques
.
Adah Belle Samuels Thoms studied nursing at the Women’s Infirmary and School of Therapeutic Massage and graduated in 1900 as the only black woman in a class of 30. She went on to work with Martha Franklin and Mary Mahoney to organize the National Association of Colored Nurses. She played an integral role in the formation of the United States Army Nurse Corps.
It is through these innovations and movements that health care is what it is today.
On the Chart is an e-Newsletter published by the Student Nurses’ Association of Southern Arkansas University. For suggestions or submissions, please contact Megan Black at mlblack9421@muleriders.saumag.edu.
