APRIL 2012
VOL. # ONE ISSUE #1
ICANN NEWS
Inland Counties Association of Neonatal Nursing
I hope everyone had a great time at the 16th annual
ICANN Conference this past Oct 20, 2011. My hope
is that you gained a lot of knowledge, had a lot of fun,
food and interaction. I want to let you know it has it
has been a very exciting. The position of PRESIDENT
ELECT came with the responsibility of organizing the
ICANN Conference. I must admit it was really
challenging, however, I learned so much. I had to
arrange for the speakers, organize food and set up. I
appreciate all the help I received from the committee
members and the officers involved. I couldn’t have
done it without you! I was so worried about all the
President Viviann Bellini wth
the Unforgettable Hearts
Award
speakers showing up on time. I was worried too, about
being in front of a crowd, but you know something, I
Upcoming Meetings:
ended up rather enjoying speaking in front of a crowd.
 May 17, 2012 at Loma Linda
Maybe I didn’t realize I have this talent! This was
University
truly a great overall experience. I would definitely
 July 21,2012 at Kaiser Ontario
recommend this to anyone interested in becoming
President Elect as you will be well supported in your
 Sept 2012 after the Annual
endeavor.
Conference
-Vivian Bellini
 November 2012 Holiday Meal
APRIL 2012
The Fine Print in Nursing
A little reminder about what makes us
neonatal nurses.
VOL. # ONE ISSUE #1
When I returned home I thought I had left
that behind…. This baby represented pure innocence, a
little piece of joy God gave to his mother and now to me to care
My job as an Army scout is parallel to how I have begun
to see my role as a nurse. In my last year of nursing
school, one baby showed me that my 7 years in the Army
still hasn’t prepared me for all situations that can be
throw in my direction. When I worked as an Army scout,
for. I left one recognized battle field and entered one that is
less well known. I learned the history from the NICU nurse that
once the mother delivered the baby and tested positive for
cocaine use, she was ordered to drug rehabilitation. Since
delivering the baby she had not seen her baby.
my main focus was on finding the most direct, secure and
defendable route for my fellow soldiers. One baby, drug
addicted and abandoned by her mother taught me to
realize my role as a nurse is the same. My job as a nurse
is to help clear the way for this fragile infant, by
supporting the team in providing the best care possible.
This experience with this little girl opened my eyes to
real darkness that plagues us right outside our front door,
its not in a distant battle field where we are sheltered by
news broadcasts and newspaper clippings, it its right in
front of us and all around us. It takes a certain keen eye to
fully see and understand that we are surrounded and must
be willing to accept it. Working as a student nurse in a
neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) I cared for a two
week old blonde baby, whose mother was a cocaine
addict. During her pregnancy she continued using drugs.
As a result the baby had an uncertain road ahead. After 2
combat tours in Iraq I have faced snipers in clock towers
and dismantled roadside bombs.
The emotional toll I went through as a result
of learning about suffering that will occur as the baby
experiences drug withdrawal was overwhelming. As I heard the
baby’s shrill cry, and saw her facial expression of pure torment.
I couldn’t help but see my fellow soldiers’ facial expression of
torment during countless fire fights were death seemed
emanate, these were products of battle.
But this torment from an innocent baby, brought
feelings of anger towards a women I have never seen in my
life. I felt utterly helplessness.
In order to do my job as a soldier, I had to accept the
fact that I may die so that others will live. Most soldiers accept
the possibility that they may die. As a nurse I am still a soldier,
I am clearing the way for the vulnerable. But this baby is not a
volunteer like my fellow soldiers; she did not give her consent
for how she came into the world. Whether I am in a war
somewhere else, or here, I have the same challenge in my work
as a nurse – secure the way forward for my patients. To do
everything I can to help them become the best they can be.
I am clearing the road, for others to live. These lessons are not
in the textbook. They are lessons from life, from being a
Inland Counties Association of Neonatal
Nurses
P.O. Box 10312
San Bernardino, CA 92423-0312
http://www.icann-online.org/index.html
veteran, from having seen the worst of the worst while
protecting my country. Not every patient will be the textbook
patient. Not every war is somewhere else some are here at
home. I am ready for both.
-Charles Isbell
MONTH YEAR
APRIL 2012
VOL. # ONE ISSUE #1
VOL. # ONE ISSUE #1
NANN CHAPTER
CHALLENGE
Our chapter could win up to $500.00!!
Help your chapter win up tp $500.00 by attending
the NANN conference October 17-20 in Palm
Springs.

Registration for NANN’s 28th Annual Conference
opens in May.

Make your newsletter easy to read by keeping
each chunk of information easy to scan. Use
headlines, short paragraphs, and bullet points
throughout.
Palm Springs

When you register, they need to identify your
chapter name either on the print registration form
or in the online drop down menu in order for our
chapter to receive credit for your registration.

Earn up to 28.5 CNE contact hours!!
Topics

Golden Hour

Necrotizing Enterocolitis
Congratulations Patti
Sorenson!!
She has been chosen out of over 30
submissions to present a very challenging
patient at the upcoming Neonatal
Advanced Practice Nursing Forum in
Washington, DC., the premiere
international conference for NNPs and
neonatal CNSs. Patti will be presenting a
baby who had congenital microvillus
atrophy, as a mystery case challenging the
diagnostic acumen of some very
experienced NNPS.
Did you know we now have a facebook page?

Feeding

Genetics/Ethics

Family Centered Care
Come check us out on facebook!
http://www.facebook.com/ICANNonline.org
Icann-online.org