Sierra Nevada Chapter ONS
Edited by Carla Brutico, RN, OCN – Chapter Secretary
bruticoc@gmail.com
SPRING 2013
President’s Corner – Andi Wagner
Well, we are into a new year! Hard to believe! Time flies. 2012 was a busy year and it
appears that 2013 will be as well. This year we will be having Chapter officer elections.
Yes, time for that again already . If you are interested in learning about what any of
the chapter officers do, please ask. We have a year and we will gladly give you the
outline of each officer duties and will help to groom you if you are interested in running
for an office. It is fun, rewarding and really opens your professional doors! Consider
running for office - you will be glad you did!
Great kudos to both Susan and Peg for all of the great speakers and arranging our
dinner meetings in 2012. Personally I am amazed at how much I learn with each
speaker and it is great to get together with our colleagues in the oncology field. Thanks
again to both of you.
ONS Congress is in Washington D. C. this year. What a great city! It is terrific in April. I am
planning to go and am really looking forward to it, not just because of all the great new
information I will be learning, but to meet with my colleagues from across the nation.
Attending Congress is well worth your time and expense, and Washington D.C. is not
too shabby either. Getting around Washington is easy with the subways and there are
amazing places to see and many things to do.
Nothing inspires being an American like seeing the Lincoln Memorial or the Washington
monument. It will take your breath away. I encourage you to go and hope to see a lot
of Sierra Nevada chapter members there!
Our National ONS Webpage NEEDS HELP!
Did you know that through our chapter’s Virtual Community we have a page just for
our chapter news? There is a calendar on which we can post upcoming meetings,
locations, and events.
For some time now we have been without a designated person to post information to
this valuable tool. For those who do not or cannot attend a meeting, they can catch
up on the newsletters, announcements, and happenings. We could launch a
discussion that all members could participate in, take short surveys of our members, etc.
I believe we have missed many opportunities to inform and involve our membership.
I am going to pursue re-opening our chapter website very soon. Stay tuned!
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St. Mary’s News
Contributed by Stacy Demitropoulos
On our Oncology unit we strive to help our community in many ways. One of the ways
we give back was started by two of our nurses, Holly Stephenson and Stacy
Demitropoulos. What started as a fun craft to raise money for Relay for Life – making
badge clips - has turned into a way to give back to the Oncology patients in our
community fighting cancer. The badge clips are made of recycled materials and cost
five dollars. The entire five dollars raised from these cute clips goes directly toward these
special patients. These funds have been able to help patients in many ways: from
putting food on their table to providing the basic necessities to function daily. They also
used the money to bring a little Christmas joy to patient’s lives this past Christmas by
adopting three families. This fundraiser has really become a unit-wide activity with all
the nurses pitching in to help sell these badges in our community and across the United
States. This shows how dedicated and caring our nurses are to our patients and families.
Oncology nursing is not just a profession for us but a way of life for our nurses.
In other St. Mary news, CONGRATULATIONS! To Christine Prentice RN, BSN, OCN for
passing her OCN certification exam in January. Way to go, Christine!
For Your Information – Employment Opportunity
Alpine Hematology Oncology, Reno, has an employment opportunity for a for an OCNoncology certified nurse- who is willing to relocate to the Northern Nevada area. This is
a full time, full benefit position. If a RN is interested they should contact Chelsea Hart at
chart@alpinedoctors.com.
If you know of anyone who may be interested in this position, please pass this info
along.
NEWS FROM NATIONAL ONS
Update Your Profile So ONS Can Better Serve You - Not all oncology nurses are alike.
Your roles, practice settings, patient populations, and more differ. ONS recognizes this
and strives to ensure you’re getting the information and resources you need from your
professional association. One way we do this is to customize the information you
receive from us based on the demographics in your ONS profile. As you know, the
healthcare landscape is rapidly changing; ONS recently updated the demographics it
collects to better reflect the world in which you practice.
Please take a few minutes to update your ONS profile to ensure we have the most
current information about who you are and what you do.
Changes to Attendance at Promotional Dinners - ONS:Edge has received a letter from
the Department of Veteran Affairs Regional Council 2, Florida District, that asserts:
“When there has been a determination that attendance of a VA employee is in the
interest of the agency because it will further agency programs and operations, an
employee may accept an unsolicited gift of free attendance at all or appropriate parts
of a widely attended gathering of mutual interest to a number of parties from the
sponsor of the event…Attendance may include waiver of all or part of a conference or
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other fee or the provision of food, refreshments, entertainment, instruction and material
furnished to all attendees as integral part of the event. It does not include travel
expenses, lodgings” or other items listed in the letter. The VA letter can be downloaded
at www.onsedge.com. VA employees should check with their supervisors, but may
attend approved promotional events.
ONS:Edge Important Considerations:
There appears to be an easing of attendance regulations for promotional events in
these two instances. However, ONS:Edge will continue to enforce the rules established
by our clients’ legal departments regarding who can be admitted to promotional
dinner programs and/or served meals.
Additionally, it is important that all healthcare professionals attending promotional
programs check their employer’s policies regarding attendance. Many research and
teaching hospitals post policies online and employees should contact their human
resources departments for information.
Note: Your ONS Chapter Board will be discussing this issue and how it may/could affect
attendance at our dinner meetings.
ONS 2013 Congress – Washington DC
Andi, in her President’s Corner comments, stated she is attending this event this year.
Are you? I would like to request that each of our chapter members who attends
Congress this year report back – via the newsletter, of course – on one session they
attended that they found particularly interesting, provided new, evidence-based
practice guidelines, taught them something they can teach their colleagues, etc.
Please make it a priority to write just a paragraph or two related to your attendance
and submit to the editor (bruticoc@gmail.com) within a month of your return from
Washington D.C. You could probably write it on the plane coming back to Reno!
Closing Thoughts from Your Chapter Secretary/Editor
A new year means new beginnings. We have great oncology nurses in our chapter;
nurses who do the “in the trenches” work with patients and their families; nurses who
foster research efforts so we can have new treatments against cancer; nurses who
spend their days educating other nurses so they can reach their potential; and nurses
who have transitioned into other oncology-related specialties. All of us have something
to offer to our colleagues; we just need to do it! Let’s commit to bringing a new vitality
to our chapter, and community, by becoming more involved, bringing new ideas to the
membership and board, and by using our newsletter as a communication device for all
the members.
By the way, if you get this newsletter, please ask your fellow members if they got their
electronic copy. If they didn’t have them email me so I can update my list. Thanks!!
Something to Think About
“Spring is the time of plans and projects.”
― Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina
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