Maryland Nurse - April 2021
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
<strong>April</strong>, May, June <strong>2021</strong> The <strong>Maryland</strong> <strong>Nurse</strong> Journal • Page 3<br />
ANA/MNA News<br />
MNA to Celebrate <strong>Nurse</strong> Superheroes at its<br />
118th Annual Convention<br />
The <strong>Maryland</strong> <strong>Nurse</strong>s Association (MNA)<br />
Convention Committee is planning its 118th<br />
Annual MNA Convention to be held virtually<br />
again this year. MNA has joined the World Health<br />
Organization (WHO) and ANA on extending the<br />
“Year of the <strong>Nurse</strong>” into <strong>2021</strong>. We are excited to<br />
announce this year’s convention theme will be<br />
“Year of the <strong>Maryland</strong> <strong>Nurse</strong>: Celebrating <strong>Nurse</strong><br />
Superheroes.” We look forward to presentations<br />
that demonstrate <strong>Maryland</strong> nurses' resiliency, many<br />
of whom have been on the frontlines during the<br />
pandemic.<br />
The convention will be held virtually on<br />
Thursday, October 7th, and Friday, October 8th,<br />
<strong>2021</strong>. The goals of this learning experience are<br />
to:<br />
• Provide information on nursing innovations<br />
from all areas of nursing practice.<br />
• Position <strong>Maryland</strong> nurses to be on the leading<br />
edge of healthcare changes.<br />
The <strong>2021</strong> Convention will foster collaboration<br />
and provide a forum for peer-to-peer interactions<br />
among RNs in <strong>Maryland</strong>. To support this year's<br />
convention theme, "Year of the <strong>Maryland</strong> <strong>Nurse</strong>:<br />
Celebrating <strong>Nurse</strong> Superheroes," the <strong>Maryland</strong><br />
<strong>Nurse</strong>s Association is seeking abstract submissions<br />
that reflect the multifaceted ideas and practices<br />
inherent in professional nursing. We will again<br />
feature the targeted 20-minute Spotlight Sessions<br />
as well as the traditional hour-long Concurrent<br />
Sessions. We have added Posters back this year and<br />
look forward to the enhanced value that they will<br />
bring. The Call for Abstracts can be found on the<br />
MNA website, and applications will be accepted<br />
through June 11th, <strong>2021</strong>.<br />
Educational objectives for the convention are to:<br />
1. Analyze current nursing education and<br />
professional development updates.<br />
2. Describe leadership applications for various<br />
nursing practice areas.<br />
3. Compare innovative quality and researchbased<br />
initiatives throughout the nursing<br />
spectrum.<br />
Spotlight Session topics are:<br />
• Excel: education and professional<br />
development updates across the nursing<br />
practice spectrum<br />
• Lead: administrative, policy, and leadership<br />
updates across nursing practice areas<br />
• Innovate: improvement and research science<br />
applications to nursing processes, problems,<br />
and possibilities<br />
Each year MNA Awards and Scholarships<br />
are presented at the convention. MNA Awards<br />
include The Outstanding Nursing Practice Award,<br />
The Outstanding <strong>Nurse</strong> Educator Award, The<br />
Outstanding Leadership Award, The Outstanding<br />
Advanced Practice Clinical <strong>Nurse</strong> Award, The<br />
Outstanding Dissemination of Health Information<br />
Award, The Outstanding Pathfinder Award, The<br />
Outstanding Mentoring Award, and The Stierle<br />
Exemplary Service Award. The MNA Legislative<br />
Committee awards are given to an MNA member<br />
and Legislator who has significantly contributed<br />
or collaborated in <strong>Maryland</strong>’s nursing/health<br />
legislative issues. Scholarships are awarded<br />
through the Nursing Foundation of <strong>Maryland</strong><br />
(NFM). Nomination forms for MNA Awards and<br />
the NFM Scholarship Application can both be<br />
found on the MNA website.<br />
We are looking forward to an amazing event<br />
again this year. We will notify members when<br />
registration opens in May and a link will be on the<br />
MNA website – we look forward to seeing you!<br />
Letter from the Editor continued from page 1<br />
found myself back in the role of a bedside nurse.<br />
My grandfather had been diagnosed with COVID<br />
in early January and worked his way to ICU. With<br />
final wishes not to be intubated, he had expended<br />
his high-flow oxygen capacity and decided to come<br />
home. His transportation kept getting delayed, and<br />
when the hospital finally had a time, it would be<br />
delayed again due to a Hospice <strong>Nurse</strong> not being<br />
available to accept his transfer. My nurse senses<br />
kicked in as I was driving from <strong>Maryland</strong> to North<br />
Carolina, and I told my family to call the hospital<br />
back and inform them that I would accept him!<br />
Having cared for many hospice patients in<br />
my days at the bedside, I fully embodied the<br />
hospice nurse mode to ensure I advocated for my<br />
grandfather's final wishes and to be a comfort<br />
for my family. Despite everyone thinking he<br />
wouldn't (only being on 15L high flow oxygen),<br />
my grandfather made the transfer. His coherent<br />
self said his final goodbyes to his wife of 71 years,<br />
his three daughters, and over 20 grandchildren and<br />
great-grandchildren (via facetime technologies) and<br />
then passed five hours later.<br />
I share this story because it is our storytelling<br />
that inspires the heart. I have since shown<br />
resilience for my family, for myself, and my<br />
friends. It was not easy. I have bounced back in a<br />
time when grief and sorrow can hold you down.<br />
We have had to work harder than ever before<br />
to rise above and grow stronger. In times that<br />
challenge our usual coping skills, we must be<br />
innovative in new methods to ensure proper selfcare;<br />
we must focus on ourselves. Self-care was a<br />
struggle for me, as I’m sure it was for many of you.<br />
In a time of social distancing, no hugs, no family<br />
gatherings, and no comforting, I embraced new<br />
methods to overcome adversity. I channeled selfcare<br />
and resiliency resources to assist me in my<br />
grieving process in this new norm.<br />
As we start to rebuild a healthier nation, a<br />
healthier profession, a healthier self, let us reflect<br />
on this past year as not stumbling blocks but<br />
stepping stones. <strong>Nurse</strong>s have stepped up to lead<br />
others. We were the voice of advocacy for our<br />
communities, our peers, and ourselves. We must<br />
keep in mind that we are not alone as we navigate<br />
our new normal. We have our resilient peers, our<br />
transformative leadership, and our loving families<br />
who fuel us through each day to recharge our<br />
batteries.<br />
We must look at the horizon and the new<br />
light it provides as we approach a new dawn. We<br />
have identified our gaps and opportunities and<br />
highlighted our strengths. In a time of sorrow,<br />
stress, compassion fatigue, and burnout, we are<br />
resilient. In the Year of the <strong>Nurse</strong> and Midwife, we<br />
are resilient.<br />
Even in our most trying times, we find ways<br />
to inspire the heart and motivate others. This<br />
edition showcases nurses excelling, leading, and<br />
innovating. Whether at the bedside, in academics,<br />
or within their communities, nurses are standing<br />
together, paving a new path, and leading the way to<br />
a better, holistic healthcare approach.<br />
There has never been a more significant time to<br />
call oneself a nurse, and to do it with pride.<br />
We will bounce back; we will become stronger<br />
because we have identified our vulnerabilities,<br />
both personally and professionally. I encourage<br />
you to share your stories of resiliency and nursing<br />
triumph. You can email themarylandnurse@gmail.<br />
com or provide information via the following link:<br />
https://forms.gle/cvGTrz8XYrccJvq96<br />
LISTED IN <strong>2021</strong> MARYLAND SUPER LAWYERS ®<br />
410.938.8800 pklaw.com