National Conference of Rehab Nurses Provides Educational Awareness

By Kevin Glennon, RN
As the current President Elect for the State of Florida Rehabilitation Nurses, I had the honor and privilege of attending this year's National Rehab Nurses Conference in Washington, DC.

First and foremost I would like to thank each and every one of the general members for electing me to this position. I look forward to serving the Association as President Elect for the next two years and then taking over as our State President.

As such I was truly amazed at the quality of our National Conference this year. Not only were the presentations of top notch caliber, but they offered up to date information regarding the changing role of the Rehabilitation Nurse in our Profession. From the Paper/Poster Presentations to the exhibitors on hand and the pre-conference workshops that were offered this year, this information was extraordinary.

I had the opportunity to attend two of the pre-conference workshops offered on Wednesday of the conference. The first workshop offered was presented by Donna Cardillo, RN, MA on how to position your self for success. This presentation was by far one of the most informative, motivating and innovative presentations that I have attended in years. As a Clinical Nurse Educator, Presenter, and Director of Home Care Services with Total Medical Solutions, I have attended a multitude of Education Programs geared towards advancing personal growth.

Donna’s focus was on Rehabilitation Nurse’s looking to move forward with writing articles, speaking to local groups or staff, on a regular basis, gearing yourself to speak on a local, state or national levels and subsequently having articles or opinions published in local, state and national publications, in addition to local newspapers, radio stations, or public broadcast systems within your communities.

Donna’s approach allowed the participants to explore their own strengths and weaknesses and to realize individual potential as Rehabilitation Professionals. One of the best quotes I will remember for years is how to introduce yourself to clients, patients, and other health care professionals, and I quote, “Hello, My Name is Kevin Glennon and I am a certified Rehabilitation Nurse that will be working/caring for you or your family member. It is my passion for Rehabilitation Nursing that I would like to share with you throughout this experience. If there is anything that I can do to assist you or your family members during your Rehabilitation, It will be my pleasure.”

These words alone are so empowering to Rehabilitation Nurses across the country to use whenever they are addressing patients, family members, or other professionals that we work with on a day in and day out basis.

I was then able to participate in the National ARN Leadership Workshop, sponsored by the National Board of Directors in conjunction with the Regional Directors. As this being my first time attending the leadership workshop I asked fellow FSARN members, Lisa Pervin, Ina Jones, and Karyn Scully if this was the normal format that National followed for the Leadership Workshop.

All indicated that this format was new and different from any other format that they had attended in the past. As a first time attendee, I was literally blown away at the format for this leadership workshop. I was able to meet and brain storm with not only the National Leaders of ARN, but with the Regional Directors, and Presidents, President-Elects, and members of ARN Chapters from across the country.

The information that we were able to share with each other regarding leadership as Rehabilitation Nurses, motivating staff, encouraging commitment and longevity of staff members, recruiting and maintaining membership in the ARN organization, in addition to new and innovative means of conducting meetings using modern tele-conference technology was mind boggling.

I was truly honored to be amongst the leaders of our association and all of the other leaders from across the country that face the same obstacles as we do in Florida to recruit and maintain members to this prestigious organization of Rehabilitation Nurses that we belong to. I never realized how powerful ARN is and can be on a National Level.

I also had the opportunity to meet our newest Legislative Liaison that will be working in conjunction with ARN regarding major Legislative issues that we will be facing in the coming years.

Lastly, being in our Nation’s Capitol, I had the privilege of a private tour of our Pentagon, thanks to one of our own members Dorothee Custer. Currently Dorothee’s daughter is stationed at the Pentagon and she was able to arrange a private tour for a number of us at the Pentagon. Talk about a moving experience. We were actually taken to ground zero were the actual damage originated from. The area has been totally renovated, and the contractors that were working on the renovations were determined to have all renovations completed within one year, sometimes working around the clock to ensure that the project would be completed on time.

Words cannot even begin to explain the emotional roller coaster one experiences at the memorial that has been constructed to honor the men, women and children that lost their lives on 9-11. It was truly one of the most moving experiences that I was ever able to be a part of.

Sue Sharman and I actually played hooky one day and hopped on the tour bus that allowed you to get on and off at various historical locations. We actually saw the memorial dedicated to the Nurses that Served during the Vietnam War and have no been honored for their dedication to our country.
I am currently in the process of uploading a multitude of pictures to our state web site along with several other members that attended the National Conference. I would encourage all of you to visit our state website at www.fsarn.org to see some of the moving historical pictures that we were able to get while attending this years National Conference.

I would also like to invite you to attend next years National Conference that will be held at the San Francisco Marriott, in San Francisco, California. The dates for next year’s conference are October 1-4, 2008. Please take advantage of your local district funds to apply for scholarship monies, in addition to applying to FSARN for scholarship money to attend the National Conference next year. You will not be disappointed and I also encourage you to notify Ina Jones, our State President if you plan on attending so that she can arrange for you to attend the pre-conference Leadership Workshop.

I look forward to joining many of you next year in San Francisco. We can all meet up and have dinner at one of the best restaurants in San Francisco. The Smelly Garlic Café. Stay tuned to our website and the National website for additional information regarding the 2008 Conference.

For information regarding educational grant money, visit our website or contact Coleen Bronson at coleen.bronson@leememorial.org. You will not be disappointed in this opportunity.