attending the conference. The Minneapolis Northwest Marriot is an excellent facility with plenty of space to accommodate a large group of nurses & associates. Another MnSGNA board responsibility is to provide financial assistance for those people who need help in attending educational events. Our board provides scholarships for the fall conference. If you need help, please visit our website for details. You must be a member of SGNA to be eligible for this assistance. Deadline for the Fall Conference Scholarship is September 1st. Also, consider becoming more involved in your profession. I understand those of you who may have families & busy schedules. However, there are many of you who could really benefit from getting to know more about the board with MnSGNA & also the national level SGNA. Consider becoming a SGNA member to take advantage of many ways these organizations can make a difference in your nursing career. MnSGNA provides scholarships for the SGNA annual course to a regional SGNA member. In the

past we have sent up to 5 nurses to an annual course. Next year the annual course will be in Nashville, Tennessee. So, mark your calen-dar now for May 2-6, 2014. Come to enjoy the music & educational

I hope you have been enjoying this wonderful summer weather. I am sure some of you are getting in those last few vacations days while others are waiting for September to arrive. The kids will be back in school & your schedule may become hectic again. Just remember to take time for yourself. As health care workers, we tend to forget about getting some “time out for ourselves”. The most we can do for our minds & bodies is to take some of those spare moments to relax & stay healthy. To keep your nursing practice current, consider attending MnSGNA educational opportunities in GI & Endoscopy Nursing. The MnSGNA mission is to provide educational opportunities to our regional GI nurses. Our Fall Conference brochure is out & I encourage you to look it over & consider

sessions. I can never end my thoughts without bringing up the importance of becoming GI Certified. I have been in endoscopy for 23 years. Many years ago there was a time when all of our nurses at Methodist Hospital were certified. Our physicians were so proud of us that they took us out for dinner. We were all proud of our accomplishment. Take a look at your department & challenge yourselves to become certified. I became certified for many reasons. I wanted to share my experience with co workers. I enjoyed teaching them new procedures. I wanted to get a better understanding of the disease processes I see every day. I have felt very proud being certified & it holds me accountable to keep my skills updated. My experience attending the regional & national conferences has expanded my knowledge in many ways. I have been able share these experiences with my co workers & patients. Please consider using the gifts MnSGNA & SGNA can give you. Thank you for letting me reside as president of MnSGNA this year. I look forward to watching more of you get involved. I will support you all the way! Sharon Yorde MnSGNA President

Austin, Texas, the

Capitol city, was the

location for the 40th

Annual Course.

Attendees had the

opportunity to take

advantage of 122

educational

sessions and up to

42.25 contact hours

per attendee.

MN SGNA NEWS

Message from our

MnSGNA President Sharon

Yorde.

SGNA 40th Annual Course

News from Austin, Texas.

SGNA 41st Annual Course in-

Nashville, Tennessee —

May 2014

MnSGNA 2013 Fall Conference

at the Minneapolis

Marriott Northwest in

Brooklyn Park, Minnesota.

MN SGNA

NEWSLETTER

August 2013

Message from MN SGNA

President

Sharon Yorde

Page 1

SGNA 40th Annual Course held in Austin, Texas—May 17-22, 2013

mnsgna.com / mnsgna.org

The Annual Course wasn't

simply about attending the

educational sessions. It was

also about reconnecting with

friends & meeting new GI

professionals from all over the

country. There were also many

opportunities to see “what’s

new” from the many vendors.

Page 2

SGNA 40th Annual Course held in Austin, Texas (Continued)

MnSGNA sponsored our 2nd

Annual “Minnesota Night”.

Minnesota attendees met at a

local restaurant for food &

conversation.

Each year our region sends a

delegate to the SGNA House of

Delegates. Eva Paczkowski, our

MnSGNA President-Elect was

our delegate. The House of

Delegates is important because

SGNA is a grassroots

organization. The HOD allows

members to voice opinions &

empowers members to make a

difference. The HOD teaches

parliamentary procedure,

resolution development &

format. Small groups are used

to develop mock resolutions

with much discussion & feed-

back. Finally voting on

actual resolutions that were

submitted for consideration

was done.

Eva

Eva

Eva Paczkowski

President-Elect

Regional

Society

Presidents

honored.

Sharon

MnSGNA President

Sharon Yorde

Page 3

Minnesotans at the ABCGN

Certification Recognition Dinner.

Minnesotans Exhibited Education Poster

& Gave Oral Poster Presentation.

Vendors

SGNA 40th Annual Course held in Austin, Texas (Continued)

Registration Brochure

Available Now!

mnsgna.com or mnsgna.org

Minnesotans at the

Gala Awards Banquet.

Page 4

SGNA 40th Annual Course held in Austin, Texas (Continued)

Last year, a co-worker of mine, Jill Minor, recruited me to join MnSGNA & to run for a board position. I really enjoy endoscopy & have been to several of the conferences sponsored by MnSGNA so I decided to do it. I am now on the Board as a Director. We meet once a month. The meetings are productive, interesting & I have really enjoyed being a part of it. We are busy planning the fall conference which will be held at The Marriott in Brooklyn Park & we have started planning the spring conference. One of the perks of being on the board is sponsorship to attend the national SGNA conference. I recall my friends Jill & Lynn Mueller, telling their stories about attending these conferences. They would return to work full of enthusiasm with many wonderful ideas for our department. Well, this year I was able to go & it was wonderful! We spent five days in Austin, Texas with many endoscopy nurses from all over the USA & even other countries. I learned so much & could not wait to get

back to work so I could share everything with my colleagues! I would recommend to anyone working in endoscopy to attend a national conference. It was great fun! I got to know the other Board members & it gave me a whole new outlook in my career. I am looking forward to continuing my role in MnSGNA & encourage all of you to step up & become involved. Thank you Jill and Lynn for encouraging me! Laura Danner

Report From Laura Danner

First time attendee Laura Danner won

an I-Pad at Nationals.

“Honorary Minnesotan” Marianne from Pennsylvania.

SGNA does a wonderful job in

providing a top quality educational

course. There is also great value in

meeting & networking with other GI

nurses from all over the country.

It isn’t all work at a conference.

There are many opportunities to

socialize & to see local sites.

MnSGNA provides several annual

scholarships to attend the national

conference for MnSGNA members

who complete an application & meet

the requirements. At our fall

conference one member also can

win a drawing for $1500 toward the

cost of attending the Annual Course.

MnSGNA membership has

advantages. There are scholarships

& grants for the certification and

re-certification fees. There are also

reduced registration

fees for

attending the

Regional

Conferences.

See MNSGNA.com

for more

information.

Visit the

MnSGNA Facebook page and “Like” us!

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