As members of a professional nursing group, I am sureyou are also involved in PeriAnesthesia nursing in otherways as well. Do you have an advanced degree? Are youcerti!ied in CPAN or CAPA? Do you have many years expe-rience in PeriAnesthesia nursing? Have you been a nursefor a long time? We are very good at teaching our patientsfrom the moment we meet them until we say goodbye tothem. But do we tell them all the positives about ourselvesthat would make them feel comfortable with us taking careof them?

Patients are looking up their doctorson the web to see who they are, wherethey went to school, and how long theyhave been practicing. They do not knowwho their nurse will be ahead of time, andtherefore they cannot look us up. What ifwe tell them what our credentials are when we introduceourselves? Feel like you are not important enough? Or thatit would be bragging? No, I think they want to know.It was suggested to me a few months ago to do this. Itdid feel strange at !irst. I was not used to giving myselfcredit. But what I found was that I could see my patientsrelax visually before my eyes. With just a few words, someof the anxiety was gone from their faces. They were beingtaken care of by a nurse who has experience, education,and is certi!ied.I am challenging each and every one of you to tell yourpatients about you and all your quali!ications to take careof them. I think you will be surprised by their immediatepositive reaction. It will make you smile and be glad thatyou did all that hard work to get to where you are today.Take credit for who you are and all that you do. You are afabulous professional Perianesthesia nurse!As always, Thanks for all you do,

Sharon Hill MSN RN CAPARMPANA current President 2010-2011

THE AIR EXCHANGENewsletter of the

Rocky Mountain PeriAnesthesia Nurses AssociationMission: The RMPANA Component advances nursing practice

through education, research and standards.

Volume 26 Number 1 Spring, 2011

Inside this Issue:

Presidents Message Pg. 1

Directors Corner Pg. 2

ASPAN’s Initiatives Pg. 3

District Reports Pg. 4, 5

PANAW Pg. 5

National Conference Pg. 6

Development Committee Pg. 6

Committee Reports Pg. 7, 8, 9

Scholarship Opportunities Pg. 8

New Web-site Pg. 9

Notes from the Editor Pg. 9

Calendar of Events Pg. 10

How Do You Introduce Yourself?President’s Message

Call For Nominations!

1

RMPANA’s Board of Directors invites current RMPANA mem-bers to answer the Call for Nominations. RMPANA is solicitingindividuals to serve on its Board of Directors who are lookingfor a challenging and rewarding experience and who can con-tribute new and exciting ideas to perianesthesia nursing. If youare that individual please consider one of the following RM-PANA Board of Director positions:• Vice President/President Elect• SecretaryIf you are interested in one of the positions, have questions re-garding time commitments or requirements or if you know ofsomeone who !its the bill please contact me: Pam Myrum @ pmyrum@bresnan.net or 307-221-0506.

Nomination submission deadline: May 1st, 2011.Job descriptions are available on our website: www.rmpana.org.ASPAN’s 30th

National Conference “Reinvest

In YourPotential”

April 3 - 7, 2011Sheraton Seattle Hotel

Seattle Washington

Complete Informationon Page 6

We Need Youre-mail address!!!

See Pg. 9

2

Nancy O’Malley, BSN MA RN CPAN CAPAASPAN Region 1 DirectorIt is impossible to believe how fast thepast !ive years have !lown by! I was giventhe opportunity to be the Region I Direc-tor “as a trial” to ful!ill Sue Fossum’s termshould she be elected Vice-President/President Elect. I never dreamed of theadventure I would be embarking on bysaying “yes” and I sincerely hope that you will consider doing the same—butdon’t wait to be asked. So many of you have incredible talents and knowledgeto share with your ASPAN and component colleagues, and we need you to joinus! Get involved—it is fun and rewarding!I do hope you are attending the 30th ASPAN National Conference April 2-5,2011!! There will be so many opportunities for you to learn, network, laugh,and just have fun! A terri!ic conference is planned just for you so do come. Every-one is welcome to attend the Representative Assembly on Sunday to see howASPAN “works”. As this is the governing body for our professional organization,I hope you will spend at least some time with us. We will also have a Region Imeeting on Monday from 5:30-7:00 PM so you can meet your new Regional Di-rector, meet each other, and share ideas. You are welcome if you are a leader orinterested meeting your component leaders.I have always been an advocate for components having a clear strategic planfor the next !ive years and have encouraged the use of our Gold Leaf Compo-nent criteria as basis for those plans. “If you don’t know where you are going,how will you know when you get there?” To that end, the ASPAN Board of Di-rectors spent a lot of time the past year ensuring that our Strategic Plan evalu-ated current and future goals and programs to ensure that these meet the needsof our organization, are sustainable, and have measurable outcomes. Yes, thisprocess does require time and commitment from your leadership, but it is crit-ical to the ongoing success of ASPAN. And if it is critical for ASPAN, it is criticalfor your components to do the same. By now, you have probably heard that we are one of the key supporters forthe !irst International Conference for PeriAnesthesia Nurses in Toronto, Canada.Save the date! October 2-5, 2011. For more information go to: www.icpan.infoThis is a really exciting opportunity for us to promote perianesthesia nursingworld-wide and network with colleagues in many countries. I hope that manyof you will be able to attend—it will be worth the time and money!I have just returned from Cambodia for the !ifth time. We were able to do hys-terectomies on women that looked like they had !ibroids that weighed morethan they did! We are working with our Cambodian nurse colleagues to enhancetheir education and help them develop critical thinking skills along the way.Teaching the art as well as the science of nursing is so very important, and it isso rewarding to see the progress in these young nurses even over just a two-week trip. They are amazingly intelligent and hungry to learn. I hope that manyof you will be able to share your passion and expertise with people who in des-perate need around the world and perianesthesia nurses who need you to teachthem!I want to thank, from the bottom of my heart, the many leaders and membersthat I have met over the years. You have enriched my life immensely and deep-ened my respect for each of you as you embrace the challenges of perianesthe-sia nursing and component leadership on a daily basis. Thank you!! See you inSeattle!

Reinvest in Your PotentialVOLUME 26, NUMBER 1

2010-2011 RMPANABoard Of Directors

PRESIDENTSharon Hill MSN, RN, CAPA

VICE PRESIDENT / PRESIDENT!ELECTOlyn Carlson BSN, RN, CAPA

SECRETARYDianne Leeth BSN, RN, CAPA

TREASURERJoEtte Krissel BSN, RN, CAPA

IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENTMembership / Nominating ChairPam Myrum BSN, RN, CPAN, CCRN

- District Representatives -District 1- Regina Hoefner-Notz

BSN, RN, CPAN, CPNDistrict 3- Deana Yeomans RN-SDCDistrict 4- Diane McCue

BSN, RN, CAPADistrict 5- Peggy Fischer RNDistrict 6- Marcia Keiser RN, CPAN

- Committee Chairs -Bylaws, Policies, and ProceduresSharon Sample RN, CPAN, CAPAEducation- Mary Seitenbach BSN, RN, CPANFundraising-JoEtte Krissel BSN, RN, CAPAGovernmental A!airs-Claudia Scroggs BSN, RN, CPAN, CAPAHistorical - Linda Davis BSN, RN, CAPAParliamentarian- Lynda Marks RN, CAPAResearch Co-ChairsAudrey Cook BSN, RN, CPAN, CAPAClaudia Scroggs BSN, RN, CPAN, CAPAStrategic Planning- Valerie Watkins BSN, RN, CAPAWebsite Coordinator- Donna Gaul Bobo RN, CPAN, CAPANewsletter EditorCatherine Dunne BSN, BA, RNSend comments or Letters to the Editor to: catedunne@gmail.com

RMPANA - www.rmpana.orgASPAN - www.aspan.org

Directors Corner Spring, 20110

3

By Martha L. Clark MSN RN CPAN,ASPAN Region 3 Director It wasn’t until I became ASPAN Re-gional Director that I understoodASPAN’s Up and Comers Initiative. Atlast year’s CDI in Portland, Maine, Iwas asked to lead a table discussionon “The Bene!its of Membership in aProfessional Organization.” Duringthe preparations for CDI, I realizedthe impact of the Up and Comers Ini-tiative on ASPAN’s strategic plan - notonly to coach potential ASPAN lead-ers, but to mentor perianesthesianurses who want to explore their po-tential as nursing leaders, authors,speakers or component leaders. Asprofessional organizations’ leadersretire, it is imperative that theirknowledge and expertise be sharedwith a new generation of leaders.The best way to do this is through amentor/mentee program likeASPAN’s Up and Comers Initiative. Mentoring Nurses and Gray Gorillas Approximately 30 years ago, I be-came interested in mentoring rela-tionships in nursing and that lead tomy thesis topic, “Mentoring Relation-ships in Nursing: A DescriptiveStudy.” During my literature reviewon mentoring in nursing, I found anextremely interesting piece of re-search. The title alone caught my eye: As-sessments related to cardiogenicshock: Discovery of nursing gestalt.The study’s aim was to determinewhat variables in!luence decision-making skills of critical care nurses.Speci!ically, the study examined cog-nitive processes used by veteran crit-ical care nurses and how thoseprocesses were passed on to neo-phyte critical care nurses. The cognitive process used by vet-eran nurses was named the “Gray Go-rilla Syndrome” and the veterannurses were termed the “Gray Goril-las.” Investigators found that the GrayGorillas used a teaching/learningprocess involving previous knowl-edge, past experiences, gut feelings,and patient-related cues to transformtheir novice critical care nurses into

the experts they had become. In thewild, Gray Gorillas are silverback go-rillas who lead, guide, teach, protect,and serve as role models for thegroup just as these nursing expertswere for their protégés. ASPAN is fortunate to have many,many “Gray Gorillas” waiting for theopportunity to lead, guide, and men-tor any member who desires to learnmore about our professional organi-zation. I would like to share a poem with youby Thomas Gaines. The poem isfound on the back page of Jay Rifen-bary’s, No Excuses! IncorporatingCore Values, Accountability, and Bal-ance into Your Life and Career. Giving and Receiving I launched a smile: far out it sailed on life’s wide, troubled sea. And many more than I could countcame sailing back at me. I clasped a hand while whispering,“The clouds will melt away.” I felt my life was very blessed allthrough the hours that day. I sent a thought of happiness where

it was needed sore,

and very soon thereafter, found joyadded to my store. I wisely shared my slender hoard, toil earned coins of gold; but presently it !lowed right back, increased a hundred fold, I helped another climb a hill, a little thing to do; and yet it brought a rich reward, a friendship that was new. I think each morning when I rise, of how I may achieve, I know by serving, I advance, by giving, I receive. I hope this article serves as a call foreach of you to join ASPAN’s Up andComers Initiative as either a mentoror a mentee…here is much to beshared and much to be gained! BIBLIOGRAPHY: Clark M. Mentoring relationships in nursing: Adescriptive study. 1988; unpublished master’sthesis. Pyles S, Stern P. Assessments related to cardio-genic shock: discovery of nursing gestalt. Image.1983; 15: 51-57. Rifenbary J. No Excuses: Incorporating Core Val-ues, Accountability, and Balance into Your Lifeand Career. USA: Possibility Press; 2008: 336.

Giving and Receiving: ASPAN’s Up and Comers Initiative Spring, 20110

CONGRATULATIONS !!!Congratulations to the newest CPAN and CAPA’s in our component

CPAN: CAPA:Karen Collins Elizabeth AndersonKrista Hall Joanne ForsterAnnette Kankelfritz Marybeth HritsickBrittany Kauffman Beverly James Marina Moon Jaime Lynn O’brienTerri Mullineaux Mary Rachel RomeroSherri Ann Schroeder Stephanie ThompsonCheryl Smith Diane Wiest

Recognized CPAN and CAPA coaches:COLORADO: NEBRASKA:Patricia Blanc CPAN Kristy Iwansky CPAN, CAPA Kimberly Blank CPAN, CAPA Mary Simpson CAPADonna Gaul Bobo CPAN, CAPA Pat Stevens CPAN Phyllis MacDonald CPAN WYOMING:Lori Mulcare CPAN, CAPA Joy Meyer CPAN

Pamela Myrum CPAN

4

by Regina Hoefner-Notz, BSN RNCPAN CPNDo groups remember words or dothey remember action? Can it be thatthe words might elude us but the ac-tions surround us in everything wedo? The !irst question I ask you is “Doyou know RMPANA’s Mission State-ment?” Then the second questionmust be,” Are you living within yourmission statement?”“The Association exists to unite regis-tered professional nurses of all phasesof perianesthesia care to promotequality and cost effective care for pa-tients, their families, and the commu-nity, through public and professionaleducation, research, and standards ofpractice.” RMPANA mission statement.District I celebrated this ideal on Janu-ary 29, 2011 by providing an excitingall day workshop title “Novice throughExpert”. There were 155 attendeesthat came to learn and grow by listen-ing to various lectures supporting pe-rianesthesia nursing practice. We were fortunate to have Dr. ScottMarkowitz and Dr. Thomas Notidesfrom The Children’s Hospital anesthe-sia department speak about anes-thetic agents and regional blocks. Theother talented speakers were District Iperianesthesia nurses that chose toshare their knowledge and experienceto a receptive audience. We owe a big“THANK YOU” to Lois Schick, Barbara

Krumbach, Kim Bacon, Mary RachelRomero and Carolyn Dietrich for shar-ing their expertise. The District I edu-cation committee did an outstandingjob!Each perianesthesia nurse in atten-dance is living the RMPANA missionstatement. Through the pursuit ofknowledge we bring quality care toevery patient. By coming together tolearn, we create a stronger perianes-thesia nursing community. This com-munity is important to each of us sowe can provide the excellent standardof care each patient and family de-serves. This nursing community alsosupports how we practice to promotecareer satisfaction. District I tries to hold its yearly work-shop just before PeriAnesthesia NurseAwareness Week. This year was noexception. Many institutions cele-brated their practice, but I would liketo extend special kudos to CourtneyMcClellan BSN, RN, CN III at The Chil-dren’s Hospital PACU for going aboveand beyond to support the PACU staffshe works with. Courtney asked vari-

ous local companies to donate thingsfor the nursing staff, and boy, did theydeliver! Every PACU nurse receivedcandies and cupcakes, Bundt cakes,cosmetics and gift cards. Each day wassomething new with various donatedgift baskets to raf!le off. Courtney thenmade a !lyer with every PACU nursespicture as a “thank you” to everyonewho donated. This created a tangibleconnection of the nursing staff to thecommunity.As a district, we continue to meet onthe !irst Thursday of the month at var-ious hospitals throughout Denver. Ournext meeting is May 5th at AuroraSouth. Please join us and get to knowthe other nurses in your specialtyarea. Support each other through cer-ti!ication and encourage your peers tocome to the monthly meetings. Thewinner of Excellence in Clinical Prac-tice Award will be presented at theMay meeting. Don’t forget to nominatesomeone you work with that rolemodels clinical excellence every day.Watch your emails for a friendly re-minder!

District 1

by Diane McCue, BSN RN CPANDist. 4; President & RepresentativeDistrict 4 has met one of our goals ofproviding free educational offerings.In January 2011, Dr Woody Moss pre-sented a lecture on Regional Anesthe-sia. 28 attendees received 2 free CEUs,followed by a district meeting.In February, capping PANAW, wehosted a ‘Certi!ication Review’ by LoisSchick. This was very well attended.March 5, Dr Mark Loury presentedcase studies and nursing considera-tions for patients after ENT surgeriesto 21 district 4 members. Each at-tendee received 1.25 free contacthours.

The remainder of 2011 has someexciting and fun opportunities instore.On Friday April 29 from 5-8pmdistrict 4 will host a Wine and Cheesefundraiser and night of retail therapyat Fine and Funky in Timnath Col-orado (refreshments provided).Everyone is invited. A percentage ofall sales will be given to district 4 tofund a scholarship for a nursing stu-dent.In May, Karrie Brunson will lec-ture on ‘Pain in the PACU: Perils,Plights and Progress’. Date and time tobe announced .On June 11 everyone is invited to

HELP International’s warehouse inLoveland to assist in organizing med-ical equipment for delivery overseasto areas of need. HELP InternationalWarehouse is located at 629 14thStreet SW in Loveland, CO 80537In July, we will provide anothereducational offering by Dr Dhuparfrom NCMC in Greeley on Back sur-geries, and in September RMPANAmember and CRNA Rex Marley willspeak on respiratory concerns in thePACU at MCR. Both of these seminarswill be followed by a district meeting.Dates and times for these offeringswill be sent out by email and placedon the RMPANA website.

District 4

District Reports Spring, 20110

5

Marcia Keiser RN CPANDistrict 6 RepresentativeThis year has been very slow for Dis-trict VI. It seems like every time I at-tempt to plan a meeting somethingalways interferes; speakers not get-ting back to me, the weather, someevent on the ski mountains, thereforeDistrict VI, I apologize for not havingany workshops for us.I am working with the Educationcommittee on planning an event inthe very late spring or early summer.I will let everyone know as soon asthe plans are !inalized. I really wantto make District VI an alive and moti-vated district, providing educationalofferings to those of us who live in themountains.I am available to anyone who mighthave questions are concerns andwould be happy to share any infor-mation I have. If you have an idea for

a topic you would like to see pre-sented at a workshop please let meknow, or if you have a speaker whowould be interested in talking to agroup please let me know.With the busy lives we all have todayand the state of the economy it is soimportant to maintain your skills andbe aware of the latest standards pro-vided by your organization, so I en-courage all of you to attend some ofthe workshops the other districts puton. If you have never attended the Re-treat In the Rockies, held in the fall,you have missed some excellentspeakers and networking. This is agreat opportunity to meet RMPANAboard of directors and all the districtrepresentatives.I look forward to our next communi-cation and please do not hesitate tocontact me if you have any questionsor ideas. Let’s strive to keep DistrictVI alive and growing!!!

District Reports (Continued From Page 4) Spring, 20110

District 6

by Rachel Romero BSN, RN, CPAN, CAPAPeriAnesthesia Nurse AwarenessWeek runs from February 7 to 13.This year’s theme: Exceptional People,Extraordinary Care; Highlights ofprocess improvements the PeriAnes-thesia nursing staff tackled in the pastyear include: redeploying GE Centric-ity electronic documentation; theCAUTI project to prevent hospital-ac-quired urinary-tract infections; creat-ing an AOP handoff communicationform to smooth patient movement be-tween the OR and the PACU and manyothers.University of Colorado Hospital, Au-rora Colorado PANAW Events:

1) Breakfast Inservice on Perianesthesia Documentation

2) Jeopardy Game3) PeriAnesthesia Patient and Family

Education Event4) Slogan Contest and Poster Display5) Food Drive for Food Bank of

the Rockies6) Lunches sponsored by

generous donorsUniversity of Colorado Inpatient Perianesthesia Nursing Slogan,“Practicing State of the Art NursingCare with Compassion for you andyour families…”One of the highlights was a Patientand Family Education event. We setup equipment that is commonly usedin PreOp and PACU so patients andfamilies gain knowledge of what we

do as nurses. The items on displaywere cardiac monitors, PCA pumps,compression devices, drains, dress-ings, incentive spirometer, oxygentherapies, etc. The “show and tell”helped in easing anxiety for the pa-tients and families.

Left to right; Patricia Schilerreff, Monica Mendoza, Rachel Romero

New WebsiteLaunchedWebsite Committee Chair DonnaGaul Bobo, RN CPAN, CAPAThe new web-site waslaunched Janu-ary 27, 2011just in time toshine for ourAspen Leaf Application. The web-site is the hub for communicationand education. Visit www.rm-pana.org to keep up with all the hap-penings! CAPA/CPAN certi!icationcourses and news, awesome districtactivities, volunteer opportunities,information from your BOD and networking opportunities are just a fewof the things you will !ind on thenew, improved website!Send website submissions or volun-teer for this committee by sendinginformation to dnr97@comcast.net.

University of Colorado Hospital Celebrates PeriAnesthesia Nurses Week

6

ASPAN’s 30th National Conferencetakes place in ”the Emerald City”beautiful Seattle, Washington April 3-7. ASPAN’s host hotel, the SheratonSeattle Hotel, and the WashingtonState Convention Center are locatedin Seattle’s vibrant downtown withinwalking distance of many of Seattle’sfamous attractions such as the water-front, the Seattle aquarium, the Seat-tle art museum, the historic PikePlace Market and the original Star-bucks store, and the ExperienceMusic Project. Shopping, dining andentertainment options abound. Component Night kicks off the con-ference Sunday at 7:00pm. Thetheme is “Follow the Yellow BrickRoad” and RMPANA chose a “Dorothyin the !ield of poppies” theme (andwe have a Dorothy.) Please wear allblack and add poppy ornamentation.Examples of a poppy collar and a

poppy headdress canbe seen on the website www.rm-pana.org. A few ex-tras will be availablefor those who needthem. Use your cre-ativity to help ourpoppy !ield bloom.Our table will continue the poppytheme and we will have items to selland to raf!le. There will be great food,great people to meet, a costume con-test, and a chance to win prizes atcomponent raf!les. Region 1 Director Nancy O’Malley ishosting a Region 1 gathering on Mon-day April 4 from 5:30-6:30pm inmeeting room 602. This is a great op-portunity to meet and share informa-tion and ideas with other region 1components. Check the daily Na-tional Particulars and the message

board for more information.RMPANA will have a get togetherWednesday evening prior to the Pres-ident’s Reception. Check the infor-mation board at National Conferencefor time and location. Enjoy all the educational offerings,and the chance to network with otherperianesthesia nurses from acrossthe country. Please submit any pho-tos or articles about your experienceat National Conference that youwould like to share to the newsletterand to the website. Candace Taylor Chair, ASPAN DevelopmentIt is almost time to celebrate as wetravel to ASPAN’s 30th National Con-ference at the new Sheraton SeattleHotel. Do you have your bags packed?Are you ready?The Development team would like totake this opportunity to let everyComponent, and every individualknow about all of the Developmentactivities at National Conference.ASPAN Development supports all ofthe educational efforts of ASPAN in-cluding educational scholarships, re-search projects, and many otherASPAN projects throughout the year.National Conference SupportRMPANA as a component has mademonetary donations to ASPAN Devel-opment and to Conference Support.15th Annual Dream WalkPlease join us bright and early on Sun-day April 3rd at 6:30am for a walkaround the streets of Seattle. Take in

the sights of Seattle and raise moneyfor future ASPAN projects. I challengeeach and every registrant to take theDream Walk sponsorship form andstart searching for sponsors. Lets re-ally Dream… and raise money for thefuture by “Reinvesting In Your Poten-tial”.Exhibit Grand Opening and SilentAuctionThe exhibits open Monday April 4that 5:00pm as does the Silent Auction!For those of you new to the NationalConference, the Silent Auction iswhere you can !ind the unusual, thebling, a regional or state related item,or that piece of memorabilia that yousimply MUST take home with you.District 1 board member MelissaSawyer has generously donated abeautiful handmade blanket to theSilent Auction on behalf of RMPANA.Come see the blanket as well as theother great items up for auction. Bidearly and bid often for a great cause.

Bids are takenup until theclose of ex-hibits onWednesdayApril 6th at9 : 0 0 a m ,when every-one tries to makesure that their bidWINS! Don’t miss out. Development Luncheon Come and be a part of the Develop-ment Luncheon celebration and thisyears Hail, Honor and Salute program.Enjoy great food, great friends and lis-ten to an inspiring presentation ”Be”the Gift and Make Their Day! Youdon’t want to miss being a part of thisgreat luncheon. Keep in mind thatproceeds from this luncheon help toprovide scholarships and services toASPAN members. Help ASPAN be allthat it can be! See YOU there!

Follow the Yellow Brick Roadto the Emerald City

ASPAN’s National Conference Spring, 20110

ASPAN Development Committee

2011 National Conference Development Activities

7

Secretary’s Report By Dianne Leeth BSN, RN, CAPAMinutes of the fall 2010 Board of Di-rectors meeting were approved via e-mail vote. We also approvedchanging banks via e-mail vote.Our Spring BOD meeting was held inDenver on March 12. We had a fullagenda. Due to RMPANA trying to “gogreen”, many bylaws, policies/proce-dures and job descriptions need to berevised to re!lect a paperless system.Several were discussed and approvedfor revision. District and Committee reports weregiven. Lunch was spent discussingideas for Component Night (pleasesee the web site). The redesignedweb site and newsletter were dis-cussed to see how they can be mademore friendly and green while keep-ing costs down.The next meeting will be September23, 2011 prior to Retreat in the Rock-ies. Guests are always welcome to at-tend.__________________________________________Bylaws, Policies & Procedures Sharon Sample RN, CPAN, CAPABylaws/Policy & Procedure ChairpersonThe following changes were made tothe Bylaws/Policies at the MarchBoard meeting:1) Bylaw revision to de!inition of Honorary Board member2) Bylaw revision to Article 5, Section 10; Removal of Board Member3) Changes were made to the Treasurer’s job description, fund raising policy, !inancial returns to districts policy, fund-ing Board members policy, and the Expense Reimbursement form.4) Addition to all BOD job descrip-tions and Orientation policy to include submitting budget report to the Treasurer at year end.5) Addition to all committee chairs/District Reps job descrip-tions and the orientation policyto include submitting a report tothe editor for each newsletter.These changes will be updated andavailable on RMPANA’s website.

ASPAN Standards Update2010-2012 Perianesthesia NursingStandards and Practice Recommen-dations are now available. Thesestandards provide direction andframework for Perianesthesia nurs-ing. The statements describe the re-sponsibilities and speci!iccompetencies necessary for our spe-cialty as well as providing a compre-hensive resource to guide all phasesof our practice as Perianesthesianurses.All Perianesthesia nursing depart-ments should have a copy of ASPAN’sStandards. The new Standards areavailable on ASPAN’s website @www.aspan.org. __________________________________________Fundraising JoEtte Krissel, BSN, RN CAPAFundraising Committee ChairRegistrations will soon be in the mailfor this year's Retreat in the Rockies.When you register, be sure to indicatethat you want to participate in theMountain High Walk, and what size t-shirt you wear. We had a great timelast year on the hike on Sunday morn-ing, and everyone said they wouldlove to do it again. I also plan on hav-ing candles this year and a new outergarment, as well as RMPANA badgeretractors- the perfect gift for yourco-workers. I take checks and cash,sorry no credit or debit cards. __________________________________________EducationMary Seitenbach RN,BSN, CPANEducation Chairmeit1032@msn.com

Retreat In The Rockies 2011Save The Date!The Education Committee has beenbusily planning the upcoming 13thannual Retreat in the Rockies. Thisyear’s retreat will be held Sept 23-25th 2011, at Snow Mountain RanchYMCA, in Fraser Colorado. For the last few years we haveheld this retreat the !irst weekend inOctober to help defray costs. Due tomany requests from you, our mem-bers, we have moved the retreat datethis year to September so as not tocompete with other events, includingthe Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure.

The cost for holding the retreat ishigher in the month of September, asthis is still considered “high season”.While the cost to RMPANA is fairlysigni!icant, we chose to limit the in-crease in cost by only $25.00 for allattendees. It is important to remem-ber that this price includes lodging, 6meals, complimentary chair massage,as well continuing education hours. This annual retreat offers us theopportunity to enjoy the beautifulRocky Mountains (should be a greattime to see the autumn colors) whiletaking advantage of educational op-portunities, catch up with old friends,and meet new ones. We will also be offering an organizedhike again this year, immediately fol-lowing the retreat, as a fundraiser forthe component. This was a beautifulhike last year, and we hope to con-tinue this as an annual event. Detailswill be included in the retreat regis-tration, which will be mailed out inearly June. We hope to see you allthere. Please watch for other educationalopportunities throughout the year onRMPANA’s newly redesigned website.We would love to help promote otherdistricts education to one another, soif you are planning something, pleaselet me know, and we will get it postedon the website. __________________________________________Strategic Planning CommitteeValerie Watkins BSN, RN, CAPAValerie@rrwatkins.comThe early part of the year was spentcompiling information for the GoldLeaf Application for Component ofthe Year Award. This was completedand sent in on January 28th. Keepyour !ingers crossed, but we as acomponent do a great job!! Just afew things that would help make thiseasier every year. As you celebrateand participate in activities as a dis-trict or component be sure to takepictures and submit to your DistrictRepresentative or the ComponentBoard members. Get Thank younotes from organization that youhave assisted. Also let us know spe-ci!ic recognition

Committee Reports Spring, 20110

Strategic Planning Continued next page

8

individual members have achieved asa perianesthesia nurse, we want tocelebrate your successes as well.The strategic planning committeewill begin reviewing its plan. We willlook at some long range planning andhope to create a vision for our future,if you are interested in joining pleaselet me know. Thanks, Valerie Watkins.Valerie@rrwatkins.com_________________________________________ResearchAudrey Cook BSN, RN, CPAN, CAPAClaudia Scroggs BSN, RN, CPAN,CAPA“DNR- Will My Wishes Be Honored”has been written and is in the editingstage. Look for this article in thenewsletter and on the website. Thenext research topic will be Drug Di-version. Please welcome Claudia Scroggs asthe new research co-chair. She will betaking over the research article liter-ature reviews. If you want to helpprovide all of us with evidence basedpractice, help us review articles. Justa quick paragraph is all we need youto write. We also need the reference

where we can !ind the article if wewant to read more of it. If interestedplease contact Claudia atclscroggs@uch.edu .If you have a clinical question or atopic you would like to have re-viewed, please submit it to theASPAN’s Clinical Practice ReviewCommittee. Emails are found on theASPAN web site._________________________________________Governmental Affairs updateBy Claudia L. Scroggs GA ChairThere are no drastic changes toreport at this time so I will share snip-pets of interest for this quarterly up-date. I will offer input from theNational Governors Association Con-ference, the Chicago Tribune, and theHuf!ington Post.The link below will take you to a‘nuts and bolts’ discussion by the gov-ernors on how they are attempting toplan and implement the healthcarereform changes. Unlike many politicalwritings, this piece is ‘down to earth’full of common sense and easy toread. If you are into politics—take apeek. Click on www.nga.org and read

“State Decision-making in Imple-menting National Health Reform”The Chicago Tribune had the fol-lowing headlines.“Ryan says GOP ready to take onHealth programs” This article refersto a possible split in the Republicanparty—newer politicians insisting onmore severe cuts in spending beforethey are willing to sign and what will be done to address sentiments onboth sides.Ryan stated, “If you want to behonest with the !iscal problem andthe debt, it really is a health care prob-lem”. “If you look at the future of ourdebt, it primarily comes from ourhealth care entitlements. We have toreform those if we are going to get thisdebt crisis under control”.“Tom Corbett Sued for Axing Low-Income Health Plan”. This story isabout a Pennsylvanian trying to !indways to deal with debt, and some aremaking large cuts in health programs.“A new foe for President Obama:governors.” This piece discusses pay-ing for elements of the AffordableHealthcare for America Act.“Oklahoma House OKs hospitalfee to shore up Medicaid” Oklahomapassed a bill that would impose a 2%fee on the net revenue of all their hos-pitals as a way to pay for Medicaid.It is interesting to note that the arti-cles all pertained in one way or an-other to funding the federal changesto healthcare using diverse methods.It will be interesting to see what hap-pens at our homes.The Huf!ington Post has a conciseand well-written piece “Health Re-form Bill Summary--the top 18 imme-diate Effects”. You may have heard ofsome, but not all of them, but all 18will affect us one way or another. Theyare listed below in bullet format. Health Insurers cannot deny chil-dren health insurance because of pre-existing conditions. A ban on thediscrimination in adults will take ef-fect in 2014”Businesses with fewer than 50employees will get tax credits cover-ing up to 50% of employee premiums.Seniors will get a rebate to !ill theso-called “donut hole” in Medicare

Committee Reports (Continued) Spring, 20110

$$ Cash-In On RMPANA Scholarship Opportunities $$

RMPANA o"ers scholarship support for student nurses. If you know a student working toward becoming an RN, you have

an opportunity to encourage and help her/him apply for a scholarship. If you are a RMPANA member working towards an

advanced degree in nursing, you also have an opportunity to receive some financial help by applying for an advanced degree

scholarship. The deadline to apply is June 30th.

RMPANA members: Don’t miss the opportunity to take advantage of one of your RMPANA benefits and apply for a scholarship to help pay for certification, recertification, or funding for the ASPAN National Conference or other local educational event. You can apply anytime this year after

receiving your contact hours or certification (include with your application).

Scholarship guidelines (for students) and application forms canbe downloaded on the website www.rmpana.org

under the education tab. Governmental Affairs Continued page 9

9

Committee Reports (Continued From Page 8) Spring, 20110

Editors Corner

drug coverage, which severely limitsprescription medication coverage ex-penditures of $2,700. As of next year,50 percent of the donut hole will be!illedThe cut-off age for young adults tocontinue to be covered by their par-ents’ health insurance rises to the age27. Lifetime caps on the amount of in-surance an individual can have will bebanned. Annual caps will be limited,and banned in 2014.A temporary high-risk pool will beset up to cover adults with pre-exist-ing conditions. Health care exchangeswill eliminate the program in 2014.New plans must cover checkupsand other preventative care withoutco-pays. All plans will be affected by2018.Insurance companies can nolonger cut someone when he or shegets sick.

Insurers must now reveal howmuch money is spent on overhead.Any new plan must now imple-ment an appeals process for coveragedeterminations and claims.This tax will impose a ten percenttax on indoor tanning services. Thistax, which replaced the proposed taxon cosmetic surgery, would be effec-tive for services on or after July 1,2010.New screening procedures will beimplemented to help eliminate healthinsurance fraud and waste.Medicare payment protectionswill be extended to small rural hospi-tals and other health care facilitiesthat have a small number of Medicarepatients.Non-pro!it Blue Cross organiza-tions will be required to maintain amedical loss ration – money spent onprocedure over money incoming = of85 percent of higher to take advan-

tage of IRS tax bene!its.Chain restaurants will be requiredto provide a “nutrient content disclo-sure statement” alongside their items.Expect to see calories listed both onin-store and rive-through menus offast-food restaurants sometime soon.The till establishes a temporaryprogram for companies that provideearly retiree health bene!its for thoseage 55-64 in order to help reduce theoften-expensive cot of that coverage.The Secretary of Health andHuman Services will set up a newWeb site to make it easy for Ameri-cans in any state to seek out afford-able health insurance options. Thesite will also include helpful informa-tion for small businesses.A two-year temporary credit (up to amaximum of $1 billion) is in the bill toencourage investment in new thera-pies for the prevention and treatmentof diseases.

RMPANA has adopted many of AS-PANs Go Green initiatives, one in spe-ci!ic, utilizing email to communicateupdates, requests, educational offer-ings, etc. to members. By utilizingemail accounts and our website weare able to communicate informationin a timelier manner, most of the timewithin one to two days of receipt ofinformation from either ASPAN orRMPANA leadership. Additional ben-e!its include decreases in costs re-lated to postage, printing, manuallabor, and the impact on our environ-ment.

We assure you that your email ad-dress will not be shared with anyother organization and that it will beused for the sole purpose of commu-nicating ASPAN and RMPANA infor-mation. Please remember to notify the ASPANNational Of!ice and me if you changeyour primary e-mail address so thatwe don't lose touch with you - and re-mind your RMPANA colleagues to dothe same!Pam Myrum RMPANA Membership Chairperson

Catherine Dunne BSN, RN Newsletter EditorThe Air Exchange is following ASPAN’sexample and going green. We areeliminating paper and postage by pub-lishing online to the website onlywww.rmpana.org RMPANA membersand region 1 facilities will be noti!iedof publication to the website by post-card for the last time with the publica-tion of this issue. Future noti!icationswill be by email. Please remember tokeep your email addresses currentwith ASPAN and with Membershipchair, Pam Myrum.As the new editor of The Air Exchange,I welcome your ideas and suggestions.The Air Exchange is by and for RM-PANA members, and I need your inputon what you would like to see in futureissues. Please submit news stories(and PHOTOS!) from your units, newson fundraisers, educational activities,volunteer projects, medical missionwork, or any awards or specialachievements you or your coworkershave earned. Send submissions, orvolunteer to help with the newsletterto catedunne@gmail.com

We’re Going Green!RMPANA needs your e-mail address

From the Editor

Recipes • Recipes • Recipes • Recipes • Recipes

Everyone loves a good potluck! We are looking for great potluck recipes,

and also recipes for meals that are easy tothrow together after a long day at work.

Recipes will be featured in the newsletter.

Please send to catedunne@gmail.com

10

April 3-7, 2011ASPAN’s 30th National

ConferenceSheraton Seattle Hotel &

Seattle Convention CenterSeattle, WA

www.aspan.org

April 4-May 14, 20112011 Spring Certification

Examination Administration Window

www.cpancapa.org

April 29, 2011District 4 Wine and Cheese

Fundraiser at Fine and Funky, Timnath, CO 5-8pm

A % of all sales will be used to fund a nursing student scholarship

May 14, 2011District 3 Educational O"ering,

Grand Junction, CO

June 30, 2011Deadline for Student Nurse

Scholarship and Advanced Degree Scholarship applications

(Must be postmarked by 6/30/11)

June 1, 2011Deadline for submissions for July

newsletter

June 4, 2011District 6 Educational O"ering

June 11, 2011District 4 work day at the Help In-

ternational Warehouse in Loveland,CO. Time tentatively 9a- 12p TBA

July 1, 2011The Air Exchange Summer 2011

Newsletter online

July 11- Sept. 5, 2011Fall Certification Registration

Window online

August 6, 2011District 3 educational o"ering

Cortez, CO

September 23-25, 2011Retreat in the Rockies,

Snow Mountain Ranch, Fraser, CO

October 2-5, 2011International Conference for

PeriAnesthesia NursesSheraton Centre Hotel, Toronto, CA

www.icpan.info

October 3-Nov. 12, 2011Fall Certification Exam

Administration Window

SAVE THE DATESeptember 21-23, 2012

Retreat in the Rockies 2012 • Estes Park, CO

THE AIR EXCHANGE

Spring, 2011Rocky Mountain

PeriAnesthesia Nurses Association

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

PLACEPOSTAGEHERE