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In This
Issue
·
High Tech Chapter
·
Proposed bylaws Change
·
November Annual Meeting
Calendar-upcoming
events
Highlights
Spring 2003 Meeting
1.
Heald honored
2.
Officers elected
3.
Scholarship awardees 2003
4.
Excellence in Nursing
5.
Spring Inductees
STTI membership
37th Biennial Convention STTI
Memory
Walk 2003
Disaster Preparedness
Free
online contact hours from STTI in conjunction with the Red Cross
The National Library of
Medicine World's
largest medical library
|
Our
chapter has a website
which we will be using to keep everyone updated as to chapter events,
regionally and nationally. We
will also use the site for any RSVPs to chapter meetings and conferences.
Newsletters will be linked to the main page of our web and members will be
notified by email when a new edition is published. Please email any
comments, suggestions, or broken links to me.
Members
to Vote on Bylaws Change at November Meeting: Xi Kappa members will
consider a proposal to change the Chapter by-laws at the November
membership meeting. Recent changes in the organizational structure in the
Tri-College University Nursing Consortium have created a need for two new
positions on the Board. Currently, there are three (3) vice presidents and
three counselors: one from
Jamestown
College
, one from Minnesota
State University Moorhead, and one representing both
Concordia
College
and
North Dakota
State
University
under the old Tri
College University Nursing Consortium (TCUNC) organization. The proposal
seeks to increase the number of vice presidents by one and the counselors
by one so there are vice presidents from
Jamestown
College
,
Concordia College
,
Minnesota
State University
Moorhead
, and
North Dakota
State
University
. This would be in line
with the current organizational structure of TCUNC. In addition, another
vice president would be helpful for program planning and implementation.
The proposal that will be considered by the membership (Article VIII.
Officers, Section 1. Titles, subsection a) reads as follows: The officers
of this chapter shall be: president, president-elect, vice presidents
representing each school, secretary, treasurer and one counselor from each
school. Having a counselor from each school is important for several
reasons. Because of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA),
there are limitations as to what student information can be released to
whom. Having a counselor from each school provides for the protection of
student information under FERPA rules and regulations. This applies to
both undergraduate and graduate students. The Tri College University
Nursing Consortium was changed in July of 2001 when MSUM became a member
and the graduate program was started. The proposed changes reflect the
current organizational structure of TCUNC.
The Xi Kappa Chapter-at-Large will gather for its fall
meeting on
November 8, 2003
. The meeting
convenes at
3 PM
at the
NDSU
Alumni
Center
1241 North
University Drive, Fargo. The afternoon
begins with a delicious dessert. Following a brief business meeting,
the Society will welcome new inductees. The annual meeting is an
opportunity for nurses from a broad range of practice settings in
the
North Dakota
and
Minnesota
area to gather and
share common interests. Reservations are required for this event.
RSVP
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Xi
Kappa Chapter-At-Large honored its outgoing president Donna Heald at
the 2003 Spring Induction and Award Ceremony. She was given a past
president’s pin as a gift from the chapter. The organization
saw many changes from the local level all the way to the
international level during Ms. Heald’s presidency. With the new
regions developed, members of Xi Kappa span a vast area. It spans
from east of
St. Cloud
to west of
Jamestown
. Ms. Heald made outreach to the outlying areas a high
priority. Jamestown
and
Alexandria
are sites that have local activities for members to attend at a more
convenient distance. Donna also represented |
| Xi
Kappa at Sigma Theta Tau’s
36th Biennial Convention. She was a member of the House
of Delegates and reported back to the board on its activities. Ms.
Heald led the successful 2001 Research Conference held in
Fargo
in partnership with Eta Upsilon. It included a nationally known
keynote speaker, who presented on the management of acute coronary
syndrome. There were also 15 research presentations in
concurrent sessions as well as poster presentations. Sigma Theta Tau
members and students from the Tri-State area, as well as Canada
benefited from the information presented. Finally, a legacy Ms.
Heald left for Xi Kappa Chapter-At-Large is encouraging members of
all ages to be active in Sigma Theta Tau. Ms. Heald recruited
seasoned nurses from around the community for membership in Xi
Kappa. They form a solid foundation for the organization. She
is also a strong believer in mentoring the next generation of nurses
to take over leadership positions in Xi Kappa. The board members
during Ms. Heald’s presidency represented a wide range of both
ages and areas of nursing. We commend her commitment to the Sigma
Theta Tau organization at all levels.
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of page
Officers
elected for 2003-05 at the spring meeting included: President: Marjorie McCullagh; V. Pres
CC: Sara Stetz; V. Pres MSUM: Julene Brown;
V. Pres JC: Mari Peterson; Secretary: Rhonda
Bolgrean; Treasurer: Diana Moon; Counselor JC: Teree
Rittenbach; Counselor MSUM: Jane Bergland; Counselor TCU: Polly
Kloster; Nominating:
Donna Heald; Scholarship:
Becky Amundson; Scholarship: Jane Giedt; Scholarship: Teree
Rittenbach; Newsletter and website: Helen Harris.
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Spring
2003 Scholarship Awards
Congratulations
to this year’s recipients of the Xi-Kappa Chapter-At-Large 2003
undergraduate and graduate scholarships. Linda Wuolu and Penny Briese have
been awarded $500, and Joan Huso has been awarded $1000. All three
students have demonstrated excellence in leadership, academics, and
commitment to the nursing profession. Linda Wuolu
is a senior at
Jamestown
College
. She is a Jamestown College Fellow in
Nursing and an active member in Nursing Student Association. She did an
internship with St. Mary’s Hospital, Neuro Surgery in
Rochester
,
MN
during the summer of 2003. In her
professional goals statement, Linda stated, “The most important career
goal to me…is making a difference in an individual’s life”. She
would like to begin working on a medical surgical unit after graduation. Penny Briese
is also a senior at
Jamestown
College
. Penny currently holds the title of North
Dakota Student Nurse of the Year. She is a Jamestown College Fellow in
Nursing and received the Jamestown College Nurse Leadership Recognition
Award. She has held numerous positions at the local and state levels of
Student Nurses’ Association. Her professional goals include supporting
rural health, and she will be working for
Oakes
Community
Hospital
in
Oakes
,
ND
upon graduation. Joan
Huso received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing at the
University
of
North Dakota
and is expecting to graduate from the
Tri-College Nursing Consortium Graduate Nursing Program in August of 2004.
She has held a variety of positions in rural ND throughout her
professional career. She is a member of Sigma Theta Tau International and
North Dakota Association of Home Care. Joan’s professional goal is to
serve in rural ND as a Family Nurse Practitioner. She would like to reopen
the Aneta Clinic, work with residents of Skilled Nursing Facilities, and
become an instructor or consultant for rural health.
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Spring
2003 Excellence
in Nursing Awards
| Becky Amundson, awards
committee chair presented Excellence of Nursing Awards to two Xi
Kappa members at the May 8 meeting. Dr. Barbara Vellenga received
the Excellence in Nursing Leadership Award, and Dr. Marjorie
McCullagh received the Excellence in Nursing Research Award. “These
members represent the ideals of the Society, that is, scholarship,
leadership, and excellence,” said Amundson. “I am |
 |
| pleased to present these
well- |
Drs. Vellenga & McCullagh
|
| deserved
awards.” The award includes an attractive framed certificate and
check. Vellenga received the Excellence in Nursing Leadership Award
recognizing
her outstanding
leadership in nursing education regionally. She
chaired a committee that was successful in establishing a new
Tri-College
University
master’s degree program in nursing. In July 2003, she will finish
implementing a $187,000 grant from the
Minnesota
State
Colleges
and Universities to develop a plan to address the articulation needs
of nurses in northwestern
Minnesota
. Vellenga is a past recipient of the Xi Kappa Excellence in Nursing
Research Award. McCullagh received the Excellence in Nursing
Research award in recognition of her research in prevention of
noise-induced hearing loss among farmers. She has published and
presented on her work in this area nationally and internationally,
and has provided many undergraduate and graduate students with
opportunities to collaborate on her projects as data collectors and
research team members. According to Amundson, awards committee
Chair, her committee evaluated several nominations for the awards.
“The selection process was difficult, because we had many strong
nominations,” Amundson said. “The awardees have made
distinguished contributions to nursing in our region, and I am
delighted that they have been recognized with these awards.” The
chapter awards the Excellence in Nursing Leadership and Excellence
in Nursing Research Awards biennially.
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of page |
| Spring
2003 Inductees:
Community
Leaders:
Colleen
Germolus, Karissa Hasse, Mary Jagim, Kathy Okland, Caroline Schauer
& Bonnie Vangerud. Graduate Student: Joan Huso.
Concordia
College
: Lisa
Jostad, Jillian Majerus, Lisa Sjurdahl, Roslyn Thomforde, Debra
Thomposn, & Allison Wolf.
Jamestown College
: Tessi
Etzold, Stephanie Frohich,
Neva
Kapp, Jessica Sticka,
Angela Thompson & Koree Wanzek. Minnesota State University
Moorhead: Angela Erickson, LuAnne Heglie, Lisa Hofland, DeeAnne
Knoshal, Lisa Leibke, Jodi Misegades, Mary Meyers, Mary Rousslang, Betty
Rustad, Shana Schaefer & Beth Wagner.
North Dakota
State
University::
Lindsey
Fetzer, Christina Finn, Kelli Hage & Vanessa Kovash.
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Nominations are being sought,
by Becky
Amundson The
Scholarships and Awards Committee is accepting nominations for 2003-2004
Excellence Awards in Nursing Education and Clinical Nursing Practice.
The deadline for nominations is
March 15, 2004
. Applications for the Professional Development Grant and
Graduate scholarships can also be found on the website. The deadline for
both applications is
July 31, 2004
.
The purpose of the Professional Development Grant is to provide
recognition and financial support for professional nursing education,
research, publication, or presentation. Applicants for both the
Professional Development Grant and Graduate Scholarship must also be
members of Sigma Theta Tau. Undergraduate students applying for the
Undergraduate Scholarship must be eligible for senior level standing for
the 2004-2005 school year.
A
description of the awards, criteria, and nomination forms can be found
on the Xi Kappa website or by contacting Becky
by email or (701) 252-3093. Nominees must be members of Sigma Theta Tau
and be currently licensed for practice as a Registered Nurse.
Top of Page
| Members: Recruit & Endorse a community member:
Xi-Kappa
welcomes nurse leaders who have earned a baccalaureate degree to become
members in the society. Active members are invited to consider endorsing
a nurse for membership.
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TRAVELING
NEWS
|
Dr. Barbara Matthees
will be serving as our Xi Kappa delegate to the 37th Biennial
Convention in
Toronto
,
Ontario
,
Canada
,
November 1-5, 2003
. The Convention will celebrate the
diversity of the global nursing community. She will be representing our
chapter interests and playing a role in organizational decision-making
during the House of Delegates session. We appreciate Dr. Matthees’ time
commitment.
Memory
Walk Sept 20, 2003 Xi Kappa
members recently took the opportunity to get
out for some non-strenuous exercise and have some fun with their nurse
colleagues, while supporting a good cause. Xi Kappa, in cooperation with
Sigma Theta Tau International, participated in the Alzheimer's memory walk on
September 20, 2003
. The Xi Kappa team included
(Mari Peterson, Sara Stetz, Julene & Stephanie Brown with their dog
Avery). The event was coordinated by Mari Peterson. The team collected
$450 for donation to the American Alzheimer’s Association, and had a
great time in the process. We hope to expand the team for next year’s
walk.
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Miscellaneous
Items
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| Have
you ever considered becoming an item developer for the
NCLEX exam? The National Council of State Boards of
Nursing (NCSBN) is responsible for developing the
NCLEX-RN® and NCLEX-PN®
licensing examinations by utilizing contributions from
nurse clinicians and educators. For information, follow
the link.
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| Membership
in Sigma Theta Tau comes with several benefits. One of
these is the opportunity for earning continuing
education credits. These are available through scholarly
programs on the society's web site. These programs are
designed to provide members with opportunities for
personal and professional growth. Currently-available CE
programs available at the society’s web site
include dozens of topics of interest to nurses,
including women’s health, pediatrics palliative care,
pain, mental health, leadership, obstetrics, oncology,
infectious disease, genetics, cardiovascular health, and
many others. For
a limited time, members can now save 20% off all online continuing
education. Members pay just $12 per course.
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| Are
you interested in ND Nursing Rule Changes?
Multi-state Licensure?
Then here is an offering just for you, by Marjorie McCullagh: District
4 and Xi Kappa proudly announce co-sponsorship of
an education offering featuring Connie Kalanek,
PhD, RN Executive Director, ND Board of Nursing.
She will discuss the Nurse Licensure Compact and
Rule Changes Monday, October 27, 2003 7-9 pm NDSU
Memorial Union University Chambers. No charge, and
reservations are not necessary.
What
do you know about these two professional issues?
Do you have questions? We would like your input.
Please take 5 minutes and complete this survey.
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November Annual Meeting