Lynn Reinke

The Nursing Assembly has added a nursing skills workshop, expanded sessions from years past, and, for the first time, attendees will receive credit where credit is due: 20-plus sessions will offer nursing contact hours for continuing education credit.

Respiratory Nursing Workshop
The first-ever nursing workshop at the ATS International Conference targets nurses working with patients with various pulmonary diseases in a variety of practice settings, such as doctors’ offices, hospitals, schools, and ICUs, said Lynn Reinke, PhD, Nursing Assembly chair.

“For several years there’s been discussion about how to put on a practical workshop on the latest research with didactic and hand-on instruction for members and nurses in the community in whatever the setting they practice,” she noted. “Philadelphia is the perfect venue to debut the workshop due to the large number of academic medical centers and schools of nursing in the tri-state area.

“We hope to attract enough participants who benefit from the workshop and help us get the word out so we can offer the workshop at future city sites of the International Conference.

“This is a workshop ‘by nurses, for nurses.'”

The Respiratory Nursing Workshop will be from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, May 18. Topics covered during lecture portion of the workshop will be:

• The Critical Elements of Asthma and COPD
• Critical Issues About the Epidemic of Whooping Cough
• Oxygen 101: Top Ten Things You Need to Know
• Basic Spirometry: the Practicalities and Pitfalls
• Non-Invasive Ventilation, CPAP and Bi-Level (BIBAP): What is the Difference? The Real Issues

Beginning at 1:15 p.m., the workshop will shift to hands-on learning provided at four stations. “The stations are created so each person can rotate through each one,” Dr. Reinke said. “They cover all the didactic areas except for whooping cough.”

Faculty will demonstrate equipment at each station:

• Station 1: Spirometry
• Station 2: Inhaler Overview and Techniques
• Station 3: Non-Invasive Ventilation Devices
• Station 4: Oxygen Equipment Techniques

“My hope is that this workshop provides the updates and knowledge so that nurses in any setting can feel more competent in dealing with their patients with respiratory disorders,” Dr. Reinke said.

Preregistration and fees are required to attend the workshop, which includes a continental breakfast and box lunch. Visit the ATS 2013 registration website for fee details.

Nursing Contact Hours
In another first, the ATS has partnered with National Jewish Health to provide Nursing Contact Hours for selected sessions by the California Board of Registered Nursing. “This is an exciting addition and benefit for attendees,” Dr. Reinke said.

Attendees will be able to claim credit for sessions by completing an evaluation online or at a kiosk, which will require their registration emails, badge numbers, and nursing license numbers. Nursing Contact Hour certificates are created upon completion of the evaluation. Once completed, attendees will have the option to email themselves a copy of the certificate.

The Nursing Assembly selected sessions with content that is appropriate for and relevant to the needs of its members, Dr. Reinke said. Several courses are eligible for nursing contact hours credit.

Nursing Year in Review
The Nursing Assembly has expanded the Nursing Year in Review, which will take place from 2 to 4:30 p.m. Sunday, May 19. “Traditionally, we had four speakers who presented on their areas of expertise,” Dr. Reinke said. “This year there will be six speakers giving short, succinct presentations.”

Three late-breaking abstracts have also been added to the session.

This session, chaired by DorAnne M. Donesky, PhD, RN, of the University of California, San Francisco, and Cynthia L. French, RN, MS, of the UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester, Mass., will provide an overview of recent advances in the areas of critical care related to integrative therapies, pediatrics, and advanced practice nursing, with application of lessons learned in clinical practice related to palliative care, tuberculosis, and sleep.

The presentations will be: