For now, the holidays are foremost in the minds of many of us. If you are at home, best wishes for a warm winter holiday. If you are on the road, here's hoping you travel safely and stay healthy!
Come the new year, we're hoping your resolutions will include:
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Become more active in my professional organization.
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Register to attend a CNE program (or several), to LEARN and also to EARN credits toward my continuing competency requirement for license renewal.
See you in the new year!
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- Sue Vermeulen & Rose Williamson
KCNA Staff
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News2Use is published monthly for KCNA members and other nurses throughout King County. To comment or submit content, email [email protected].
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Join KCNA to celebrate nurses, National Nurses Week
Act by March 15 for early-bird registration for the KCNA Annual Meeting & Spring Banquet - Thursday, May 10, 5:30-9 p.m. at the Ballard Bay Club in Seattle. This festive evening includes annual Shining Star nurse awards, presentation of nursing student scholarships, and auctions to benefit the KCNA Scholarship Program. Enjoy a tasty buffet meal and lovely views of Shilshole Bay while celebrating the profession and supporting the next generation of nurses. Save $20 on early-bird registration; final registration is April 30. Click here.
End of year donation? Support the future of nursing!
Today's nursing student is tomorrow's RN, and KCNA is interested in helping nursing students prepare for the future by supporting them now, while they are le
arning. Making ends meet is a challenge for many nursing students, as they try to balance school costs with necessary personal expenditures. If you are in a position to help deserving King County students, donate now to the KCNA Scholarship program! Any donation is welcome and will help struggling students to balance competing financial commitments, study hard, and become the best possible nurses they can be. To make your end-of-year donation, click
here.
THANK YOU!
WSNA: Stand Up, Speak Out, and WIN
Uninterrupted rest breaks? No more surprise medical billing? Those issues and more are included on Washington State Nurses Association's 2018 Legislative Agenda. Join WSNA to advocate for the agenda at the 2018 Nurse Legislative Day -- January 22, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. at Washington Center for the Performing Arts in Olympia. This year's Advocacy Camp will be January 11, 2-7:30 p.m. (camp is 2-5 p.m., legislative reception is 5:30-7:30 p.m.). Attendees of Advocacy Camp receive complimentary admission to Nurse Legislative Day. Total attendance is capped, so
register early.
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| CONTINUING NURSING EDUCATION |
REGISTER FOR UPCOMING KCNA PROGRAMS:
CNE CREDIT AVAILABLE, REGISTER AT
Dinner Seminar: Human Trafficking
Thursday, January 25, 5:30-8 p.m.
Good Shepherd Center, Wallingford
2-hour Certificate of Completion
This session will raise awareness regarding the prevalence, risk factors and health consequences of sex trafficking, with speaker Kelly Martin-Vegue, RN, MSW, Center for Children & Youth Justice. Register by January 22.
Seminar: Ethics & Health Equity
Saturday, February 10, 8:30 a.m.-1 p.m.
Good Shepherd Center, Wallingford
4-hour Certificate of Completion
This workshop will feature three interactive sessions exploring ethics, upscaling social justice practice for health equity and value-based care, and mindfulness. Speakers include: Anne Poppe, PhD, MN, BSN, BA, RN; Doris M. Boutain, PhD, RN, PHNA-BC; and Christine Prenovitz, MSW, E-RYT. Register by February 5.
D
istrict Meeting:
Conversation
with new WSNA Executive Director
Wednesday, February 28
5:30-7:30 p.m.
Good Shepherd Center, Wallingford
1.5-hour Certificate of Completion
Sally Watkins, PhD, RN, executive director of Washington State Nurses Association, will speak about current WSNA activities and provide legislative updates for 2018. There will be time for Q&A as well. Register by February 22.
Health Care Ethics:
Henrietta Lacks and Beyond
Wednesday, March 28, 5:30-8 p.m.
Good Shepherd Center, Wallingford
2.0-hour Certificate of Completion
Join Bridget Carney, PhD, RN, healthcare ethicist, to discuss the bestselling book
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks in light of related issues of healthcare ethics. Register by March 1 and KCNA will mail you a free copy of the book! Final deadline to register: March 19.
Clinical update: STD management and HIV prevention
This clinical update in Seattle is a two-day didactic course scheduled for February 14 and 15, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily (location to be announced). The course provides participants with training in recent advances in epidemiology, diagnosis and management of viral and bacterial STDs. An optional practicum is available upon completion. More information
here.
Sound Aging Round Table Discussion
The next Round Table Discussion, focusing on Guardianship, is scheduled for Thursday, January 11, 3:30-5 p.m. at Providence Elder Place. Guardianship proceedings and determination is a complex issue; this discussion will consider the meaning of capacity for an older adult, the supported decision-making alternative and how it is implemented. This program complies with WSNA for Continuing Nursing Education for individuals whose professional practice is in the field of gerontology. More information about this and other round table discussions is here.
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| AND NOW FOR SOMETHING NEW! |
Share a good TED talk with KCNA
KCNA is seeking your suggestions to identify TED talks and podcasts
relevant
to health care or nursing. If you suggest a great one, and we post it, we'll send you a $25 Starbucks card! Send suggestions to
[email protected]
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| NATIONAL HEALTH INITIATIVES, OBSERVANCES |
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What's December?
It's National Drunk & Drugged Driving Prevention Month
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) works to eliminate
risky behaviors on our nation's roads,
including drunk and drugged driving, speeding, drowsy driving, seat belts. and distracted driving. Talk to patients about the dangers of driving impaired or distracted. More information is available here.
Year of the Healthy Nurse:
December theme is healthy eating/healthy holidays
During this final month of 2017, the Year of the Healthy Nurse is focusing on eating nutritiously and celebrating the holidays in safe, healthy ways.
According to research, only 16% of nurses eat the recommended 5+ servings of fruit and vegetables; 35% eat the recommended 3+ servings of whole grains. With the new year approaching, it's a great time to focus on eating better! Resources to help you get started are here.
Join the Healthy Nurse, Healthy Nation GRAND CHALLENGE!
Have you joined Healthy Nurse, Healthy Nation and accepted the challenge? If not, do it today. Each month of the year will have a specific theme, and will allow you to focus your energy wherever you think best: on ACTIVITY, EATING, REST, NUTRITION, QUALITY OF LIFE or SAFETY. You will pick your focus area(s), make a health commitment, and participate in health challenges. It's fun AND rewarding. . . To register, click
here.
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NURSING NEWS AND CLINICAL ISSUES
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 Universal flu shot may be in the works
According to an article in Science News, researchers may be nearing the reality of a universal flu vaccination. Researchers at University of Georgia in Athens, are taking hemagglutinin mutations from every flu strain that has ever circulated, mixing them together and attaching them to particles to form the basis of a vaccine. Last year in the Journal of Virology, the same group reported a vaccine that protected mice against infection from almost all strains of H1N1 that the mice had never been exposed to. Read more.
Online therapy effectively treats depression, anxiety
An online computerized cognitive behavioral therapy program, alone or in combination with an Internet Support Group, is more effective treatment for depression or anxiety than a primary doctor's standard care, according to a University of Pittsburgh study published in JAMA Psychiatry. Six months after beginning the treatment, patients randomized to these groups reported significant improvement in mood and anxiety symptoms versus those receiving usual care. More information is available
here.
New research targets air pollution as potential trigger for PD
The Department of Defense has awarded a series of grants to a multi-institutional team of scientists to investigate
 airborne pollutants as triggers of Parkinson's disease. The lead researcher noted "it appears that a complicated mix of biological and environmental factors contribute to Parkinson's." Unraveling this web of factors may "go a long way in helping us develop ways to evaluate an individual's risk. . . and developing therapies to prevent, slow or stop its onset and progress."
Read report.
Antibiotics may reduce ability of immune cells to kill bacteria
Although antibiotics normally act in concert with the immune system, these drugs can have broad effects. A new study, published in
Cell Host & Microbe, finds that antibiotics can also reduce the ability of mouse immune cells to kill bacteria. The same lab has previously shown that antibiotics can damage mitochondria in mice and in human epithelial cells. The study is available
here.
Catastrophic thinking implicated in risk of opioid misus
e 
A recent study has examined the utility of a single-item measure of pain-relating catastrophizing in predicting the risk of opioid misuse. According to the study, the single question has utility for predicting risk, and provides the primary care provider with information on a potentially modifiable risk factor that can be addressed during a brief clinical visit. Read the abstract
here.
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