Upsilon Xi-at-Large Chapter

Chapter Newsletter: Issue 5: May 2011

Dear Upsilon Xi Chapter member, I wrote in our last issue that that issue was the last one which would be circulated directly to members because we would now be directing all our communications with members through our new website. Reluctantly I have relented - for just one more issue because you MUST sign up to receive the email alerts which will come to you when anything new is posted, with a link so that one click will take you directly to it. This is so that you do not have to remember to go the website regularly (although you should, and we hope to make it sufficiently interesting that you will want to!), nor will your inbox get filled up with too-frequent irrelevant messages. So if you havent already done so, please DO IT NOW - contact our webmaster, Gerry (gbolger@bojac.eu ) . (If you have already done so, please forgive my nagging and kick your colleagues!) Gerry, who has done a fantastic job in developing the website, has prepared a slide presentation which will take you step by step through the website and how to use it; you can access it from the website Site Help page, but I am also attaching a copy with this newsletter. You can also email him direct at gbolger@bojac.eu. There are bound to be a few glitches at first, so if you find any, please contact him direct. He travels a lot so please give him some time to reply. The Circle: STTIs new online professional networking community Similarly, I make no apology for repeating what I said in the last Newsletter about The Circle. You can access it directly at http://thecircle.nursingsociety.org. Log in by clicking the Sign In flag in the top right hand corner, using your email address as your user name and your unique seven digit membership number as your password. The Circle is a bit like Facebook or Linked In (to which STTI already belongs) except that it is for STTI members only, so it is focused on nursing and carries none of Facebooks risks. All active STTI members have already been entered (basic details only you need to visit it to put in your further details and specify with whom you are willing to share your details), so members will be able to connect with other members anywhere in the world, send messages, join in discussions, send messages, get information about events and resources. To find out more, go to http://thecircle.nursingsociety.org and click on Learn more about the circle and then take a look at the FAQs. Each chapter has its own page and onece you have registered once use http://upsilonxi.nursingsociety.org/NURSINGSOCIETY/UpsilonXiChapter/Home/ to get to our Chapter page which is seen by all STTI members. Resources on the STTI website There is a wealth of information on the STTI website the trouble is that there is so much that it takes time to find your way around. Tip/short cut: From the Homepage www.nursingsociety.org click on Chapter Information (in the purple horizontal bar), then Tools and Resources and look at Training Tools. There are lots of live webinars you can join, or you can click on Archived Webcasts, where I particularly recommend Whats in it for me?. Then go back to the purple bar and click on Membership, then Benefits and Resources, then on whichever one of the benefits you want to know about . If you go to the bottom of the screen and click on A benefit to belong, you will get not only this video but several others I like About Us: Danny Pesut , the former STTI President who presents this one, wrote my favourite nursing textbook Clinical Reasoning: The art and science of critical and creative thinking. Most of what I have mentioned so far is promotional propaganda, but there is lots of more serious material the Virginia Henderson Library, continuing education, position
School of Health Science, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP in affiliation with the School of Nursing and Midwifery Studies, Cardiff University

statements etc. etc. Another shortcut is to use the searchbox which is on every page: Put in a word or phrase, and then click on anything that appears in the list of Google-type entries. News Most of the news this month is about international happenings. The highlight was the European Leadership Summit that was held in Amsterdam on April 1 and 2. The theme was Influencing Key Stakeholders Related to Healthcare. Key speakers from the UK included Tom Keighley and Jane Salvage. For me, the Wow factor speaker was the young, fantastically enthusiastic, nurse member of the Dutch Parliament, Sabine Uitslag. It was a wonderful opportunity to learn more about the workings of STTI including an inspiring account by South African Board member Hester Klopper about how STTI is developing in Africa and to network with nurse leaders from USA, Canada, Columbia, and several European countries. We sponsored Nicoleta Mitrea, a palliative care nurse from Romania, and recruited her to become a member of our Chapter she will be inducted (albeit in absentia) at our induction ceremony on 20th May (see below). The Leadership Summit was preceded by the fifth STTI European business meeting which was held in Utrecht, hosted by the Rho Chi chapter. It was attended by STTI President (Karen Morin), STTIs Global Development Officer (Joanne McGlowan) and members from Wales, England, Portugal, and Netherlands. The group reviewed progress on its strategic plan which was developed two years ago at the meeting in Coimbra. Progress is good: two new chapters (England and Portugal), the first ever STTI Leadership Summit to be held outside the USA, and the collaborative research project being led by Joy Merrell about what European members want from STTI. It was agreed to plan for biennial STTI European conferences, the first to be held in 2012. Our chapter will be submitting a bid to hold it in Wales watch this space. Joy Merrell, who has co-ordinated the European work to date, was thanked for her work, as she passed the baton to Eileen Richardson (from the new England chapter based at Bournemouth) There was also exciting news that STTI is reorganising its regional structure according to the UN model which means that Europe, which was formerly part of Region 15, will now constitute a region in its own right. Elections will be held at the STTI Convention in Grapevine, Texas in October for a European Regional Co-ordinator who will be a full member of the international Regional Coordinating Committee whose Chairman is a member of the STTI Board of Directors. Registrations for the Convention are now open. Grants are available to help with the costs Apply now! Full details at www.nursingsociety.org Home news The cake and book sale held on 11th April raised just over 100. Thank you and well done to all who contributed and helped on the day. We hope to hold another one soon (any volunteers to help?) we are still a long way from the 1500 necessary to send a delegate to the Convention in October. Our next meeting will be a Board meeting (open to all members) on 18th May at 12 noon in the videoconferencing room in the Glyndwr building, Swansea University. Teleconference and video conference facilities will be available for those who cannot be present in person contact Jean at j.c.phillips@swansea.ac.uk But the big event is our Induction Ceremony on Friday 20th May which will be held in Room 120, Vivian Tower, College of Human and Health Sciences, Swansea University, beginning at 2pm. You should by now have received the programme, but if not, full details are on the website - click here... As part of the induction ceremony this year our guest speaker will be Professor Jean White, the new Chief Nursing Officer for Wales, who is herself a STTI member. Her title will be Nursing : Back to Basics

The Induction Ceremony is a very important event for STTI members. It is the formal occasion when new members are welcomed into the Chapter, where they receive their insignia of membership, and commit themselves to STTIs vision and mission. Family and friends (maximum of two guests) are welcome to attend the ceremony. One of our inductees this year will be Alan Furlan, who is coming all the way from Nova Gorita, Slovenia We invite all new inductees to join us for a light buffet lunch which will be served from 12.30pm, in Room 127, in the Vivian Tower. Afternoon tea will be served following the ceremony. Fuller details are being sent to the new inductees, but all members are invited to give their support to the new members please let Jean know (j.c.phillips@swansea.ac.uk ) if you plan to come or if you wish your apologies to be recorded. After the ceremony the names of the new inductees and photos of the event will be placed on the website. Immediately after the ceremony there will be an orientation teach-in for the new chapter officers. This is primarily to orient the new officers to their new responsibilities and the resources that are available to support them, but all members are welcome too. Then we plan to go for dinner at 6.30pm at Castlemare, the Italian restaurant at the end of the Mumbles Mile. If you want to come, please let me know (j.clark@swansea.ac.uk ) so that I know how big a table to book. It will be great opportunity to meet other members (including Alan Furlan and Gerry Bolger who are coming from across the water) and if the weather is good the view is magnificent. Programme 2011-2012 We are still trying to plan a city break (weekend) to Budapest (Hungary) in June or July. Are you interested? As part of our commitment to mentor the developing honor society in Hungary, we are planning to combine business with pleasure in a weekend trip to Budapest. We plan to combine a meeting/workshop on the Saturday with sightseeing on Sunday and perhaps Friday and/or Monday. Members and non-members welcome! But we need someone to help organise it could that be you? Contact us The Editor would like some feedback about the Newsletters do you find them useful, and do you have any suggestions to improve them? Contact j.clark@swansea.ac.uk The webmaster (Gerry Bolger) wants feedback about the website Contact gbolger@bojac.eu The President wants help with co-ordinating events. Contact j.a.merrell@swansea.ac.uk The Treasurer wants someone to lead on fundraising. Contact j.clark@swansea.ac.uk Finally we need your ideas about additional activities you think the Chapter should be involved in. We aim to meet your needs but we need to know what your needs are!

June Clark Newsletter Editor 4 May 2011