Dear fellow RI ENA Members,

As your 2011 State Council President I would like to invite you to get to acquainted with RI ENA.  I am excited to tell you that we are planning some special offerings for our members this year.  We are looking to present some interesting educational sessions, great networking opportunities and lots of fun.  As soon as the details for our first meeting are confirmed we will announce the event.  Stay tuned…. It should include a little something special!

Members of the RI ENA Board of Directors will be traveling this week to Portland, Oregon to attend the ENA Leadership Symposium.  We will also attend a full day of state leaders orientation where we can learn more about new happenings on the national level and see what other state and local chapters of ENA are planning for the upcoming year.  The remainder of the meeting has 3 days of courses in Quality, Education, Management, Personnel, Professional Development and Safety.  Also of note is the Candidates Election Forum where we can learn about next years ENA national candidates.  I will share highlights with you all upon my return.  

I would like to extend an invitation to all of you to get connected with RI ENA.  Our goals for this year will be to make sure that Rhode Island members have access to things like ENPC, TNCC, and CEN reviews.  We also encourage you to attend our local chapter meeting.  We want to hear from you and help you with your practice.  If there are issues that you would like to hear more about, please let us know and we can dedicate our efforts on these topics.   We especially would like to address what we as Rhode Islanders can do in our state to improve the practice of ED Nursing and the care of fellow Rhode Islanders!

A final note, I have heard from the ENA Foundation with an inquiry as to why no Rhode Island member has ever applied for one of their grants/scholarships.  I would like to change this.  I want to see a Rhode Island ENA member obtain a scholarship in 2011; It could be YOU!!!  There are a lot of you going back to school or interested in research projects that could easily meet the criteria for winning.  Take a look at www.ena.org and go to the ENAF link for more information.

Best Regards,

Barbara Greenwood
2011 RI ENA State Council President
Bhgreenwood@cox.net
401-295-0971