President’s Letter
January 2008
The Midwest Pediatric Cardiology Nurses Association (MPCNA) has begun its third year as a professional organization whose goals are to improve and strengthen our vision of providing educational and networking opportunities for nurses and healthcare professionals dedicated to caring for children with congenital and acquired heart disease.
In September, the Midwest Pediatric Cardiology Society and Washington University Division of Pediatric Cardiology invited MPCNA to develop the agenda for and host the Nursing Symposium portion of the society’s annual meeting in St. Louis. We created an agenda with 4 incredible nurse lecturers that featured a variety of topics that included the Berlin Heart, cardiac resynchronization therapy, issues in pediatric cardiac transplantation and hybrid procedures in the cardiac catheterization laboratory. Forty nurses registered for the conference and the overall comments about the program content and lecturers were very good.
I would like to thank the MPCNA Board members and Washington University staff for their hard work and dedication to bring this program to fruition. We are honored that we had the opportunity to collaborate to produce a fine educational program to help fulfill our organization’s vision.
In 2008, I look forward to a strong agenda with two additional dinner meetings that feature topics related to nursing practice and/or technology. Also, our second newsletter will be published and distributed to all MPCNA members. Please be sure to read the articles and review the rhythm strip to see how you “rate” in your knowledge of arrhythmias. We would love to hear any feedback about the newsletter and we certainly would welcome any articles for inclusion in future issues.
A goal for 2008 is to expand our nursing and allied health membership. Growth within our organization provides opportunities for strong networking, creates the ability to share best practices and offers a unique local educational program that provides contact hours at a fraction of the cost that would be incurred to attend other regional and national conferences. In addition, MPCNA members who are participating in a clinical ladder or professional nurse development program receive credit or points for membership in a professional organization. Within the last several months, I have had multiple requests for and have happily provided confirmation to employers that our members are in good standing within our organization.
Our local membership dues are $20/year or $35 for two years. For those outside of the metropolitan St. Louis area, our regional membership dues are $15/year or $25 for two years. Student or associate membership dues are $15 per year. The fee for non-members attending meetings is $10.
Please be sure to visit our website at mpcna.org which features our bylaws, past newsletters, standing committees, membership applications, upcoming events and links to more sites of interest.
We are an organization who wants to hear from our members so that we can create an agenda of interest to you. Please feel free to contact me or any member of the Board if you have questions or comments. We would love to hear from you.
Heidi W. Fields, MSN, RN, CPNP
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