Vermont State Nurses' Association, Inc presents Convention 2008: nursing and technology: preparing nursing for the 21st Century: November 12 and 13, 2008 * Capitol Plaza Hotel and Conference Center * Montpelier, Vermont.

The goal of the 2008 Annual Convention is to explore the impact of technology on the nursing profession in Vermont. The most important technological skill of the 21st century nurse is learning how to adapt quickly to technological change, keeping up with "what's new and what's next." Through presentations, panel discussions, and group exercises, we will explore how nursing can best take advantage of the many benefits of technology.

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Convention Faculty

Geraldine Amori, PHD, ARM, CPHRM, DFASHRM is the director of Professional Development and the education center for The Risk Management and Patient Safety institute. In this role she cultivates and coordinates professional development and educational programs for insurer's brokers and health care and consumer organizations nationally. In addition she presents, teaches, coaches and facilitates programs about risk management and patient safety issues. Previously Dr Amori served as principal of Communicating Health Care, which promoted the development of the development of risk management skills and focused on communications issues in health care. She also served as risk manager for Fletcher Allen Health Care, in Burlington, VT for 12 years. She is a member of The Northern New England Society for Healthcare Risk Management, Consumers Advancing Patient Safety-Board Member, American Society of Health Care Risk Management, National Speakers Association. Amori is a nationally known speaker, facilitator and consultant.

June Benoit MSN, FNP, President of VSNA, is a Nurse Practitioner in a private medical practice in Montpelier as well as at The Peoples Free Clinic in Barre. She has many years experience as a nurse in Neurology, Intensive Care, and home care. She has held offices in many nursing Organizations. She has been active in VSNA for many years, serving as President of District II.

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Marcia Bosek DNs, RN is a clinical Ethicist at Fletcher Allen Health Care. She has 29 years of nursing experience, has been a nurse Educator for 25 years, and interacts with the FAHC nursing staff on a daily basis.

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Mary L. Botter, Ph.D., R.N., is the Executive Director of the Vermont Board of Nursing. Botter, who resides in Shelburne, Vermont, has held a number of leadership positions in university and hospital settings, most recently as Assistant Professor and Associate Dean at the University of Vermont, and Senior Vice President of Patient Care Services and Chief Nursing Officer at Fletcher Allen Health Care. She also participated within several local, national, and international organizations, serving in a variety of roles. Her extensive background has provided her with experience in clinical practice, teaching, administration, consulting, and research.

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Eileen Girling RN, MPH, CAMS is Director of the Care Coordination Program (CCP) at the Office of Vermont Health Access (OVHA). Prior to her work at the OVHA, Eileen served as Director of Implementation for the Vermont Blueprint for Health Chronic Care Initiative. The Blueprint--a nationally recognized leader in health system redesign by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI)--is based on the Chronic Care Model. At its core, this model relies on Health Information Technology (HIT) to improve care through electronic data sharing among health service providers and trending to facilitate proactive outreach to select patients.

Eileen was recruited from her position as State Director of Public Health Nursing at the Vermont Department of Health in order to launch the Blueprint. Prior to her work in state government, Eileen worked for Community Health Plan/Kaiser Permanente, Northeast Region as Director of Managed Workers Compensation; and at Fletcher Allen Health Care as Director of Occupational Health Services. She is a co-founder and past president of the Vermont Association of Occupational Health Nurses (VAOHN) and served on the northeast regional board of directors as the Vermont representative. Eileen is a professor emeritus at the Harvard University School of Public Health, Visiting Scientist program in Occupational and Environmental Health; is a 2003 graduate of the National Public Health Leadership Institute and recently completed 18 credits to receive Certification in Advanced Management Studies (CAMS) from St. Michaels' College in Colchester.

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Jeannie Graham RNADN, BA, is a Staff Nurse III, in The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of The Vermont Children's Hospital at Fletcher Allen Health Care in Burlington, Vermont. She has been the webmaster for The Department of Nursing Education and Research at FAHC, and The VSNA for the past several years. She is also an Editor of The Vermont Nurse Connection, the official Publication of The Vermont State Nurses Association, which has a circulation of 17,000, including all registered Nurses, LPNs, LNAs, and Student Nurses in Vermont.

Ellen F. Hall, MALS, AHIP, is Director of the Kreitzberg Library at Norwich University. Hall's career as a librarian has given her a strong appreciation for information that is both useful and accurate. At the University of Missouri at Columbia, where she was director of the science library, she worked with graduate students and faculty doing research on issues of significant economic impact such as reducing the costs of protein production in several ways. Later, as library director at Mercy and University Hospitals in Minneapolis, Minn., she helped access information that influenced economic decisions and even had an impact on life-or-death issues.

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Hall also directed the library at Presentation College in Aberdeen, S.D. She came to Norwich from the University of Vermont, where she was interim associate dean of libraries and interim director of the medical library.

Hall earned a B.A. in English and an M.A. in library science from the University of Minnesota and, in 2000, was selected to attend the prestigious Summer Institute for Women in Higher Education at Bryn Mawr College.

Location: Capitol Plaza Hotel & Conference Center 100 State Street, Montpelier, Vermont

Registration: The registration fee for the convention is indicated on the registration form. The fee includes continental breakfast, lunch, materials, and contact hour credit. Should you need to cancel, please send us your written request for a refund by Tuesday, November 4. All refunds are subject to a $20 administrative fee.

NO REFUNDS for cancellation made in the 8 days prior to Convention, however, you may send a substitute without penalty. Please return the completed registration form with a check made payable to the Vermont State Nurses' Association, Inc. by Tuesday, November 4 to receive the early tuition rate. Mail registration form and payment to:

Vermont State Nurses' Association, Inc. 100 Dorset St., Suite 13 So. Burlington, VT 05403

Overnight Accomodations: A reduced overnight room rate is available for Convention attendees for the nights of November 12 and 13. To obtain the reduced rate, call 800-274-5252 or 802-223-5252.

2008 Convention Agenda

Wednesday Evening, November 12, 2008

Medical Identity Theft--Geraldine Amori, PhD, ARM,
                        CPHRM, DFASHRM, Senior
                        Director, The Risk Management
                        and Patient Safety Institute
                        Free and Open to the Public
Thursday, November 13, 2008

8:00-9:00         Registration, Continental Breakfast,
                  Commercial Exhibitors, Poster Session

9:00              Welcome announcements--Marilyn
                  Rinker, MSN, RN, Executive Director

9:00-10:30        Keynote Address: The Health Information
                  Technology Highway: On the Road to
                  Improved Health Care in Vermont
                  Eileen Girling, RN, MPH
                  Director, Care Coordination Program
                  Office of Vermont Health Access

10:30-11:00       Commercial Exhibits, Poster
                  presentations, Coffee Break

11:00-12:30       Nursing, Ethics and Technology--Small
                  Group Discussions
                  Facilitator Marcia Bosek, DNSc, RN

12:30-1:45        Lunch, Annual Awards, June Benoit,
                  President VSNA

1:45-2:45         Concurrent Breakout Sessions--1

      1A:         Travel Guide to the World of E-mail--Jeannie
                  Graham, ADN, BA

      1B:         Understanding the Impact of Information
                  Technology on the Regulation of Nursing
                  Licensure and Education--Mary Botter,
                  PhD, RN, Executive Director, Vermont
                  State Board of Nursing

      1C:         Using Medline for EBP: A demonstration
                  of using Medline to find evidence in
                  support of practice
                  Ellen Hall, MALS, AHIP, Library
                  Director, Norwich University

      1D:         Putting Technology Into Practice--June
                  Benoit, MSN, FNP

2:45-3:15         Commercial Exhibits, Poster
                  presentations, Refreshments

3:15-4:15         Concurrent Breakout Sessions--2

      2A:         Travel Guide to the World of E-mail--Jeannie
                  Graham, ADN, BA

      2B:         State Board/Technology--Mary Botter,
                  PhD, RN, Executive Director, Vermont
                  State Board of Nursing

      2C:         Using Medline for EBP: A demonstration
                  of using Medline to find evidence in
                  support of practice
                  Ellen Hall, MALS, AHIP, Library
                  Director, Norwich University

     2D:          Putting Technology Into Practice--June
                  Benoit, MSN, FNP

4:15              Raffle/Evaluations/Contact Hour
                  Certificates

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