RNS president: Nurses have taken ‘front stage worldwide’ amid COVID-19
Although COVID-19 has provided a somber background for the International Year of the Nurse and Midwife, the president of the Rheumatology Nurses Society noted that this is fitting for a profession recognized as being “the prepared ones.”
“We are so pleased to be able to celebrate the Year of the Nurse with all of you during the COVID-19 pandemic,” Cathy Patty-Resk, MSN, RN-BC, CPNP-BC, who is also a pediatric nurse practitioner at Children’s Hospital of Michigan, told attendees at the Rheumatology Nurses Society annual conference. “Never has nursing taken such a front stage worldwide as it has now. Nurses everywhere make a difference, whatever they are doing, on the front lines of COVID, or rheumatology nurses treating and reassuring patients.”
Patty-Resk expressed her own pride at being a nurse and suggested that all nurses should feel the same.
She then turned her attention to the program for the virtual meeting. “Over the next 4 days, our agenda will be filled with some of the most remarkable and notable experts in rheumatology and beyond,” she said. “You may even have some of their books on your shelves.”
To that point, Patty-Resk expressed appreciation for keynote address presenter Carolyn Jones, an author and filmmaker who has created a number of projects highlighting the work that nurses do.
Looking deeper into the meeting schedule, Patty-Resk assured attendees that despite the virtual format, the meeting will maintain many of the traditions that have become part of the Annual Conference over its 13-year run. “The traditions of nursing are paramount to the field,” she said.
The conference will still feature live question & answer sessions with presenters and the “posters and prosecco” gatherings that are a hallmark of the meeting. “It is bring your own prosecco this year,” she said. “Sorry, can’t help you with that one.”
Attendees are encouraged to visit the virtual exhibit hall, check in on the RNS business meeting or enjoy the President’s Social Hour. “You may find a few surprises along the way,” Patty-Resk said.
Collapse
Patty-Resk C. President’s Address. Presented at: Rheumatology Nurses Society annual conference; August 5-8, 2020 (virtual meeting).
Read more about