• How should nurses approach discussions with patients with progressive disease who are steadfast in their desire to get pregnant as soon as possible?
• How can you appropriately manage multiple digital ulcerations in patients with systemic sclerosis?
• Why shouldn’t you always assume that fellow healthcare workers are going to be adherent to treatment plans?
• What factors need to be considered when prescribing pain medications for patients suffering from possible depression?

Learning Objectives

1. Discuss common factors that lead to nonadherence to treatment regimens for rheumatoid arthritis, including cost of medication, side effects profiles, and poor clinician-patient communication
2. Analyze factors that may lead to increasing levels of depression, withdrawal, and nonadherence in patients with rheumatic disease
3. Identify characteristics that differentiate rare autoimmune diseases such as Wegener’s granulomatosis with polyangiitis from more common conditions
4. Develop strategies to manage women with progressive disease who prioritize pregnancy over management of their worsening symptoms

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• What makes psoriatic arthritis (PsA) so difficult to accurately diagnose on initial presentation?
• How is the efficacy of treatment measured in patients with PsA?
• What pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic treatment options are currently available for patients with PsA?
• Why is folic acid often recommended for patients with moderate to severe PsA?

Learning Objectives

1. Identify common clinical, physical, and extraarticular features of PsA that differentiate the condition from other types of inflammatory arthritis
2. Appraise the relevance of various clinically validated PsA disease assessment and monitoring tools, and implement one or more into your practice as warranted within the next three months
3. Assess recent evidence on current and emerging agents used to treat mild, moderate, and severe PsA

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What: Scleroderma Product Fair — a chance to learn about products and services that that can help with everyday living with scleroderma and related conditions. This product fair will serve as a good resource for patients as well as family members and caregivers that are involved with the care of scleroderma and related conditions.

When: Saturday, October 1, 2011, 1:30 PM-3:30 PM

Where: Holiday Inn Hasbrouck Heights 283 Route 17 South Hasbrouck Heights, NJ 07604

Vendors: A partial list of organizations that will be represented include Caring Voice Coalition, Needymeds, Isotonix, Mary Kay, Raynaud’s Association and Strategic Wealth Planning, Caring Voice Coalition, Needymeds, Isotonics. Mary Kay, Raynaud’s association and Strategic Wealth Planning, Accelerated Hand Therapy and Rehabilitation, Nirvana Wellness Center, MedActive Oral Pharmaceuticals, and Nutrametrix.

• More Information

Section Editors

Section Editors will play a significant role in the development of the RNS Core Curriculum. Section Editors should have the following qualifications:

• Must be a member of the Rheumatology Nurses Society
• Must hold a minimum of a master’s degree.
• Must have published articles in juried professional journals and/or written or contributed to professional nursing texts.
• Must have working knowledge of American Psychological Association style.

Section Editors should be able to meet the following expectations:

• Review and communicate with the Editor and/or the Project Manager in the event of any concerns.
• Meet established and/or revised deadlines.
• Assist chapter writers to meet established deadlines as much as possible.
• Review material submitted for accuracy of content, flow, grammatical content, and the like.
• Provide constructive suggestions for improving content and flow as follows:

• Question the accuracy of information (if in doubt).
• Suggest additions/deletions of content.
• Recommend the inclusion of additional references or information.
• Recommend changes in writing flow.
• Suggest inclusion of tables, charts, figures when appropriate.

• Provide positive ongoing feedback for chapter writers’ efforts.
• Provide Editor with recommendations for peer reviewers.

Chapter Writers

Throughout the process, Chapter Writers can expect to receive constructive feedback and assistance from the Section Editors and from the Project Manager. The Core Curriculum will be in an outline format. The deadline for the first rough draft will be January 6, 2012.  To participate in the Core Curriculum project as a chapter writer, you should be able to meet the following qualifications:

• Must be a member of the Rheumatology Nurses Society
• Must submit all drafts and final works in an electronic format compatible with Microsoft Word for Windows.
• Must meet all deadlines outlined for the publication.
• Must use the style defined by the 6th edition of the APA Publication Manual to reference your work.

Peer Reviewers

Reviewers will assess the final drafts of the chapters for accuracy, relevance, and timeliness. They are not expected to rewrite chapters but to provide a “final check” prior to publication.  Reviewers must be members of the Rheumatology Nurses Society.

If you are interested in participating in this project, please submit the application attached to the RNS National Office no later than September 15, 2011. Chapter writers and section editors will be selected and notified in October 2011. We look forward to hearing from you!

Core Curriculum Project
RNS National Office
Toll Free: 800-380-7081
Fax:  410-384-4222
wes.linda@rns-network.org

• What do recent screening guidelines suggest to prevent the possibility of hydroxychloroquine retinopathy?
• Why does methotrexate behave differently in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) compared to those with cancer?
• How do antidrug antibodies predict why some patients fail to respond or lose response to biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs)?
• What new drug pathways are under investigation for the treatment of RA?

Learning Objectives

• Evaluate the appropriate utilization of traditional DMARDs, such as methotrexate, sulfasalazine, and hydroxychloroquine, in current RA treatment regimens
• Assess the impact of recently released “treat to target” guidelines on the overall care of patients with RA Describe the potential role of late-stage agents under investigation for the treatment of RA

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Webinars are currently one of the most economical and efficient means of providing staff development and information. There are many good reasons for participating in Webinar learning. Most times they are free or low cost, they are web based and can be viewed from your desktop PC/laptop or from your home computer, more than one person at a time can participate in the program, they are offered real time and many times allow for live question and answer sessions, can be made accessible for later viewing, are time sensitive, and provide current information specific to the topic offered. Many Webinars send educational materials via an e-mail prior to the start of the program allowing you time to review the material to be covered preceding to the program.

Webinars are a good alternative to the traditional “group” educational seminars that you may be used to attending. They provide the opportunity to gain knowledge and stay current when financial resources are scarce or not available.

However, if you do have the financial availability to attend a national or local conference, embrace the opportunity! The benefits provided by a live, face to face conference are irreplaceable, from meeting the vendors and seeing what’s new in your field regarding treatments and equipment to the invaluable networking opportunities. Nothing is more beneficial than being able to share and receive practice tips, ideas and initiatives from your peers. Take full advantage of what is offered and available to you! Not only will you benefit from the opportunities, but so will your patients………and isn’t that your main focus, your patients?

August 11 – 13 is the National 2011 RNS Conference to be held in Kansas City. This a perfect opportunity for you to learn, share, and laugh with your Rheumatology peers from across the US and Europe. Take full advantage!

Nurses Health Study 1 began in 1976 and has more than 120,000 members. Building on its success, Nurses Health Study 2 began in 1989 and has 116,000 women.

Now, Nurses Health Study 3 is recruiting a new group of 100,000 women. If you were born after January 1, 1965, please join us!

If you are not eligible or you have already joined, please help us by spreading the word among your colleagues.

• Use a leave in hair conditioner that has sun block
• Use a sun screen with both UVA and UVB protection, apply 1 ounce of sun screen per application, apply  every 2 hours
• Car and house windows filter UVB rays but not UVA
• Fluorescent lights and photocopiers emit some ultraviolet light
• Use sun screen 365 days a year for the best protection, Sunscreen filters out about 90% of UV rays

www.coolibar.com has some nice UV protective clothing for all ages

• Someone who is caring, who is empathetic with their patients’ emotions.
• Someone who is compassionate and can make someone feel better by giving a kind smile or simple words of encouragement.
• Someone who has unwavering devotion.
• Someone who is responsible, detail oriented and always rises to the occasion

But a nurse is so much more than this too. Nurses are our Mothers, Fathers, Sisters, Brothers, and our best friends. They are the unsung hero of the medical field. All of our hearts have at one time been touched by a nurse.

It is because of this and everything that you do that the Rheumatology Nurses Society’s Board of Directors would like to thank you for being that special kind of person – a Nurse.

This will give you a good estimate of the patient population, screening difficulty, problems with inclusion/exclusion criteria, and time needed by the coordinator for this task.

All useful in preparing a realistic budget.