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On Sunday, April 24th 2005, the Board of Directors of Tau Chapter
inducted 66 students and community nurse leaders into Sigma Theta
Tau International. The ceremony took place in the Intercultural Center
on the main campus and was followed by a reception for the
inductees and their families. Barbara Aranda-Naranjo, RN, PhD,
FAAN, the Robert and Kathleen Scanlon Chair in Values Based
Health Care at the School of Nursing and Health Studies was the
guest speaker. These inductees all undertake the task of furthering
the mission and values of Sigma Theta Tau International and the Tau
Chapter. Through scholarly research and leadership in practice,
education, and service they seek to improve global health disparities.

Listed below are the 2005 Inductees:

Community Nurse Leaders:
Kizzy Diggs, Stefanie Generao, Maria Lilibeth Grandas, Catherine
Jacobsen & Sharon Yungshten

Graduate Students:
Allison Bastide, Abigail Butts, Joshua Bingham, Sarah Bonick
Shawn Conner, Todd Erickson, Karen Fedash, Lisa Goldstein
Leslie Jackson, Liv Jao, Kelly Kumar, Mercedes Latta Taylor
Jared Lee, Brenda Leins, Jamie Linde, Kisha Lifgren, Diana Lubandi
Reagan Mengel, Lisa Miller, Lisa Masumoto, Mabel Okungbowa
Callie Pritchard, Cindy Quinto, Amy Rasmussen, Brian Rogers
Mawiha Shabazz-Johnson, Kathryn Swanson, Erin Wiater

Undergraduate Students:
Elizabeth Accornero, Megan Bloyd, Leah Callison, Anne Hensler
Janessa Landeck, Nicole LeStrange, Allison Scott, Colleen Sanders
Ashley Terrell, Mary Timby

Second Degree Students:
Caron Alfriend, Lauren Arrington, Anna Becker, Anissa Ben-Aida
Lisa Dreyfuss, Jane Ernstthal, Meaghan Estes, Nell Friar
Lordes James, Elisabeth Kim, Tenagne Lemma, Delali Mensah
Carolyn Niblock, Hannah Paxton, Anne Quinn, Susan Rhedmon
Stephanie Shroeter, Rena Taylor, Ann Will, Abigail Winder
Lisa Witte

I want to take this opportunity to thank Tau Chapter for its support of my
most recent research effort addressing women with developmental
disabilities. This effort is my fourth major research project addressing
gynecological and reproductive care with this population. My collaborator
and co-investigator is Joni Fritz, the former executive director of the
American Network of Community Options and Resources (ANCOR) and a
consultant in the disabilities field.
Previous work (Kopac, Fritz, & Holt, 1998; Kopac & Fritz, 2004; Kopac & Fritz,
2005) has demonstrated that a variety of essential services for women with
developmental disabilities are lacking. These previous studies clearly
document that there are too few primary care providers delivering
gynecological and reproductive services to these women. Further the
preparation of health care professionals regarding the assessment and
management of persons with developmental disabilities is inadequate to
provide comprehensive, individualized gynecological and reproductive care
for women with special needs.
The present pilot study seeks to validate the content and usefulness of a
short primary care evaluation instrument that could be used in clinic
settings and office practices that provide gynecological and reproductive
health care in hopes of providing assessment guidance for primary care
providers. During the Summer and Fall of 2004, the investigators
developed a twelve-item instrument that focused on the basic assessment
of gynecological and reproductive concerns for women with developmental
disabilities.   The instrument, The Gynecological Evaluation Tool (GET),
now needs to be piloted with patients in primary care settings. The money
provided by Tau Chapter will enable me and Joni Fritz to disseminate this
instrument to selected clinic sites and thus execute the pilot study. We look
forward to being able to report our findings next year. ANCOR, under the
leadership of its current CEO, Rene Pietrangelo, has agreed to sponsor
our research and, once the pilot study is complete, explore submitting a
grant to Robert Wood Johnson Foundation on the topic.
References
Kopac, C.A., Fritz, J., & Holt, R.A., (1998). Gynecological and reproductive
services for women with developmental disabilities. Clinical Excellence for
Nurse Practitioners, 2, 88-95.
Kopac, C.A., & Fritz, J. (2004). The availability and accessibility of
gynecological and reproductive services for women with developmental
disabilities: A nursing perspective. Clinical Excellence for Nurse
Practitioners, 8, 35-42.
Kopac, C.A., & Fritz, J. (2005). Ethical concerns in the provision of
gynecological and reproductive care for women with developmental
disabilities, a nursing perspective. American Network of Community
Options and Resources Foundation Monograph. (March, 2005).

It is with honor that I begin my first year as President of the Tau Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau
International. I am especially pleased that the theme for this year’s 38th Biennial Convention
is: Create the Future Through Renewal. This theme resonates well with our chapter as we
seek to grow our membership with a focus on connecting with those who have not renewed
their chapter membership as well as strengthening our relationship with our active members.
With the past election and the board approval of our committee membership, we are pleased
to see so many new inductees already becoming involved in the chapter. For example, our
standing committee members for the Governance and Leadership and Succession
Committees include: Judith Handjinicolaou, Gayle Lovato, Rayma Skinner, Abbie Stubbs, Sue
Apple, Vera Gerovac and Laura Kalichak. Charles Hall chairs the strategic planning/finance
committee, Kevin Mallinson the research committee, Colleen Norton the awards committee
and Aubrey Hall the newsletter committee. With an organized committee structure in place,
there exists a wonderful opportunity to become more involved. If you are interested in being
involved in the work of these committees, please let me know.

As of June 30, 2005 we have 352 active members on file. However the chapter has a
significant number of inactive members. Therefore, you can easily see that the future of our
chapter in terms of membership and revenue increase is a priority for all of us as we begin to
focus on renewal for future growth. As with most organizations, retaining new members is a
challenge! Though we recognize that individuals move out of the area, we strongly encourage
these individuals to think about the dual membership option that is available. Having a strong
membership base is key to the chapter’s vitality and its ability to plan and implement programs
for its membership. I strongly encourage all of the Tau chapter members to visit the Honor
Society’s web page – www.nursingsociety.org. The site provides a wealth of information about
the organization, its strategic directions and how to become involved as members.

An important initiative for the Board this year is to begin the journey for a Chapter Key Award. This chapter award focuses on
achievement and leadership in several areas: membership recruitment and retention, leadership and professional development and
chapter outreach over a two year period (July 2005 – June 2007). An important part of the process is the documentation of all our
activities – letters, emails, flyers, website, and newsletters. The award is presented at the biennial convention and for us that would be
2007. I am thrilled to announce that Laura Folk, our past chapter recording secretary, will lead this initiative. Stay tuned for more
information and volunteer opportunities as we begin the journey toward recognition for overall chapter excellence.

Both Dr. Janie Heath and I will be attending the Biennial Convention and will serve as the chapter delegates. We are excited that at
least 12 candidates from Region 12 are seeking an opportunity to serve at either the regional or national level. As part of the election
process we will have a have an opportunity to meet these candidates at several planned sessions prior to the formal meeting of the
House of Delegates

Additionally, please join me in congratulating Dr. Janie Heath for the acceptance of her abstract for a presentation at the afternoon
concurrent sessions on Monday, November 14. Her topic is: Application of the Theory or Reasoned Action to Evaluate Faculty Intentions
to Integrate Tobacco Education in Advanced Practice Nursing Curricula.

Again, please do not hesitate to contact any of us on the Board if you have questions, concerns, etc. The future awaits us.

Dr. Jean Kelley and I were honored to be your Chapter Delegates for the 38th Biennial Convention in Indianapolis, Indiana. As you may know this is the
home of Sigma Theta Tau International (on the campus of the University of Indiana). The building and all that it represents makes you very proud to be a
nurse and even prouder to be a member of such a historical and prestigious society.

Before the House of Delegates opened, Dr. Kelley attended sessions about helpful strategies in obtaining the STTI Key Chapter Award and I attended
sessions about the latest updates related to the on-line Chapter induction process and eligibility criteria. Dr. Pat Thompson, honor society past-
president, opened the House of Delegates Tuesday afternoon, which included the beautiful presentation of flags representing countries with an honor
society chapter. The election of honor society officers, approval of petitioning honor societies, and the “State of the Society” address given by honor
society President, Dr. Dan Pesut.

As delegates, we participated in approving the petitions for charters of 16 petitioning honor societies. The new chapters, including one each from
Canada, Japan and Sweden, brought the honor society’s total number of chapters to 446.

We also participated in voting for the new officers for Sigma Theta Tau International. The elected honor society officers for the 2005-2007 biennium
include:

        President Elect - Carol Huston, RN, MSN, MPA, DPA
        Vice President - Alyce Schultz, RN, PhD, FAAN
        Secretary - Suzanne Prevost, RN, PhD
        Treasurer - Nancy Sharts-Hopko, RN, PhD, FAAN
        Director - Anna Alt-White, RN, PhD
        Director - Karen Grigsby, RN, PhD

Other elected positions that we participated in voting included the Regional Chapter Coordinating Chair, Regional Coordinators, Leadership Succession
Committee Members, and Governance Committee Members. A complete list of names can be found at http://www.nursingsociety.
org/conventiondaily/index.html

As delegates we also voted on 14 amendments to the honor society bylaws. All 14 amendments were approved. A summary of the results and
amendments will be provided at a later time on the STTI website.

We thoroughly enjoyed hearing Dr. Carol Picard, the honor society’s president for the 2005-2007 biennium, issue her Call to Action: “Vision to Action:
Global Health Through Collaboration”.
Dr. Picard invited members to ask themselves and members of their chapters these critical questions:

        How can I make a difference in achieving the mission and vision of the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International?
        What is one thing I can do this coming biennium that would contribute to the success of the defined strategic plan?
        Is my vision that of the honor society’s?

Dr. Picard also eloquently inspired us to think about the 5 Cs as Nurse Leaders:

        Competence – creating and sharing knowledge
        Compassion – power of relationship and appreciation of experiences of those we serve
        Confidence – leaders inspire confidence
        Conscience – raise the difficult questions and help others make hard choices
        Commitment – learning from others and our heritage to guide our leadership

We hope you will plan to attend the 39th Biennial Convention in Baltimore, Maryland, Nov. 2-6, 2007 and as Dr. Picard challenges us- let’s see how we
can “maximize our capacity as nurses to live out caring in the human health experience through our connection with Sigma Theta Tau International”.

The 5th Annual Chesapeake Consortium was hosted by the Tau Theta Chapter at the
National Museum of Health and Medicine at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center. As
always, Sigma Theta Tau supports young researchers and at this consortium graduate
students were invited to submit research abstracts for a poster session. Tau Chapter
was proud to support Jill Robinson, RN., BSN, MSN © (current FNP student) and Kerry
Sweeny, RN, BSN, MSN (December ’05 graduate) whose submission is summarized
below:

Knowledge Base, Stress, and Clinical Practice in the
Management of Patients with Vancomycin Resistant Enterococcus (VRE):
A Pilot Study

The purpose of this pilot study was to evaluate the role of the bedside nurse in the
transmission of Vancomycin Resistant Enterococcus (VRE) among critically ill neonatal
and pediatric patients. Twenty (20) neonatal and pediatric critical care nurses responded
to questions regarding nursing knowledge of disease transmission, experienced stress
levels, and adherence to contact isolation protocols when caring for VRE infected
patients. Self-report instruments that were developed by the investigators were
distributed during a two week period. Summary statistics revealed an average score of
87.4% on the tool measuring knowledge, implying knowledge of VRE transmission was
relatively high. However, 100% of the nurses reported failure to adhere to contact
isolation protocols, while 80% of them reported they believed that was indeed an unsafe
practice. The average reported stress level fell into a moderate range, significantly lower
than that which was expected. This pilot study suggests that despite a strong knowledge
base and moderate stress levels, nurses frequently break contact isolation protocols.
This work is a beginning in examining the relationship between knowledge, stress, and
practice as it relates to the care of neonatal and pediatric patients with VRE.